The Self-Perceived Effects of the Role-Playing Hobby on Personal Development: A Survey Report

A 2010–2011 survey by Mikko Meriläinen examines whether role-playing games shape personal and social development, using Arnold's concept of empathic intelligence as its theoretical framework. The study compares 161 active Finnish role-players with 106 non-role-players and with a student choir control group. Its central argument is that narrative, imagination, and immersion in roles are foundational to both role-playing and empathy, so the hobby may offer a valuable platform for developing personal and social skills.

Self-perceptions among role-players were predominantly positive. Roughly two-thirds (67.7%) regarded role-playing as an important part of their lives, 87% reported forming significant relationships through the hobby, and 82.6% perceived a positive effect on their social development. Over 70% believed the hobby enhanced their imagination and over 73% credited it with improving creativity, while more than half reported increased empathy. Men and longer-term players were more likely to report gains in problem solving and empathy, and women reported more intense emotional experiences and greater introspection. Role-players also rated themselves as more imaginative than controls, though they judged themselves less socially adept. Qualitative responses named interpersonal benefits most often, alongside time consumption and stigmatization as the main drawbacks.

The study is explicitly exploratory, and its authors caution that these results reflect self-reported perceptions rather than demonstrated causal effects. The sample was non-random, recruited through snowball methods, heavily educated, and not validated or counterbalanced. Reported potential for growth is therefore not equivalent to measured development, and the findings cannot establish that role-playing itself produces the outcomes described. Future research is needed to test these perceived benefits, along with the negative effects respondents mentioned, such as blurred boundaries between game and real life.