Investigating the Effect of Two FPS video games on academic Anxiety and Exam Stress in High School Student

The education system is one of the first encounters of children with their peers and the community outside the family center. However, attending school can be associated with many psychological pressures. Thus, it is crucial to find a solution to control the level of stress induced by students through schools. Computer games, as one of the most popular types of entertainment, have many capacities in creating a sense of pleasure and happiness and even reducing anxiety and stress in the audience. The statistical population of the present study included 66 second-grade high school students in three high schools in Isfahan. The statistical population was divided into three groups. At the beginning of the study, Gadzella academic anxiety questionnaire and the Abolghasemi exam anxiety questionnaire were provided to the statistical population. Then, the first group (N=22) and the second group (N=22) played computer games for thirty minutes for five weeks in their school. At this time, the first group played BioShock, and the second group played Call of Duty games. The third group, the control group (N=22), also continued their schooling without a change in their routine program. After five weeks, the mentioned questionnaires were again provided to three groups of students. The data showed the significant effect of playing computer games on reducing students' academic anxiety compared to the control group. These results were also true for exam stress. However, BioShock was found to be more influential than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.