Although playing video games can be good for stress relief, violent games may increase aggressive outcomes.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison looked at how video games may be used to manage emotions, or more specifically, improve mood.

For the study, researchers recruited more than 80 students who had little experience with violent video games. Half the volunteers were asked to play a frustrating video game, while the other half skipped the frustrating video game and went directly to the next phase of the study.

Both groups were then given either a nonviolent one titled "LittleBigPlanet 2" or a violent game called "Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage." They played for 18 minutes and then filled out a questionnaire about their emotions and feelings about the game.

Based on the analysis, frustrated players were motivated to progress farther in the games, which decreased their frustration and boosted feelings of competency. This process of emotional restoration increased players' enjoyment of both games. However, researchers noticed that the players who highly enjoyed the violent game showed a tendency to perceive the world in a more hostile way than those who played the nonviolent game.

The study, which appears in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, suggest that video games can be used to manage negative emotions, but doing so with violent games might be problematic.

Researchers said that if video games are going to be sought for emotional release, the authors recommend players seek out nonviolent games.