It's Official: Mario Kart Is Proven To Make You Feel Awesome

As gaming becomes more mainstream, questions surrounding the effects of video games on society have largely moved beyond the tired threat of violence arguments to the indecisive view that it's not inherently good or bad. Now, new research supports the idea that stuff like smashing Donkey Kong with a flying turtle shell in Mario Kart can actually make you feel great.

Gaming has come a long way since the 90s. It's now recognised as a predominantly adult pastime—the Entertainment Software Association puts 68 percent of gamers over 18—and many psychologists and social scientists have started asking questions focusing less on gaming and childhood development, and more on how games affect adults' lives in smaller, day-to-day, ways.

The recent study by German and Dutch researchers in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour advances the notion of gaming as a beneficial social exercise. The researchers suggest that even short gaming sessions can go a long way toward alleviating feelings of frustration, stress, and anxiety brought on by difficult life tasks. That's especially the case, they found, if the player is good at the particular game.

In the study, they investigated whether two rounds ofMario Kart on Wii could affect the mood of a group of volunteers that had just attempted a highly frustrating math task, and whether success in the game mattered.

The experiment was based on mood management theory: the idea that people are compelled to take action to correct or improve negative moods, and that engaging with media, such as books, television, or video games, is part of this behavioral process.

The researchers noted that compared to television and films, "video games serve mood repair by providing high task demands which can direct attention away from unpleasant states." That suggests games may be uniquely suited to distract us from the stresses of everyday life, by providing momentary yet gratifying challenges.

Of course, not all people are equally stressed. The researchers needed a scientifically proven method to create frustration and anxiety for all of their volunteers before letting them zip around the track. So they turned to the paced auditory serial-addition task (PASAT): a math challenge originally developed to assess traumatic brain damage.

The PASAT consists of an audio recording naming a new digit every three seconds, which must be added to the previous digit before the next is called (the sequence 2, 8, 3, is answered: 10, 11). Doctors have complained that the PASAT is "too difficult to reliably administer in an inpatient setting," and "unnecessarily stressful". But don't just take their word for it: you're welcome to try it yourself.

Volunteers in the study took the PASAT until they failed, and filled out a mood questionnaire to ensure they were sufficiently frustrated. Then, they completed two races and their mood was assessed again.

All volunteers reported increased enjoyment and happiness after playing the game, unsurprisingly proving that Mario Kart is more fun than doing timed math exercises until you fail.

More interestingly, the researchers noted that while "such a light, funny game as Mario Kart" may have influenced happiness, overall enjoyment was related to feelings of autonomy and competence reported by the volunteers after playing the game—something other studies have identified as unique to video games compared with more passive media.

The major question the researchers asked—whether the short gaming session repaired the anger and frustration induced by the PASAT—turned out to be dependent on the players' success. While the 48 volunteers had either never played Mario Kart before or were racers of average skill, the more successful they were in the race, the more likely it was they experienced reduced feelings of anger and deactivation.

"Mood repair was predicted by in-game success (ranking) while enjoyment is mainly driven by need satisfaction (autonomy and competence)," the study concluded.

They also noted that Mario Kart is a game usually played with multiple people, and by using a single player model their study didn't address feelings of "relatedness" alongside autonomy and competence. Of course, playing with others would increase "relatedness," but your sense of competence might take a hit when your friend runs you off the road in Donkey Kong's "Jungle Parkway."

Ultimately, the study suggested that while games are generally enjoyable, when a player is especially successful it can go a long way in addressing frustration and stress from outside sources in the non-gaming universe.

In other words, when you're feeling stressed and choosing a race for a particularly foul mood, go with Peach Beach at 50cc, and stay off Rainbow Road.