Exploring the effects of videogame play on creativity performance and emotional responses

• Creativity was better performed after action videogame play than non-action gameplay.
• Productivity was positively correlated with flexibility.
• Originality was positively correlated with flexibility and elaboration.
• Action and non-action videogame play showed no difference in valence and desire.
• Action videogame play elicited stronger arousal and stress than non-action gameplay.

The effects of videogame play is a growing research field in the recent decades, however, little is known about how ‘out-of-school’ use of videogames influences creativity and emotions. This interdisciplinary study employed a within-participant design to explore the effects of two different types of online videogames (an action videogame and a non-action videogame) on subsequent creativity performance measured using an idea generation task and emotional responses. Results showed that after playing the action game participants performed higher on originality, elaboration and flexibility than after playing the non-action game, but not productivity. Furthermore, playing both types of game elicited positive emotion (i.e., pleasantness) high in approach motivation (i.e., desire). However, action video game play elicited higher arousal and stress than non-action videogame play. The current research suggests that the relationships between the quantity (productivity and flexibility) and the quality (in this paper, originality and elaboration) of creativity performance may be complex and emotional response of arousal might be a significant emotional factor which influences subsequent creativity performance after videogame play. The cognitive and emotional effects of videogames are discussed along with implications for future emotion–creativity–videogame research.