Talk about people having nothing better to do! A group of researchers released a report regarding how game console branding affected the psychological responses of children. For boys, they compared the effects of Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation. For girls, they compared the effects of Barbie and Bratz dolls.
The results of their study showed that the Xbox affected the little boys more strongly in that they felt more empowered and self-confident. On the other hand, after viewing the Xbox system, the same boys also became more distrustful as compared to the boys who viewed the PlayStation. It was not disclosed if there was a difference between the Xbox, Xbox360, PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3.
The conclusion? Psychology plays a key role in branding and marketing. I was wondering, though. How would you translate these findings in the real world? Would boys who use the Xbox be really more confident in their daily activities? Would they also be really more distrustful of those around them? Another thing, I wonder what their findings would have been if they had the little girls play with the different consoles rather than the dolls? Last, I wonder how parents would react to these findings?
Oh by the way, these little boys and girls may not be little after all. The research group didn’t give any details as to their age group as well as to the number of subjects they carried out the study on.
This gives me an idea. Why don’t we try a little experiment on our own? Try playing with the Xbox and the PlayStation and see how they affect us?