Online Gaming

Psychology of Online Gaming


Game - a social interaction, exchange, or transaction with set—pre-established—rules of engagement             (these rules are usually mutually agreed upon).


Genre - classification of something based on an established set of rules or signifiers.

  • Horror movie

  • Romance book

  • RPG’s and FPS’s


Psychological Dimensions of Video Games:


  1. Complexity - the cognitive effort needed for gameplay.

                   ~ amount of focus needed in order to engage with it


  1. Social Interactivity - the degree of social exchange involving gameplay.

            ~ twitch streaming

                    Social: an exchange between two or more people.


  1. Competition Level - the skill needed to be successful in a achieving game outcomes.

                                        ⤷ Differing levels of skill result in performace outcomes relative to one another.

  • Leaderboards

    • Crossy Road


  1. The Age Apropriateness of Content - content is labeled to convey for whom (which audiences) gameplay is most appropriate.

                ☆ overcooked, crossy road, DTI—no age restrictions

                ☆ horror games, mortal kombat, etc.—more mature

                        ★ GTA—pushback from the mature themes and designs in the game


Cheif Motivations for Video Game Use


We are motivated to choose which medias we consume.


Useful for predicting behavior/why people are so drawn to specific games/behaviors



  1. Arousal - the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight).

  • physiological stimluants/happenings

    • sweatings, pupils focusing, being scared in general = exciting

  • horror games/exciting action games


  1. Challenge - the cultivation of skill in service of achievement.

            ★ puzzle games

            ★ Crossy Road and Candy Crush ppl ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)


  1. Competition - performance relative to other game players.


  1. Diversion - use of video games to alleviate stress, or to escape everyday life.

                            ➤ healthy in small amounts

                            ➤ single player sandbox games that go on forever (sims 4, Tomodachi life)


  1. Fantasy - the pursuit of role-playing elements that allow users to experience alternative—or otherwise impossible—scenarios.

                        ಄  Dungeons and Dragons

                        ಄ The Sims

it’s a way to live in an alternate reality.


  1. Social Interaction - the use of video games to form or strengthen social ties.

                        ● Twitch

                        ● Multiplayer games that are designed to be multiplayer

                                ∘ having Emily over while we play Tomodachi Life


You can have multiple motivating factors for one game.

They can change over time.


Media Effects (psychological effects video games have on us) -


Violence, concern(s): exposure and desensitization IN CHILDREN exposing them to violence might make them more violent/less sensitive to it.

  • they DO have short-term effects; increased sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) response

    • much like how you feel after a horror movie


Selective Exposure - the predisposition to choose media that align with our prexisting beliefs, habits, tendencies, etc.

  • children with aggressive outbursts or anger issues may be drawn to violent video games; and then they become more problematic—enhancing their predisposition towards violent states

    • very small percentage of people tho

  • intervention will help



Not having an adult/supervision may lead to false expectations—porn vs. irl sex

Developmental Psychology


Sleep technology use - cognitive arousal which results in deteriorating sleep quality and duration.

  • people who use their phoen sin bed sleep worse and for fewer hours.

  • Screen lights (blue light) surpress release of melatonin


Secondary technology use - highly correlated with higher body mass index across lifetime (every age)



Social Enhancement Hypopthesis - the proposition that extroverted, socially adept, individuals are more likely to use internet-based communications to further cultivate and develop social ties.

  • “The Rich get Richer” hypothesis


Social Compensation - the proposition that individuals uncomfortable in face-to-face (social) settings can use the internet (social media/networking) to make up for offline social deficits, introversion, or social anxiety.

  • short-term: can lead to a lower social evaluative pressure and increase in belongingness.

  • long-term: correlates with lower subjective well-being (happiness), and increased rates of depressive disorders.


Among U.S. adults, men are _______ likely than women to spend many hours playing video games, and are _______ likely than women to play action video games, which has been observed to ______ players' spatial abilities.

more; more; boost


Which of the following game genres has had a sizeable uptick in popularity during the past decade due to the steady growth in smartphone ownership?

casual games



Video game players who are likely to AGREE with statements like "I enjoy finding new and creative ways to work through video games" and "I find it very rewarding to get to the next level [in a game]" are indicating _______ as a motivation for engaging in game play.

               challenge


Which of the following is most clearly an operant behavior?

complaining



The desire to engage in an activity for the sake of its enjoyment alone is most reflective of:

intrinsic motivation


Research has generally: established a link between violent video game playing and aggression



As discussed in lecture, there is a general cultural perception that most people who play video games are men. Findings indicate that among men and women who play video games, this belief is held by a _______ of men and a _______ of women.

majority                    majority



Playing prosocial video games: decreases aggressive cognitions


Compared with continuous reinforcement, intermittent reinforcement is associated with:

slower aquisitions and slower extinctions


A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer is called:

operant conditioning


Operant response rates tend to be _______ when linked to a ratio schedule rather than an interval schedule, and operant response rates tend to be _______ consistent when linked to a variable schedule rather than a fixed schedule.

higher; more



Of the following demographic groups, the largest difference among U.S. adults who play video games is between:

individuals in the 18-29-year-old age cohort and individuals in the 65-year-old or older age cohort



In order to encourage regular game play, game designers of a farming simulation game introduced a feature whereby planted crops wither if they are not harvested within a certain amount of time. This feature is BEST an example of: reinforcement