University of Central Florida, Orlando.
Hum Factors. 2017 Nov;59(7):1096-1107. doi: 10.1177/0018720817715360. Epub 2017 Jun 21.
We investigated the effects of a passive break, relaxation activity, and casual video game on affect, stress, engagement, and cognitive performance.
Reducing stress and improving cognitive performance is critical across many domains. Previous studies investigated taking a break, relaxation techniques, or playing a game; however, these methods have not been compared within a single experiment.
Participants completed a baseline affective and cognitive assessment (ACA), which included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, shortened version of the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, and backward digit-span. Next, participants completed a vigilance task, followed by another ACA. Participants were then assigned at random to complete a break or relaxation activity or play a casual video game, followed by a final ACA.
Participants who played the casual video game exhibited greater engagement and affective restoration than the relaxation condition. The break condition slightly decreased affect and prevented cognitive restoration.
Playing a casual video game even briefly can restore individuals' affective abilities, making it a suitable activity to restore mood in response to stress. However, future research is needed to find activities capable of cognitive restoration.
Many activities in life require sustained cognitive demand, which are stressful and decrease performance, especially for workers in performance-critical domains. Our research suggests some leisure activities are better than others for restoring fatigued affective processes.
我们研究了被动休息、放松活动和休闲视频游戏对情绪、压力、参与度和认知表现的影响。
减轻压力和提高认知表现对于许多领域都至关重要。先前的研究调查了休息、放松技巧或玩游戏的效果；然而，这些方法尚未在单个实验中进行比较。
参与者完成了基线情感和认知评估（ACA），包括正性和负性情绪量表、简化的邓迪压力状态问卷和倒背数字广度测验。接下来，参与者完成了一项警戒任务，然后进行了另一次 ACA。然后，参与者随机分配到休息或放松活动或玩休闲视频游戏组，最后进行一次 ACA。
与放松条件相比，玩休闲视频游戏的参与者表现出更高的参与度和情感恢复。休息条件略微降低了情绪，并且阻止了认知恢复。
即使短暂地玩休闲视频游戏也可以恢复个体的情感能力，使其成为应对压力恢复情绪的合适活动。然而，需要进一步研究以找到能够恢复认知的活动。
生活中的许多活动都需要持续的认知需求，这些活动会带来压力并降低表现，尤其是对于处于表现关键领域的工作人员。我们的研究表明，在恢复疲劳的情感过程方面，某些休闲活动比其他活动更好。
