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An empirical examination of factors associated with Game Transfer Phenomena severity
Abstract
Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) (i.e. altered perceptions, spontaneous thoughts and behaviors with game content) occur on a continuum from mild to severe. This study examined the differences between mild, moderate and severe levels of GTP. A total of 2281 gamers' participated in an online survey. The majority of gamers experienced a mild level of GTP. The factors significantly associated with the severe level of GTP were: (i) being students, (ii) being aged 18 to 22 years, (iii) being professional gamers, (iv) playing videogames every day in sessions of 6 h or more, (iv) playing to escape from the real world, (v) having a sleep disorder, mental disorder or reported dysfunctional gaming, and (vi) having experienced distress or dysfunction due to GTP. In addition, having used drugs and experiencing flashbacks as side-effects of drug use were significantly less likely to be reported by those with mild level of GTP. In a regression analysis, predictors of severe GTP included positive appraisals of GTP, distress or dysfunction due to GTP, and tendency to recall dreams. In general, the findings suggest that those with severe level of GTP share characteristics with profiles of gamers with dysfunctional gaming (e.g., problematic and/or addictive gaming).
... The prevalence of GTP among video game players is high, between 82% and 96% [21,29,[33][34][35][36], although most players experience mild levels of GTP [37,38]. Endogenous forms of GTP are more common [21]. ...
... Having a mental health disorder appears to increase the susceptibility to experiencing GTP [37,39], although most who experience GTP do not have a clinical diagnosis [21,40]. ...
... While Gaming Disorder is associated with GTP [27,39], not all gamers with GTP present with symptoms of GD and most do not have negative consequences due to their GTP [35,38]. However, GTP have been associated with distress and dysfunction when they manifest recurrently, with aversive content, endogenous phenomena (e.g., hearing voices coming from somewhere, seeing images overlaying objects), or involving dissociations and corporal sensations (e.g., feeling as if they are still in the game) [21,37]. In the case of Patient G, it is clear he experienced distress and negative consequences due to his GTP, which seems to have exacerbated his psychotic symptoms. ...
Little is known about the interplay of Gaming Disorder (GD) with psychotic processes in schizophrenia. Only a few clinical cases involving video game playing and psychotic symptoms have been previously reported in literature. This case report describes a 24-year-old male diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and GD. Our case, Patient G, had premorbid excessive video game playing and Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) prior to the onset of his schizophrenia illness. GTP are common among gamers and are characterised by abnormal perceptions, intrusive thoughts, and temporal change on behaviours related to the content of video games. However, GTP are not necessarily of delusional intensity for meeting the threshold of psychosis. The relapse in Patient G’s paranoid schizophrenia was associated with recent cannabis use, social withdrawal, and excessive video game playing. Patient G’s psychotic symptoms were influenced by video game themes and the movie “Matrix”, including the delusion that he was in a video game and that people around him were “non-playable characters”. Awareness of GTP can help clinicians to demarcate GTP from psychotic features and identify their interactions, given the ensuing treatment implications. Our case report highlights the importance of GTP, which in some cases may be an early sign of developing mental illness and could have implications for early intervention and prevention of illness onset and complications.
... Various underlying psychopathological factors have been found to be associated with GTP (e.g., schizotypal personality, neuroticism, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and problematic gaming) [17,20,28,33], but, in most cases, players who reported experiencing GTP have had no clinical diagnosis [27,31,33]. However, research has found that those who experience GTP more frequently and in various forms are significantly more likely to have used drugs, suffer from a mental disorder, and experience distress or dysfunction due to their GTP experiences [32]. Therefore, in this study, it was important to compare how players with different levels of GTP cope with pandemic stressors. ...
... The group without GTP (noGTP) had a GTPS score of 0, the group with low GTP (mildGTP) had scores of 1-26, the group with moderate GTP (moderateGTP) had scores of 27-53, and the group with high GTP (severeGTP) had scores of 54-80. The ranks were adopted from a previous study on GTP to allow comparisons (See [32]). None of the participants in the sample scored high enough to be considered as having experienced a severe level of GTP (i. e., experienced GTP many times and/or experienced GTP very frequently) [32]. ...
... The ranks were adopted from a previous study on GTP to allow comparisons (See [32]). None of the participants in the sample scored high enough to be considered as having experienced a severe level of GTP (i. e., experienced GTP many times and/or experienced GTP very frequently) [32]. A series of T-tests were conducted to examine the differences between video game players and non-players regarding the continuous variables of interest. ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, video game playing increased exponentially. The question if playing could offer benefits to cope with the pandemic stressors emerged. This study compares how non-players and players who may or may not re-experience (e.g., seeing, hearing) game content after playing [i.e., Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP)] cope with the pandemic stressors, emotion regulation and resilience. It also examines the impact of GTP on the perception of self and the world. A total of 567 completed a survey (59.6% male, MeanAge = 28.55). The measures include emotional regulation (ERC), resilience to stress (BRCS) and fear of contamination (PI). No differences between players and non-players on ERC, BRCS and PI were found. Players with moderate GTP levels were more likely to report contamination fears and show preventive COVID coping behaviours. The positive impact of GTP was associated with high resilience and cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy. The results suggest that attention should be paid to players who experience GTP more frequently and with a negative impact. Maladaptive coping styles can exacerbate distress from GTP and situational stressors. Identifying methods of protecting vulnerable individuals from these psychological burdens can guide interventions and mitigate consequences in similar situations.
... Ortiz de Gortari et al. (2016), using multinomial regression analyses of predictors for GTP levels (low, moderate, and severe), reported that severe level of GTP (i.e., experiences of GTP very frequently and in several forms) was positively associated with length of time spent playing, frequency of playing, distress, pleasantness of GTP experience, and the tendency to recall dreams. Additionally, gamers who experienced GTP were more likely to indicate a motivation to play related to exploration, immersion, mechanics, customization, and escapism than gamers who did not experience GTP . ...
... Various studies have found no differences between female and male gamers in GTP (Dindar & Ortiz de Gortari, 2017;Ortiz de Gortari, 2018;Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2016). ...
... This relationship was significant for every analyzed game genre (including first/third-person shooters, action-RPG/adventure, sports/driving, real-time strategy/MOBA, turn-based/non-action role-playing/fantasy, turn-based strategy/life simulation/puzzle, and music games). These results are consistent with previous research on the relationship between time spent playing and GTP(Dindar & Ortiz de Gortari, 2017;Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2016; ...
Game Transfer Phenomena altered perceptions gamers video games experience Studies show that gamers experience altered sensory perceptions, automatic thoughts and behaviors with video game content when not playing. These experiences are referred to as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). The first aim of the current study was the psychometric assessment of the Polish version of the GTP Scale (GTPS). The second aim was to analyze gender invariance, which is important due to the gender differences in game playing habits, motivations and game preferences. The study comprised 675 gamers (340 female gamers) aged 15 to 45 years. The participants' mean age was 31.74 years (SD = 7.75). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Polish version of the GTPS is reliable, valid, and adequate for assessing GTP. Findings also indicated that strict gender invariance exists. Consequently, the GTPS is an instrument by which GTP can be compared and assessed in female and male gamers. Additionally, findings showed that GTP was associated with hours played per week across all game genres and devices, except for smartphones.
... The worldwide prevalence of GD are 3.05% (Stevens et al., 2020) and can lead to clinically significant impairment or distress (Kuss and Griffiths, 2012;Montag et al., 2019). GTP is, in contrast to GD, relatively common and does not necessarily involve negative consequences, although distress and risks have been associated with GTP (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2011Gortari et al., , 2016Ortiz de Gortari, 2019b). The prevalence rate of GTP (having experienced at least one instance of GTP) is estimated to range between 82 and 96% in studies conducted with international samples (N > 6,000, 15-60 years old) (Ortiz de Gortari, 2017; Dindar and Ortiz de Gortari, 2017; Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2016b). ...
... Positive and even therapeutic uses of GTP have been proposed (Ortiz de Gortari, 2018), including the potential to induce GTP to interfere with distressful thoughts or images due to traumatic events (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2016a). However, a large number of those who have experienced GTP in several forms frequently reported distress and dysfunction (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2016). GTP has also been reported to provoke confusion and sleep deprivation, and it has been associated with risktaking behaviors (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2013. ...
... (1) Is GTP associated with PVG and PSMU, and what is their prevalence in the sample? Evidence suggests that there is a relationship between GTP and PVG (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2016), but the relationship between PSMU and GTP has not previously been investigated. ...
The study of the effects of interactive media has mainly focused on dysregulated behaviors, the conceptualization of which is supported by the paradigms of addiction. Research into Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) examines the interplay between video game features, events while playing, and the manipulation of hardware, which can lead to sensory-perceptual and cognitive intrusions (e.g., hallucinations and recurrent thoughts) and self-agency transient changes (e.g., automatic behaviors) related to video games. GTP can influence the interpretation of stimuli and everyday interactions and, in contrast to gaming disorder, are relatively common and not necessarily negative. However, some players have reported feeling distress due to their GTP. This study focuses on how dispositional and interactive media habit factors are related to GTP and two forms of problematic interactive media [problematic video game playing (PVG) and problematic social media use (PSMU)]. A sample of 343 university students who played video games completed an online survey (58.7% male, 19-25 years old). Not all who had experienced GTP were identified as exhibiting PVG or PSMU, but all of those in the PVG group had experienced GTP. Overall, the profiles of the groups, including GTP (91.4%), PVG (28.5%), and PSMU (24.8%), were in accordance with previous findings. Those in the GTP and the PVG groups were characterized by being male, being highly engaged in the game (either while playing or via game-related activities), and showed preferences for game-related activities. However, while those in the GTP group were significantly more likely to be fantasy-prone, those with PVG were the ones who played most per day. Those in the PSMU group were characterized by being female and/or extroverted, frequently using social/sharing platforms, and seldom playing video games. A hierarchical binary logistic regression revealed that males were more likely to experience GTP. Increases in PVG, fantasy proneness, and neuroticism increased the odds of GTP. Future work can benefit from considering the role of GTP in gaming disorder, since intrusive thoughts, cognitive biases, and poor impulse control are pivotal in the initiation and maintenance of dysfunctional playing behaviors.
... No gender differences have been found between those that have and have not experienced GTP [5], or between those that experienced different levels of GTP (mild, moderate and severe levels) [6]. GTP have been reported with new and old video games and in over 400 unique titles [4]. ...
... Lastly, more than half in the severe level experienced distress or dysfunction due to GTP compared to the other levels. The predictors for the severity levels of GTP were: session length and frequent playing, distress due to GTP, positive appraisal of GTP, and a tendency to recall dreams [6]. ...
An increasing number of studies have examined the effects of video game contents (e.g. violence) or excessive playing (e.g. addiction). Recently, a multimodal and holistic framework was developed, the Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) framework. It investigates the relation between in-game elements (e.g. structural characteristics, in-game phenomena) involved in everyday involuntary phenomena or intrusions with game contents, and the subsequent implications of these phenomena on gamers’ well-being. This paper aims to overview research on GTP for explaining the development of the framework and discuss its potential applications. The GTP framework was developed based on studies conducted with over 3,500 gamers collected via interviews, online forums and surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factorial structure and demonstrated good reliability and validity of the items in the scale used for assessing GTP. The GTP experiences were classified in three main modalities: (i) altered sensorial perceptions comprising perceptions and/or sensations in all sensorial channels, cross-sensory or multisensory. These were further subdivided into: altered visual perceptions (e.g. visual hallucinations), altered auditory perceptions (e.g. auditory imagery), and altered body/other perceptions (e.g. illusion of body motion). (ii) Automatic mental processes comprising thoughts, urges and automatic mental actions, and (iii) behaviors and actions comprising simple actions or more elaborate behaviors (e.g. verbal outburst). The GTP framework can assist in identifying an underlying mechanism of the virtual immersion either for reducing potential unwanted effects or for promoting desirable cognitions and behaviors with educative, therapeutic and entertainment means.
... Pro-Gamer Physiology. de Gortari and Griffiths (2015) and de Gortari et al. (2016) studied the occurrence of Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP), a term indicating the effect of prolonged gameplay on individuals' senses, perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors. It was observed that while professional gamers appear to be less vulnerable to GTP, the ones who do, tend to be more seriously affected by it. ...
Professional gaming is organized competitive digital gameplay supported by advertisers and businesses. With its rising popularity and spectatorship, virtual gaming as a profession is now a reality. The aim of this paper is to evaluate peer-reviewed articles from the past two decades that empirically examine gaming as a profession or the myriad facets of being a professional gamer published in scholarly journals. The themes that emerge from the results of the included studies (n = 32) are (a) the socio-cultural appeal of gaming as a profession, (b) socio-psychological elements of pro-gamers' everyday lives, and (c) the health and physiology of pro-gamers. It is found that the literature on health and physiology (n = 14) overshadows other dimensions of pro-gaming in academic research. In conclusion, studies must reflect on gam-ers' legal status as working professionals, their organizational contracts, and the legality of the industry country by country to fill the research gap.
... The experiences described by the participant in this extract appear to align with GTP (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2011). GTP refer to the transfer of videogame experiences into the physical world typically after intensive use, and may include: auditory, tactile, and visual hallucinations; dissociative experiences; automatic thoughts or actions; altered perceptions of physical world stimuli; and changes to behaviour (Ortiz de Gortari & Diseth, 2022;Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2016). More specifically, GTP occur when an individual is exposed to a videogame virtual setting and begins to experience involuntary disruption or changes to their senses, thoughts and behaviours that permeate from the videogame. ...
... Investigations into the relationships between video game habits and GTP have shown that playing time is associated with GTP (Cudo, Zabielska-Mendyk, & Ortiz de Gortari, 2022;Dindar & Ortiz de Gortari, 2017;Ortiz de Gortari & Griffiths, 2015). Session length has also been associated with GTP, particularly when GTP are experienced frequently and in several forms (Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016). Studies of highly immersive virtual environments have found that prolonged immersion is associated with side effects that last for significant durations due to neural adaptations, such as motion sickness, postural instability, and motor flexibility (Champney et al., 2007). ...
Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) are involuntary occurrences involving video game content that some players may experience. GTP can manifest as sensory or cognitive intrusions related to a game (e.g., images, sounds or recurrent thoughts) or involuntary automatic responses such as verbal outbursts, walking towards objects or involuntary limb movements. Many GTP appear to reflect failures in attention and inhibitory control among video game players. This study examines executive function deficits, psychopathological traits, fatigue and gaming habits related to fatigue, such as poor gaming-related sleep hygiene (PGSH). The assessment methods included cognitive tasks, such as the and the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) and the Go/No-Go (GNG) task and self-reports on everyday cognitive failures (CF), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and gaming disorder (GD). A total of 247 players 18–42 years old (M = 26.57 years; standard deviation [SD] = 6.030) participated; 75.7% were male. GTP was associated with ADHD and fatigue. PGSH, cognitive failures and GD emerged as significant in the hierarchical multiple regression full model. PGSH partially mediated the relationship between GD and GTP and between cognitive failures and GTP. This study has taken initial steps towards understanding what role cognitive failures and dysfunctional gaming habits have on GTP.
... Consequently, it can be cautiously assumed that individuals with high cognitive instability may have more difficulty in refraining from thinking about the videogame despite doing other things. In this context, previous research [127] reported that GTP are associated with PVG. However, it should be noted that GTP are a broader issue related not only to the negative aspects of videogames playing but also to the positive aspects [128]. ...
Over the past few decades, many new technologies have emerged, such as portable computers, the internet and smartphones, which have contributed to improving the lives of individuals. While the benefits of these new technologies are overwhelmingly positive, negative consequences are experienced by a minority of individuals. One possible negative aspect of new technologies is their problematic use due to impulsive use which may lead to lower life satisfaction. The present study investigated the mediating role of problematic video gaming (PVG) and problematic Facebook use (PFU) in the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction as well as the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and problematic behaviors. Additionally, the potential impact of gender differences was also examined. The study comprised 673 gamers (391 females) aged 17–38 years (M = 21.25 years, SD = 2.67) selected from 1365 individuals who completed an offline survey. PFU was assessed using the Facebook Intrusion Scale, and PVG was assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Impulsivity dimensions such as attention, cognitive instability, motor, perseverance, self-control, and cognitive complexity were assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Depending on the specific impulsivity dimension, findings showed both positive and negative relationships between impulsivity and life satisfaction. Attention and perseverance subtypes of impulsivity were primarily associated with problematic behaviors. Additionally, cognitive complexity was associated with PFU among female gamers, whereas cognitive instability was associated with PVG among male gamers. Additionally, PVG was primarily associated with lower life satisfaction. However, there was no mediation effects between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction via PFU or PVG. These findings provide a better understanding of the relationship between problematic behaviors, life satisfaction, and impulsivity among gamers and the differences between male and female gamers.
... In particular, it is proposed that unconscious, un-planned, and unintentional manifestations related to the in-game participation, defined as 'Game Transfer Phenomena' (GTP) may affect the offline conduct of the gamers [18]. These non-volitional manifestations are supported to entail experiences and cognitions, emotions, and actions [19] starting from physiological sensations experienced in the context of gaming [19] and leading to game-simulated real life conduct, the more gamers invest in their in-game avatar [20]. ...
Gamers represent themselves in online gaming worlds through their avatars. The term “Proteus Effect” (PE) defines the potential influences of the gamers’ avatars on their demeanour, perception and conduct and has been linked with excessive gaming. There is a significant lack of knowledge regarding likely distinct PE profiles and whether these could be differentially implicated with disordered gaming. A normative group of 1022 World of Warcraft (WoW) gamers were assessed in the present study (Mean age = 28.60 years). The Proteus Effect Scale (PES) was used to evaluate the possible avatar effect on gamers’ conduct, and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form was used to examine gaming disorder behaviors. Latent class profiling resulted in three distinct PE classes, ‘non-influenced-gamers’ (NIGs), ‘perception-cognition-influenced-gamers’ (PCIGs), and ‘emotion-behaviour-influenced-gamers’ (EBIGs). The NIGs reported low rates across all PES items. The PCIGs indicated higher avatar influence in their perception-experience but did not report being affected emotionally. The EBIGs indicated significantly higher avatar influence in their emotion and behaviour than the other two classes but reported stability in their perception of aspects independent of their avatar. Gaming disorder behaviours were reduced for the NIGs and progressively increased for the PCIGs and the EBIGs.
... Such phenomena have been assumed to effect the gamer's behaviour-experience offline and might involve game induced/affected perceptions, cognitions, and actions (i.e. altered physiological sensations whilst gaming and game-influenced behavioural manifestations; Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, and Griffiths 2016;Ortiz de Gortari, Pontes, and Griffiths 2015). Relevant to GTP, 'priming', as a communication science term, describes how media exposure (such as gaming) may generate effects on individuals (Cacciatore, Scheufele, and Iyengar 2016;Kaye, Pennington, and McCann 2018;Matthews 2019;Zendle, Cairns, and Kudenko 2018). ...
Online gaming is part of contemporary life, with a range of influences on gamer’s behaviour. The convergence and alignment of an individual’s attitude and behaviour with features and characteristics of their in-game representation (i.e. their avatar), is conceptualised as the ‘Proteus effect’ (PE). In the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW), the Draenei (‘exiled ones’) are one type of in-game character faction. In the present study, the interplay between choosing the class of Draenei, experiencing game-related immersion, along with the gamer’s biological gender was examined in relation to PE behaviours among 404 WoW gamers (males = 299; 74%; females = 104; 26%). Participants completed the Proteus Effect Scale and the Immersion sub-scale of the User-Avatar Questionnaire. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated a significant positive association between immersion and PE behaviours. Furthermore, mediation and moderated mediation analyses suggested that being a Draenei was positively associated with the level of game-related immersion, which in turn associated to higher PE behaviours offline, independent of participants’ gender. Results indicate that gamers who are more immersed within the gaming world tend to exhibit elevated PE behaviours. Moreover, being a Draenei in WoW appeared to relate with higher game-immersion experiences, which resulted in higher PE behaviours offline.
... Such phenomena have been assumed to effect the gamer's behaviour-experience offline and might involve game induced/affected perceptions, cognitions, and actions (i.e. altered physiological sensations whilst gaming and game-influenced behavioural manifestations; Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, and Griffiths 2016;Ortiz de Gortari, Pontes, and Griffiths 2015). Relevant to GTP, 'priming', as a communication science term, describes how media exposure (such as gaming) may generate effects on individuals (Cacciatore, Scheufele, and Iyengar 2016;Kaye, Pennington, and McCann 2018;Matthews 2019;Zendle, Cairns, and Kudenko 2018). ...
Online gaming is part of contemporary life, with a range of influences on gamer's behaviour. The convergence and alignment of an individual's attitude and behaviour with features and characteristics of their in-game representation (i.e. their avatar), is conceptualised as the 'Proteus effect' (PE). In the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW), the Draenei ('exiled ones') are one type of in-game character faction. In the present study, the interplay between choosing the class of Draenei, experiencing game-related immersion, along with the gamer's biological gender was examined in relation to PE behaviours among 404 WoW gamers (males = 299; 74%; females = 104; 26%). Participants completed the Proteus Effect Scale and the Immersion sub-scale of the User-Avatar Questionnaire. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated a significant positive association between immersion and PE behaviours. Furthermore, mediation and moderated mediation analyses suggested that being a Draenei was positively associated with the level of game-related immersion, which in turn associated to higher PE behaviours offline, independent of participants' gender. Results indicate that gamers who are more immersed within the gaming world tend to exhibit elevated PE behaviours. Moreover, being a Draenei in WoW appeared to relate with higher game-immersion experiences, which resulted in higher PE behaviours offline. ARTICLE HISTORY
... More specifically, it has been postulated that non-volitional phenomena associated to playing games, termed as 'Game Transfer Phenomena' (GTP) can influence the real-life behaviour of the gamer (Dindar & Ortiz de Gortari, 2017). These non-volitional phenomena have been proposed to include altered perceptions, automatic thoughts, and even involuntary behaviours (Ortiz de Gortari, ranging from bodily sensations within video games (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2015) to altered behavioural patterns, the more avatarattached a gamer becomes (Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016). ...
Aims:
The avatar constitutes the in-game representation of the gamer. Although aspects of the user-avatar bond (UAB) have been associated with disordered gaming, there is a need for clearer understanding concerning the impact of potential UAB profiles.
Methods:
To address this need, the present study recruited a normative sample of 1022 World of Warcraft (WoW) players (Mage = 28.55 years, SD = 9.90). Participants completed the User-Avatar Questionnaire (to assess UAB aspects such as identification, immersion, and compensation), the Proteus-Effect Scale (to assess transference of the avatar's behaviour in real life), and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (to assess disordered gaming).
Results:
Latent class analysis indicated the existence of three UAB profiles, 'differentiated gamers' (DGs), 'identified gamers' (IGs) and 'fused gamers' (FGs). The DGs were characterized by low scores across all UAB aspects. The IGs did not report significant Proteus Effect (PE) or immersion behaviours, and despite being more identified with their avatar, did not significantly compensate through it. The FGs presented with higher PE, immersion, and compensation, although they did not significantly identify with their avatars, possibly due to having idealized them. Disordered gaming behaviours were significantly lower for the DGs and sequentially higher for the IGs and the FGs. Preoccupation and mood modification behaviours related to gaming disorder were distinctively associated with FGs.
Conclusion:
Disordered gaming assessment and treatment implications of the UAB profiles are discussed.
... Accordingly, GTP can be manifested as altered sensorial perceptions including the experience of bodily sensations within video games (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths 2015). Additionally, severe levels of GTP has been associated with long gaming sessions and dysfunctional patterns of gaming because those with severe levels of GTP share characteristics with profiles of disordered gamers (Ortiz de Gortari et al. 2016). Although the regression models indicated overall SP, as well as its three sub-aspects, were significantly associated to IGD behaviors, the four LGM models calculated were not suggestive of either the overall SP or its three sub-dimensions (experienced) being significantly associated with IGD behaviors variations during the 3-month period examined. ...
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a rapidly expanding psychopathological manifestation necessitating further research and clinical attention. Although recent research has investigated relationships between user-avatar and excessive gaming, little is known about the interplay between IGD and avatar self-presence and its dimensions (i.e., the physical, emotional, and identity bond developed between the user and the in-game character). The aim of the present pilot study was twofold: (i) to investigate the associations between physical, emotional, and identity aspects of self-presence associate and IGD severity, and (ii) to assess IGD variations longitudinally in relation to the three dimensions of self-presence (i.e., proto-self-presence, core-self-presence, and extended-self-presence). The sample comprised 125 young adults aged between 18 and 29 years who underwent either (i) three offline measurements (1 month apart, over 3 months) or (ii) a cross-sectional online measurement. Regression and latent growth analysis indicated that the initial intensity of the physical, emotional, and identity self-presence aspects associated with IGD severity, but not to its longitudinal change. Overall, young adult gamers may exhibit higher IGD risk and severity when the experience of physical, emotional, and identity bonding with their in-game character is pronounced. The implications surrounding treatment and preventative policy recommendations are further discussed.
... Most gamers have experienced GTP more than once (95 percent) (n = 2,236) (Ortiz de and most experience mild levels of GTP (Ortiz de Gortari, 2017a; Ortiz de Gortari & . Predictors of severity levels of GTP were positive appraisal, distress and dysfunction, and recall of dreams (Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016). Figure 1 shows the types of GTP more commonly found in three samples (N = 2,362, N = 954 and N = 1,313) and respective examples of gamers' experiences (Dindar & Ortiz de Gortari, 2017;Ortiz de Gortari, 2017a; ...
Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) is a multimodal and holistic research approach for understanding the effects of playing video games on cognition, sensory perceptions and behaviors, considering the interplay of video game contents, in-game phenomena (e.g. immersion, trance state, embodiment), in-game activities, and the manipulation of hardware and peripherals. Research with over 6,000 gamers from different samples has demonstrated that playing video games can lead to at least temporarily seeing images, hearing music, sounds, voices, tactile sensations, involuntary movements of limbs, sensations of unreality, illogical thoughts, verbal outbursts, etc., with video game contents. This chapter encompasses an overview of the research on GTP conducted to date, including contributions to the video game research field and future research directions. The chapter is divided into three main sections: i) the phenomena comprises characteristics and the prevalence of GTP; ii) the gamer covers the underlying factors associated with GTP, appraisal and consequences of GTP, and iii) the game includes structural characteristics associated with GTP.
... There are also specific game-or play-related topics that have arisen in disconnected fields, such as the psychological effects of violent digital games (e.g. Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016) and griefplay (e.g. Coyne, Chesney, Logan, & Madden, 2009), and animal play in ethology (e.g. ...
Background. Taking Klabbers’ call for a coherent game science as a starting point, we argue for an alternative way to approach the multidisciplinarity of research into games.
Aim. Building on game studies and design research, this article reviews the history and forecasts the future of studying games.
Application. All scholars of games could benefit from an awareness of the works of other game scholars in different traditions. The plurality of approaches towards games is an intellectual strength, even if it is difficult for a single scholar to maintain a holistic grasp on research relating to ‘games’. The multitude not only describes the disciplinary traditions reflecting the wider phenomenon of games and play, but also games as creative practice.
Demonstration. While the article is theoretical in nature, we use real-world examples to illustrate and ground the argumentation. For example, a key challenge identified here is that the realm of games and their influence, the ludosphere, is expanding too rapidly for any single researcher to keep up with it.
Conclusions. We invite game scholars to cultivate a stronger awareness of the multitude of research into games to better position their own work in a larger context.
... Those with severe GTP (6.6%) (i.e. several types/ frequently) were found to be more likely to have a mental disorder, have used drugs or, having experienced distress/dysfunction (58%) due to their GTP experiences [1]. ...
Sensory and cognitive intrusions with videogame content have been reported in research on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP), and those with severe levels of GTP (i.e., frequently/several types) are more likely to have mental disorders, used drugs, and show distress/dysfunction. This paper aims to extend previous findings on 2,281 gamers and examine the prevalence of highly recurrent GTP (many times/all the time) and their relationship with psychopathological factors and demographics. Females have more highly recurrent visual/thought intrusions and males have more behaviours. High-incidence of visualising/seeing images with closed-eyes were significantly more likely to be associated with drugs, while visual distortions and unintentionally behave differently were less likely. Ten of 20 GTP types were associated with underlying psychopathological factors. Almost all highly recurrent GTP have caused distress/dysfunction. The similarities/differences between GTP and sensory and cognitive intrusions explained by use drugs and mental disorders should be understood to support those in need.
... In a 2015 study of 2,362 gamers, Ortiz de Gortari, now at the University of Liège in Belgium, and her coauthors reported that 97% of the gamers reported having experienced GTP (12). And in a study published in 2016, she and her colleagues found that people with severe GTP are more likely to have problematic or addictive gaming habits (13). ...
... In a sample of over 2000 gamers, playing habits, particularly (1) the length of the playing sessions (3 to 6 hours sessions), and (2) individual factors, such as having a preexisting medical condition and playing for immersion, exploration, customization, mechanics, and for escape from the real world, have been significantly associated with GTP (Ortiz de . Those with severe levels of GTP (i.e., experience GTP frequently and several types) were significantly more likely to (1) be students; (2) be aged 18-22 years; (3) have played video games every day in sessions of 6 hours or more; (4) have played to escape from the real world; (5) have a mental disorder, sleep disorder, or consider themselves as having dysfunctional gaming or gaming addiction; and (6) have experienced distress or dysfunction due to GTP (Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016). ...
The rewarding nature of video game playing can be observed through transfers in space, inducing not only temporary visual, auditory, or kinesthetic sensations while playing, but resulting in sensorial imprints that can suddenly occur after playing. In studies conducted with over 3500 participants, gamers have reported involuntary phenomena related to video game content that manifest as altered sensorial perceptions, spontaneous thoughts and actions, and are referred to as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). The aim of this chapter is to map in-game phenomena with transfer of game experiences with the purpose of stimulating future empirical work for theory testing. This was done by identifying four important factors in video game playing: (1) sensory perceptual stimulation, (2), high cognitive load, (3) dissociative states, and (4) high emotional engagement. Each factor is supported by relevant theory and research. The discussion is illustrated with GTP experiences extracted from gamers' self-reports.
... Most gamers have experienced GTP more than once (95 percent) (n = 2,236) (Ortiz de and most experience mild levels of GTP (Ortiz de Gortari, 2017a; Ortiz . Predictors of severity levels of GTP were positive appraisal, distress and dysfunction, and recall of dreams (Ortiz de Gortari, Oldfield, & Griffiths, 2016). Subscriber: OUP-Reference Gratis Access; date: 11 January 2019 ...
Video game playing is a popular activity and its enjoyment among frequent players has been associated with absorption and immersion experiences. This paper examines how immersion in the video game environment can influence the player during the game and afterwards (including fantasies, thoughts, and actions). This is what is described as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). GTP occurs when video game elements are associated with real life elements triggering subsequent thoughts, sensations and/or player actions. To investigate this further, a total of 42 frequent video game players aged between 15 and 21 years old were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that many players experienced GTP, where players appeared to integrate elements of video game playing into their real lives. These GTP were then classified as either intentional or automatic experiences. Results also showed that players used video games for interacting with others as a form of amusement, modeling or mimicking video game content, and daydreaming about video games. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how video games triggered intrusive thoughts, sensations, impulses, reflexes, visual illusions, and dissociations.
Introduction: research on game transfer phenomena (GTP) is focused on understanding the impact of video game features and experiences on sensory perception, thoughts, and behaviors rather than on excessive/uncontrollable playing regardless of negative consequences. However, studies have shown a relationship between GTP and gaming disorder, and there is a resemblance between some forms of GTP and the perceptual disturbances that result as side effects of hallucinogens. Video game players have reported experiencing sensory perception changes (e.g., perceptual distortions of objects or environments and visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations from games), intrusive thoughts, involuntary actions, and behaviors (e.g., the movement of fingers when interacting with game elements or a keyboard) . Objective: first, to adapt and validate the Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS) in Spanish with a Mexican sample. Second, to examine the adequacy of the frequency rating scale used in the GTPS. Method: cross-sectional survey with 607 players; most were males between 18 and 27 years old. Results: the higher-order factor model showed acceptable results. The prevalence of GTP was 96%. The number of game genres played and session length was correlated with all GTPS subscales, confirming the criterion validity. The examination of the frequency rating scale via the item response theory showed that selecting the second level of the scale “once” should be treated with caution. Discussion and conclusions: confirmatory factor analysis showed that the GTPS adapted into Spanish and tested in the Mexican sample was valid and reliable. Experiencing GTP more than once may be more meaningful for establishing the prevalence of GTP.
Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) refers to a cluster of involuntary phenomena related to playing videogames, including sensory and cognitive intrusions, transient changes in perception and self-agency. The Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS) has been used to measure the frequency of GTP with respect to five factors. The present study aimed to validate an instrument for assessing the multiple dimensions of GTP (GTP-MDS) that helps clarify the distinction between GTP experiences. GTP were contextualized onto the spectrum of intrusive cognitions, perceptual distortions, and dissociations. The relationship between GTP, involuntary phenomena without game content (INVWG) in terms of, e.g., hallucinations and perceptual distortions, and game-biased perceptions (GBPA), as well as the positive and negative impact of GTP and level of distress were also examined. The data were collected using a survey ( N = 1,301, male 83.4%, mean age = 28.14). Separate confirmatory factor analyses of the dimensions of “inner intrusions/misperceptions,” “outer intrusions/distortions,” and “dissociations/mix-ups” produced acceptable fit indices. The findings show that phenomena manifesting as internal experiences are more common, while those manifesting as externalized intrusions are less common. Correlations between the GTP dimensions, INVWG, and GBPA, such as the insertion of game elements in thoughts, perceptions, and dreams, supported convergent validity. The correlations between the GTP dimensions and hours played supported criterion validity. Distress was correlated with outer intrusions and dissociations/mix-ups, but not with inner intrusions. Taken together, these results support the validity and reliability of the proposed assessment of GTP constructs.
This study aims to investigate whether Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and bodily dissociation vary depending on the most frequently used game genre. Seven hundred and fifteen highly engaged online players (71.5% men; mean age 29.75 ± 7.48 years) recruited in player communities completed a survey that assessed game genre, bodily dissociative experiences, and IGD. The results showed significantly higher levels of IGD among multi-player on-line battle arenas (MOBA) and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) players relative to first person shooters (FPS) game players, whilst MOBA players report significantly higher bodily dissociative experiences compared to MORPG and FPS. However, we found that differences on body dissociation disappear at high levels of IGD, with problematic players showing high body disconnection, regardless of the type of game most frequently used. This suggests that high engagement in online games has the potential to disconnect a player from his body, regardless of the type of game used.
This chapter explores sensory perceptions, cognitive mix-ups and slips of actions associated with augmented reality (AR) technologies, such as in location-based AR games. The research on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) has demonstrated that playing video games in AR and non-AR can induce sensory perceptions, manifesting as seeing images overlaying physical objects (e.g., seeing power bars above people’s heads or maps in the corner of the eye), hearing sounds coming from game-related objects, and perceiving physical objects as distorted or having misperceptions (e.g., confusing birds with aeroplanes). The aim of this chapter is twofold. The first is to provide an overview of the GTP research conducted on location-based AR games. The second is to highlight the peculiarities of GTP in AR games. While a broad variety of the GTP reported in non-AR games has also been found in location-based AR games, the key characteristic of these games is that the gameplay occurs through interactions in the physical context. The physical context is part of the game by means of (i) the overlaying of game images on the physical context and (ii) the game being played through interactions in the physical context. The key peculiarities of GTP in these games are (i) the temporal manifestation of GTP while/after playing, (ii) the two-way transfer of effects from the virtual to the physical and vice versa, (iii) the increased chances of the occurrence of certain forms of GTP (e.g., the urge to do something related to the game, misperceptions of physical stimuli, tactile sensations) including cognitive mix-ups and slips of actions when confusing virtual objects with real objects and (iv) the GTP triggered by the outputs from a multipurpose device.
Research on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) has demonstrated that playing video games can lead to re-experiencing images, sounds, tactile sensations, spontaneous thoughts and actions, sometimes triggered by physical objects/events associated with the game. Location-based augmented reality games posit interesting questions regarding GTP, particularly because they use physical locations, they overlay digital images in physical contexts and the gameplay shifts between the virtual and the physical world. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of GTP and the role of immersion, augmented reality and sound in a sample of English- (EnS) and Spanish- (SpS) speaking gamers of the game Pokémon Go (PoGo). A total of 1,313 gamers (Mage = 31.47) were recruited online. GTP was less common than in previous studies; however, 82.4% had experienced GTP at least once. The SpS showed higher prevalence of GTP and played more intensively. Automatic mental processes predominated in the EnS, while behaviours and actions were more common in the SpS. The absence or presence of video game features seems important for the way GTP manifests. For instance, tactile hallucinations were more prevalent, while sensations of self-motion were less reported. Playing with Augmented Reality (AR) and sounds showed significant correlations with various GTP types, but not with re-experiencing images from the game. More gamers who reported the sensation that Pokémon were physically present or looked for Pokémons outside the screen while playing, as connotations of immersion, had experienced GTP. Experiencing GTP while playing may be more common in location-based augmented reality games, compared to other games.
The video game Pokémon Go (PG), places images of virtual creatures in the physical world through augmented reality. Research on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) has demonstrated that playing video games can lead to seeing images, hearing sounds, tactile sensations, automatic thoughts and behaviours after playing. The aim of the study was to investigate i) the prevalence of GTP, and ii) the relation of GTP with benefits/risks, immersion and motivations in PG. Totally 1,085 PG gamers (18 to 87; M=32.55, SD=10.34) were recruited online. More than half were female, and most were frequent gamers. Most (80.9%) had experienced GTP with PG at least once, particularly thoughts (63.4%) and visuals (50.3%). Those who had experienced GTP with PG had also experienced GTP with other video games, and endorsed smartphone addiction items. Some GTP types were more common in PG than in other video games, e.g., tactile sensations but not body sensations of movement. GTP was significantly associated with: i) positive consequences (e.g., less anxious to go outside, less negative thoughts, seeing the world as a nicer place), ii) negative consequences (e.g., neglect responsibilities), iii) immersion (e.g., lose track of time, feeling Pokémon as real, search outside the screen), and iv) motivations not related to socialization. Dreams about PG and the risk of mobile addiction are predictors of GTP. The findings suggest that GTP is highly prevalent across platforms (e.g., console games), but some types of GTP may be more common per platform/genre/title. Video game structural characteristics appear to be crucial for GTP to manifest, but also the individual’s engagement and immersion in the game, and the susceptibility to GTP.
Studies on Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) have demonstrated that experiencing altered sensorial perceptions, automatic thoughts and behaviours after playing video games are relatively common phenomena. The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to validate the Turkish version of the GTP scale (GTPS), and (ii) to examine the prevalence and the relation between the various dimensions of GTP (e.g., visual perceptions, thoughts, behaviours) and video game players’ individual characteristics (e.g., demographics, gaming habits). A total of 954 frequent players were recruited online. Independently of the different samples used in the original validation of the GTPS and the current study, the findings obtained via confirmatory factor analysis showed that the GTPS-Turkish is reliable and valid and proved to be adequate for measuring GTP. A total of 99% of the players in the sample had experienced some type of GTP. Moreover, the correlational, univariate and multivariate analyses showed associations between various video game player characteristics and GTP. The most remarkable finding was that the prevalence of GTP was higher among minors than adults.
Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine (ARCTT) ISSN: 1554-8716 is published annually by the Interactive Media Institute (IMI), a 501c3 non-profit organisation, dedicated to the collaboration of interdisciplinary researchers from around the world to create, test and develop clinical tools and protocols for the medical and psychological community. IMI realizes that the mind and body work in concert to affect quality of life in individuals and works to develop technology that can be effectively used to improve the standards and reduce the cost of healthcare delivery worldwide.
Important challenges confronting DOD/military and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care are that of maintaining or increasing the quality of care and increasing the effectiveness of treatments for warriors diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) secondary to their combat deployments to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Virtual Reality Graded Exposure Therapy with Arousal Control (VR-GET) has demonstrated a positive treatment effectiveness resulting in significant reductions of PTSD symptom severity. In this report, we describe the outcome of VR-GET for the treatment of combat-related PTSD, in a warrior who experienced no treatment for his PTSD for the 10 years following his return from combat duty.
Allocentric Lock Theory (ALT) suggests that body image disturbance in anorexia nervosa may be caused by deficits in spatial reference frames processing. The general aim of this study was to investigate the presence of deficits in the egocentric and allocentric reference frame processing in patients suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN). We adopted a well-validated virtual reality-based procedure in sample composed by 12 AN patients and 12 healthy controls. The AN patients showed deficits in the spatial ability to recover and update a long term stored representation with perceptual-driven inputs. Our findings suggest the existence of impairments in the processing of spatial reference frames in anorexia nervosa that could be related to a distorted body representation. Furthermore, it is possible to argue that the assumption of a not updated allocentric state in the interpretation of interpersonal experience is in relation to the rigid, extreme and unvarying way of construing Self and others heightened in anorexia nervosa within a personal construct psychology perspective. This kind of exploration may be conducted by using repertory grids.
Unwanted visual intrusions are characteristic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). One innovative intervention for inhibiting unwanted intrusions is playing the Tetris videogame, described as a “cognitive vaccine” in preventing intrusions after traumatic events (Holmes et al., 2009). Playing Tetris consumes heavy visuospatial working memory resources that potentially compete with cognitive resources required for elaboration of visual imagery. Since Holmes et al.'s (2009) study, other studies have used Tetris to inhibit intrusive imagery (Holmes et al., 2010; Skorka-Brown et al., 2014, 2015; James et al., 2015a,b). However, these have not assessed the role of videogame content after playing in relation to Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2014a,b,c, 2015a,b).
GTP research has investigated non-volitional experiences (e.g., altered sensorial perceptions and automatic mental processes/behaviors) mostly experienced after gaming. Gamers often report sensorial (visual/auditory) intrusions after playing (e.g., visual and auditory imagery, hallucinations) (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2011; Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2014a,b). In a survey of 2362 gamers, most (77%) had visualized images from a variety of videogames (including tile-puzzle games) with closed-eyes, and one-third (31%) had visualized images with open-eyes (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, 2015b). Other studies have experimentally induced videogame-related visualizations at sleep onset (Stickgold et al., 2000; Wamsley et al., 2010; Kusse et al., 2012).
James et al. (2015a,b) study was the first to make explicit reference to GTP (referred to as the “Tetris effect” [TE]). Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths (2012) argued the TE term is misleading as it suggests repetition is the core of transfer effects. However, other factors are involved. Research concerning GTP makes the distinction between sensorial modalities facilitating the assessment of non-volitional phenomena with videogame content that occur along the continuum from mild to severe (Ortiz de Gortari and Griffiths, under review). Moreover, the descriptive constructs of GTP are empirically based on analysis of 3500 + gamers and have been examined via confirmatory factor analysis demonstrating good reliability and validity (Ortiz de Gortari et al., 2015).
James et al. (2015a,b) tested if playing Tetris offered a protective mechanism against re-experiencing traumatic events. Healthy participants (n = 56) were randomly assigned to either playing Tetris for 11 min, or doing nothing before exposure to a 12-min traumatic film. Image-base memories about the film were then registered in a 1-week dairy. However, playing Tetris as a proactive interference task before watching the film did not show significant results. James and colleagues offered different explanations including: (i) duration of the task in relation to film length, (ii) temporal contingencies between the tasks, (iii) differences between the task types, (iv) videogame types used, and (v) reactivation of gameplay during the film for aided interference. These explanations are discussed in relation to GTP literature.
A variety of instruments have been developed to assess different dimensions of playing videogames and its effects on cognitions, affect, and behaviors. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS) that assesses non-volitional phenomena experienced after playing videogames (i.e., altered perceptions, automatic mental processes, and involuntary behaviors). A total of 1,736 gamers participated in an online survey used as the basis for the analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to confirm the factorial structure of the GTPS. The five-factor structure using the 20 indicators based on the analysis of gamers’ self-reports fitted the data well. Population cross-validity was also achieved and the positive associations between the session length and overall scores indicate the GTPS warranted criterion-related validity. Although the understanding of GTP is still in its infancy, the GTPS appears to be a valid and reliable
instrument for assessing non-volitional gaming-related phenomena. The GTPS can be used for understanding the phenomenology of post-effects of playing videogames. It can also be used in conjunction with diagnostic criteria for measuring problematic gaming and gaming addiction.
Background
The rapid expansion of online video gaming as a leisure time activity has led to the appearance of problematic online gaming (POG). According to the literature, POG is associated with different psychiatric symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) and with specific gaming motives (ie, escape, achievement). Based on studies of alcohol use that suggest a mediator role of drinking motives between distal influences (eg, trauma symptoms) and drinking problems, this study examined the assumption that there is an indirect link between psychiatric distress and POG via the mediation of gaming motives. Furthermore, it was also assumed that there was a moderator effect of gender and game type preference based on the important role gender plays in POG and the structural differences between different game types.
Objective
This study had two aims. The first aim was to test the mediating role of online gaming motives between psychiatric symptoms and problematic use of online games. The second aim was to test the moderator effect of gender and game type preference in this mediation model.
Methods
An online survey was conducted on a sample of online gamers (N=3186; age: mean 21.1, SD 5.9 years; male: 2859/3186, 89.74%). The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) were administered to assess general psychiatric distress, online gaming motives, and problematic online game use, respectively. Structural regression analyses within structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed mediation models and multigroup analyses were used to test gender and game type differences to determine possible moderating effects.
ResultsThe mediation models fitted the data adequately. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI indicated that the level of psychiatric distress had a significant positive direct effect (standardized effect=.35, P
Background: The rapid expansion of online video gaming as a leisure time activity has led to the appearance of problematic online gaming (POG). According to the literature, POG is associated with different psychiatric symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) and with specific gaming motives (ie, escape, achievement). Based on studies of alcohol use that suggest a mediator role of drinking motives between distal influences (eg, trauma symptoms) and drinking problems, this study examined the assumption that there is an indirect link between psychiatric distress and POG via the mediation of gaming motives. Furthermore, it was also assumed that there was a moderator effect of gender and game type preference based on the important role gender plays in POG and the structural differences between different game types. Objective: This study had two aims. The first aim was to test the mediating role of online gaming motives between psychiatric symptoms and problematic use of online games. The second aim was to test the moderator effect of gender and game type preference in this mediation model. Methods: An online survey was conducted on a sample of online gamers (N=3186; age: mean 21.1, SD 5.9 years; male: 2859/3186, 89.74%). The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) were administered to assess general psychiatric distress, online gaming motives, and problematic online game use, respectively. Structural regression analyses within structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed mediation models and multigroup analyses were used to test gender and game type differences to determine possible moderating effects. Results: The mediation models fitted the data adequately. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI indicated that the level of psychiatric distress had a significant positive direct effect (standardized effect=.35, P<.001) and a significant indirect (mediating) effect on POG (standardized effect=.194, P<.001) via 2 gaming motives: escape (standardized effect=.139, P<.001) and competition (standardized effect=.046, P<.001). The comparison of the 2 main gamer types showed no significant differences in the model. However, when comparing male and female players it was found that women had (1) slightly higher escape scores (on a 5-point Likert scale: mean 2.28, SD 1.14) than men (mean 1.87, SD 0.97) and (2) a stronger association between the escape motive and problematic online gaming (standardized effect size=.64, P<.001) than men (standardized effect size=.20, P=.001). Conclusions: The results suggest that psychiatric distress is both directly and indirectly (via escape and competition motives) negatively associated with POG. Therefore, the exploration of psychiatric symptoms and gaming motives of POG can be helpful in the preparation of prevention and treatment programs.
This paper describes the phenomenon of game-biased perceptions and associations, or how, through intensive game play, elements from the game world can trigger thoughts and imagery outside the game world, influencing the perception and interpretation of stimuli in everyday life. Examples include the insertion of game elements in thoughts, perceptions and dreams, the use of specific vocabulary or slang – typical to the game world – in everyday conversations, and the association of real-life objects with game elements. Results from an online survey with habitual players of World of Warcraft confirm the existence of this phenomenon and show that the occurrence of these game-biased perceptions and associations is reinforced by increasing playing time and narrative involvement.
Longitudinal studies investigating the relationship of aggression and violent video games are still scarce. Most of the previous studies focused on children or younger adolescents and relied on convenience samples. This paper presents data from a 1-year longitudinal study of N = 276 video game players aged 14 to 21 drawn from a representative sample of German gamers. We tested both whether the use of violent games predicts physical aggression (i.e., the socialization hypothesis) and whether physical aggression predicts the subsequent use of violent games (i.e., the selection hypothesis). The results support the selection hypotheses for the group of adolescents aged 14 to 17. For the group of young adults (18–21), we found no evidence for both the socialization and the selection hypothesis. Our findings suggest that the use of violent video games is not a substantial predictor of physical aggression, at least in the later phases of adolescence and early adulthood. The differences we found between the age groups show that age plays an important role in the relationship of aggression and violent video games and that research in this area can benefit from a more individualistic perspective that takes into account both intraindividual developmental change and interindividual differences between players.
Background
Over the last decade, there has been growing concern about ‘gaming addiction’ and its widely documented detrimental impacts on a minority of individuals that play excessively. The latest (fifth) edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included nine criteria for the potential diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and noted that it was a condition that warranted further empirical study. Aim: The main aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable standardised psychometrically robust tool in addition to providing empirically supported cut-off points.
Methods
A sample of 1003 gamers (85.2% males; mean age 26 years) from 57 different countries were recruited via online gaming forums. Validity was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), criterion-related validity, and concurrent validity. Latent profile analysis was also carried to distinguish disordered gamers from non-disordered gamers. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to determine an empirical cut-off for the test.
Results
The CFA confirmed the viability of IGD-20 Test with a six-factor structure (salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse) for the assessment of IGD according to the nine criteria from DSM-5. The IGD-20 Test proved to be valid and reliable. According to the latent profile analysis, 5.3% of the total participants were classed as disordered gamers. Additionally, an optimal empirical cut-off of 71 points (out of 100) seemed to be adequate according to the sensitivity and specificity analyses carried.
Conclusions
The present findings support the viability of the IGD-20 Test as an adequate standardised psychometrically robust tool for assessing internet gaming disorder. Consequently, the new instrument represents the first step towards unification and consensus in the field of gaming studies.
This study investigated gamers' auditory experiences as after effects of playing. This was done by classifying, quantifying, and analysing 192 experiences from 155 gamers collected from online videogame forums. The gamers' experiences were classified as: (i) involuntary auditory imagery (e.g., hearing the music, sounds or voices from the game), (ii) inner speech (e.g., completing phrases in the mind), (iii) auditory misperceptions (e.g., confusing real life sounds with videogame sounds), and (iv) multisensorial auditory experiences (e.g., hearing music while involuntary moving the fingers). Gamers heard auditory cues from the game in their heads, in their ears, but also coming from external sources. Occasionally, the vividness of the sound evoked thoughts and emotions that resulted in behaviours and copying strategies. The psychosocial implications of the gamers' auditory experiences are discussed. This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of auditory features in videogames, and to the phenomenology of non-volitional auditory experiences.
Evidence surrounding the attraction to media violence is mixed and the effects of violent video game play on players varies across experimental participants. Differences in both may be explained by differences in experienced positive or negative arousal. This study utilizes the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) and the motivation activation measure (MAM), which measures resting activation of the appetitive and aversive arousal systems, to explore the relationship between attraction to media violence, arousal, and aggression. In part 1, a questionnaire found that men and frequent players of violent games expected to enjoy violent games more than nonviolent games. In addition, participants whose scores on the MAM characterized them as risk takers (high scores on appetitive arousal and low scores on aversive arousal) indicated a stronger preference for violent games compared to the other three arousal types, which is in line with the LC4MP. In the experimental portion of the research, after playing a violent game, those participants characterized as risk avoidant (high on aversive arousal and low on appetitive arousal) were significantly less aggressive than all other arousal groups. Overall, results show that individual differences in the appetitive and aversive arousal systems can explain attraction to violent media. Furthermore, arousal resulting from violent video game play can be experienced as pleasant or aversive, and it is this experience of arousal that explains variations in aggressive responses to violent video games.
Aims:
The current study explored the nature of problematic (addictive) video gaming (PVG) and the association with game type, psychosocial health, and substance use.
Methods:
Data were collected using a paper and pencil survey in the classroom setting. Three samples were aggregated to achieve a total sample of 8478 unique adolescents. Scales included measures of game use, game type, the Video game Addiction Test (VAT), depressive mood, negative self-esteem, loneliness, social anxiety, education performance, and use of cannabis, alcohol and nicotine (smoking).
Results:
Findings confirmed problematic gaming is most common amongst adolescent gamers who play multiplayer online games. Boys (60%) were more likely to play online games than girls (14%) and problematic gamers were more likely to be boys (5%) than girls (1%). High problematic gamers showed higher scores on depressive mood, loneliness, social anxiety, negative self-esteem, and self-reported lower school performance. Nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis using boys were almost twice more likely to report high PVG than non-users.
Conclusions:
It appears that online gaming in general is not necessarily associated with problems. However, problematic gamers do seem to play online games more often, and a small subgroup of gamers - specifically boys - showed lower psychosocial functioning and lower grades. Moreover, associations with alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use are found. It would appear that problematic gaming is an undesirable problem for a small subgroup of gamers. The findings encourage further exploration of the role of psychoactive substance use in problematic gaming.
Previous studies have demonstrated that the playing of videogames can have both intended and unintended effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of videogames on players’ mental processes and behaviours in day-to-day settings. A total of 1,022 self-reports from 762 gamers collected from online videogame forums were classified, quantified, described and explained. The data include automatic thoughts, sensations and impulses, automatic mental replays of the game in real life, and voluntary/involuntary behaviours with videogame content. Many gamers reported that they had responded–at least sometimes–to real life stimuli as if they were still playing videogames. This included overreactions, avoidances, and involuntary movements of limbs. These experiences lasted relatively short periods of time and some gamers experienced them recurrently. The gamers’ experiences appeared to be enhanced by virtual embodiment, repetitive manipulation of game controls, and their gaming habits. However, similar phenomena may also occur when doing other non-gaming activities. The implications of these game transfer experiences are discussed.
Dreaming is still poorly understood. Notably, its cerebral underpinning remains unclear. Neuropsychological studies have shown that lesions in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and/or the white matter of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) lead to the global cessation of dream reports, suggesting that these regions of the default mode network have key roles in the dreaming process (forebrain 'dream-on' hypothesis). To test this hypothesis, we measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using [(15)O]H2O positron emission tomography in healthy subjects with high and low dream recall frequencies (DRFs) during wakefulness (rest) and sleep (rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, N2, and N3). Compared with Low recallers (0.5±0.3 dream recall per week in average), High recallers (5.2±1.4) showed higher rCBF in the TPJ during REM sleep, N3, and wakefulness, and in the MPFC during REM sleep and wakefulness. We demonstrate that the resting states of High recallers and Low recallers differ during sleep and wakefulness. It coheres with previous ERP results and confirms that a high/low DRF is associated with a specific functional organization of the brain. These results support the forebrain 'dream-on' hypothesis and suggest that TPJ and MPFC are not only involved in dream recall during wakefulness but also have a role in dreaming during sleep (production and/or encoding). Increased activity in the TPJ and MPFC might promote the mental imagery and/or memory encoding of dreams. Notably, increased activity in TPJ might facilitate attention orienting toward external stimuli and promote intrasleep wakefulness, facilitating the encoding of the dreams in memory.Neuropsychopharmacology advance online publication, 19 February 2014; doi:10.1038/npp.2014.6.
We describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms." In Study 1, participants first filled out a survey summarizing their earworm experiences retrospectively. This was followed by a diary study to document each experience as it happened. Study 2 was an extension of the diary study with a larger sample and a focus on triggering events. Consistent with popular belief, these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music. Contrary to popular belief, the large majority of such experiences were not unpleasant. Verbal earworms were uncommon. These memory experiences provide an interesting example of extended memory retrieval for music in a naturalistic situation.
This study investigated whether the use of a television, computer, gaming console, tablet, mobile phone, or audio player in bed before going to sleep was associated with insomnia, daytime sleepiness, morningness, or chronotype. 532 students aged 18-39 were recruited from lectures or via e-mail. Respondents reported the frequency and average duration of their in-bed media use, as well as insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness, morningness-eveningness preference and bedtime/rise time on days off. Mean time of media use per night was 46.6 minutes. The results showed that computer usage for playing/surfing/reading was positively associated with insomnia, and negatively associated with morningness. Mobile phone usage for playing/surfing/texting was positively associated with insomnia and chronotype, and negatively associated with morningness. None of the other media devices were related to either of these variables, and no type of media use was related to daytime sleepiness.
The aim of this study was to identify, classify, and explain gamers’ perceptual experiences referred to as Visual Game Transfer Phenomena (VGTP), to contribute to the understanding of the effects of post-video game playing, and encourage healthy and safe gaming. A total of 656 experiences from 483 gamers were collected from 54 online gaming forums. The findings suggest that intensive playing can result in misperceptions and visual distortions of real life objects and environments, stereotypical visual experiences that arise from mind visualization, and pseudo-hallucinatory experiences with video game content. Gamers' experiences can be explained by the interplay of physiological, perceptual, and cognitive mechanisms. Observation of video game features suggests that in most cases a relationship between the games’ structural characteristics, gamers’ VGTP experiences, and gamers’ playing habits appeared relevant. VGTP can occur while gaming, immediately after stopping play, or after some delay. Further VGTP characteristics and their psychosocial implications are discussed.
Experimental studies show that violent video games cause people to behave more aggressively, but how long does the effect last? In most experiments, aggression is measured immediately after gameplay. The present experiment is the first to test the long-term causal effects of violent video games on aggression. By the flip of a coin, participants played a violent or nonviolent game for 20 min. Within each group, half ruminated about the game. The next day, participants competed with an ostensible opponent on a competitive task in which the winner could punish the loser with painful noise blasts through headphones. Results showed that violent video games increased aggression 24 hr later, but only among men who ruminated about the game. Rumination keeps aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavioral tendencies active. If players ruminate about the violence in a game, the aggression-stimulating effects of the game persist long after it has been turned off.
People experience different levels of presence (e.g. and ), and different levels of cybersickness (Sharples, Cobb, Moody, & Wilson, 2008) even though they are immersed in the same virtual environment setting. In the current study, we raised the question how differences in individual characteristics might relate to differences in sensed presence for a virtual environment related to public speaking. The individual characteristics included in the experiment were related to visual abilities, personality traits, cognitive styles, and demographic factors. We recruited 88 participants, who were first immersed in a non-stereoscopic neutral environment, and then in a public speaking world: once with stereoscopic rendering and once without stereoscopic rendering, in a counter-balanced order. The results showed that immersive tendency and monocular visual ability were significantly correlated with presence and these correlations were consistent among the three virtual environments. Immersive tendencies and its subscale “involvement” were also found to be significantly correlated with cybersickness in all three worlds. Screening people on these variables may help to recognize the users who are more likely to benefit from virtual reality applications and may help to reduce the number of dropouts during virtual reality exposure therapy.
The study of Game Transfer Phenomena is in its infancy. GTP have beenconceptualized as a new area of research into video games’ effects.Research into GTP attempts to understand how video game experiencesare transferred to the real world and the consequential psychosocial,cognitive and physiological effects by exploring players’ mental processes, sensory perceptions, and behaviours. This chapter introducesand overviews Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) studies and examineshow the GTP may contribute to the understanding of the mostundiscovered places of the human mind. A number of key question areanswer in this chapter.. What are GTP? What types of GTP have beenidentified and how do GTP seem to work? What games have beenassociated with GTP? What benefits and potential venues do the GTPstudies offer? The authors’ conclusions and hypotheses to explain GTPexperiences are supported by a review of literature, and by examples of video game players’ experiences. The transfer of video game experiencesinto the real world have been clearly identified in players’ experiencescollected in GTP studies to date.
Video-game play offers the opportunity to investigate the continuity hypothesis. Using interactive video games rather than passive films as a controlled manipulation allows for an engaging presleep experience. Several researchers have successfully used video games to investigate dream incorporation. In this study, interactivity and fidelity were the independent measures that manipulated immersion in a commercially available video game. Interactivity was either passive or active, whereas fidelity was high-screen resolution and stereophonic headset audio versus low. The highest dream incorporation in the high-fidelity–high-interactivity condition was expected. Incorporation was assessed by participant self-report and judges' evaluations. The independent variable of fidelity was especially strong in both the manipulation and the subsequent dream incorporation for self-report. Interactivity became the dominant variable when viewed from the judges' perspectives. The effects of demand characteristics and emotionality were also considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Abstract Recently, there have been growing concerns about excessive online gaming. Playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) appears to be particularly problematic, because these games require a high degree of commitment and time investment from the players to the detriment of occupational, social, and other recreational activities and relations. A number of gaming motives have been linked to excessive online gaming in adolescents and young adults. We assessed 175 current MMORPG players and 90 nonplayers using a Web-based questionnaire regarding their gaming behavior, problems as consequences of gaming, and game motivations and tested their statistical associations. Results indicated that (a) MMORPG players are significantly more likely to experience gaming-related problems relative to nonplayers, and that (b) the gaming motivations escapism and mechanics significantly predicted excessive gaming and appeared as stronger predictors than time investment in game. The findings support the necessity of using measures that distinguish between different types of online games. In addition, this study proves useful regarding the current discussion on establishing (online) gaming addiction as a diagnosis in future categorizations of psychopathology.
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the impact of violent computer games on state hostility, state anxiety and arousal. Participants were undergraduate students, aged from 18 to 25 years. Before the experimental sessions, participants filled in self-report measures concerning their video game habits and were also pre-tested for aggressiveness and trait anxiety. Physiological responses (heart rate and skin conductance) were measured during the experiment. After playing, information about state hostility and state anxiety was collected. The results showed that participants who played the violent game reported significantly higher state hostility, and support the assumption that an aggressive personality moderates the effect of playing a violent game on state hostility. Aggr. Behav. 32:146–158. 2006 © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The activity of play has been ever present in human history and the Internet has emerged as a playground increasingly populated
by gamers. Research suggests that a minority of Internet game players experience symptoms traditionally associated with substance-related
addictions, including mood modification, tolerance and salience. Because the current scientific knowledge of Internet gaming
addiction is copious in scope and appears relatively complex, this literature review attempts to reduce this confusion by
providing an innovative framework by which all the studies to date can be categorized. A total of 58 empirical studies were
included in this literature review. Using the current empirical knowledge, it is argued that Internet gaming addiction follows
a continuum, with antecedents in etiology and risk factors, through to the development of a “full-blown” addiction, followed
by ramifications in terms of negative consequences and potential treatment. The results are evaluated in light of the emergent
discrepancies in findings, and the consequent implications for future research.
KeywordsInternet gaming addiction–Video games–Excessive play–Etiology–Pathology–Consequences
Violent video games are increasingly popular, raising concerns by parents, researchers, policy makers, and informed citizens about potential harmful effects. Chapter 1 describes the history of violent games and their explosive growth. Chapter 2 discusses research methodologies, how one establishes causality in science, and prior research on violent television, film, and video games. Chapter 3 presents the General Aggression Model, focusing on how media violence increases aggression and violence in both short and long-term contexts. Important scientific questions are answered by three new studies. Chapter 4 reports findings from a laboratory experiment: even children's games with cartoonish violence increased aggression in children and college students. Chapter 5 reports findings from a survey study of high school students: frequent violent game play leads to an angry and hostile personality and to frequent aggression and violence. Chapter 6 reports findings from the first longitudinal study video game effects: elementary school children who frequently played violent games early in the school year became more verbally and physically aggressive, and less helpful. Chapters 7 and 8 compare a host of risk factors for development of aggression, and find video game effects to be quite important. Chapter 9 describes the role of scientific findings in public policy, industry responses to scientific findings, and public policy options. Chapter 10 recommends that public policy debates acknowledge the harmful effects of violent video games on youth, and urges a more productive debate about whether and how modern societies should act.
This study assessed how problem video game playing (PVP) varies with game type, or "genre," among adult video gamers. Participants (n=3,380) were adults (18+) who reported playing video games for 1 hour or more during the past week and completed a nationally representative online survey. The survey asked about characteristics of video game use, including titles played in the past year and patterns of (problematic) use. Participants self-reported the extent to which characteristics of PVP (e.g., playing longer than intended) described their game play. Five percent of our sample reported moderate to extreme problems. PVP was concentrated among persons who reported playing first-person shooter, action adventure, role-playing, and gambling games most during the past year. The identification of a subset of game types most associated with problem use suggests new directions for research into the specific design elements and reward mechanics of "addictive" video games and those populations at greatest risk of PVP with the ultimate goal of better understanding, preventing, and treating this contemporary mental health problem.
To investigate co-occurrence and shared personality characteristics of problematic computer gaming, problematic gambling and substance use.
Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 2,553 German students aged 12-25 years. Self-report measures of substance use (alcohol, tobacco and cannabis), problematic gambling (South Oaks Gambling Screen - Revised for Adolescents, SOGS-RA), problematic computer gaming (Video Game Dependency Scale, KFN-CSAS-II), and of twelve different personality characteristics were obtained.
Analyses revealed positive correlations between tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use and a smaller positive correlation between problematic gambling and problematic computer gaming. Problematic computer gaming co-occurred only with cannabis use, whereas problematic gambling was associated with all three types of substance use. Multivariate multilevel analyses showed differential patterns of personality characteristics. High impulsivity was the only personality characteristic associated with all five addictive behaviours. Depression and extraversion were specific to substance users. Four personality characteristics were specifically associated with problematic computer gaming: irritability/aggression, social anxiety, ADHD, and low self-esteem.
Problematic gamblers seem to be more similar to substance users than problematic computer gamers. From a personality perspective, results correspond to the inclusion of gambling in the same DSM-V category as substance use and question a one-to-one proceeding for computer gaming.
We investigated the emotional response patterns and sense of presence elicited by video games with different characteristics (i.e., Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, Monkey Bowling 2, and James Bond 007: NightFire) among 37 undergraduates. We also examined the moderating influence of the sensation seeking and self-forgetfulness traits on the responses. Participants self-reported their emotional responses, defined in terms of joy, pleasant relaxation, anger, fear, and depressed feeling, and sense of presence. The results showed that games with different characteristics elicit differential emotional response patterns, and the engagement elicited by the games varies as a function of the Sensation Seeking trait of the player. Measuring emotional response patterns may have practical implications for game design, given that they give information on the game characteristics that maximize entertainment and pleasure, and may potentially be used in pre-testing different versions of the games.
Mental health professionals, policy makers and the general public continue to debate the issue of pathological video gaming. Scholars disagree on the prevalence and diagnostic criteria for this potential new disorder. The current meta-analysis considers existing scholarship to examine how differing measurement methods influence prevalence rates and associations with other mental health problems.
Thirty three published studies and doctoral dissertations were analyzed in meta-analysis. Prevalence rates and comorbidity with other mental health problems were examined according to measurement method.
Prevalence estimates and comorbidity with other problems varied widely between studies. Measurement which attempted to replicate "pathological gambling" approaches produced higher prevalence estimates and lower comorbidity estimates than methods which focused on the interfering nature of pathological gaming. The most precise measures produce an overall prevalence rate of 3.1%.
Diagnostic analogies with pathological gambling may produce spuriously high prevalence estimates, potentially over identifying non-pathological players as pathological. Diagnostic approaches focused on the interfering nature on other life needs and responsibilities may have greater validity and utility.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are a very popular and enjoyable leisure activity, and there is a lack of international validated instruments to assess excessive gaming. With the growing number of gamers worldwide, adverse effects (isolation, hospitalizations, excessive use, etc.) are observed in a minority of gamers, which is a concern for society and for the scientific community. In the present study, we focused on screening gamers at potential risk of MMORPG addiction.
In this exploratory study, we focused on characteristics, online habits and problematic overuse in adult MMORPG gamers. In addition to socio-demographical data and gamer behavioral patterns, 3 different instruments for screening addiction were used in French MMORPG gamers recruited online over 10 consecutive months: the substance dependence criteria for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, fourth revised edition (DSM-IV-TR) that has been adapted for MMORPG (DAS), the qualitative Goldberg Internet Addiction Disorder scale (GIAD) and the quantitative Orman Internet Stress Scale (ISS). For all scales, a score above a specific threshold defined positivity.
The 448 participating adult gamers were mainly young adult university graduates living alone in urban areas. Participants showed high rates of both Internet addiction (44.2% for GIAD, 32.6% for ISS) and DAS positivity (27.5%). Compared to the DAS negative group, DAS positive gamers reported significantly higher rates of tolerance phenomenon (increased amount of time in online gaming to obtain the desired effect) and declared significantly more social, financial (OR: 4.85), marital (OR: 4.61), family (OR: 4.69) and/or professional difficulties (OR: 4.42) since they started online gaming. Furthermore, these gamers self-reported significantly higher rates (3 times more) of irritability, daytime sleepiness, sleep deprivation due to play, low mood and emotional changes since online gaming onset.
The DAS appeared to be a good first-line instrument to screen MMORPG addiction in online gamers. This study found high MMORPG addiction rates, and self-reported adverse symptoms in important aspects of life, including mood and sleep. This confirms the need to set up relevant prevention programs against online game overuse.
Eight high-potency heavy cannabis smokers who fulfilled DSM-IV-TR criteria for cannabis dependence sought treatment for outpatient detoxification. During routine psychiatric interview they reported the presence of visual disturbances when intoxicated and no prior history of LSD use. They all communicated the persistence of visual disturbances after ceasing cannabis use. Seven categories of visual disturbances were described when staring at stationary and moving objects: visual distortions, distorted perception of distance, illusions of movement of stationary and moving objects, color intensification of objects,dimmed color, dimensional distortion and blending of patterns and objects. Patients reported having 2-5 different categories of flashbacks up to 3-6 months after cessation of cannabis use. The described phenomena may be interpreted as a time-limited benign side effect of high-potency cannabis use in some individuals. A combination of vulnerability and use of large amounts of high potency cannabis seem to contribute to the appearance of this condition. Conclusions from uncontrolled case series should be taken with appropriate caution.
We aimed to measure the prevalence and length of the problem of pathological video gaming or Internet use, to identify risk and protective factors, to determine whether pathological gaming is a primary or secondary problem, and to identify outcomes for individuals who become or stop being pathological gamers.
A 2-year, longitudinal, panel study was performed with a general elementary and secondary school population in Singapore, including 3034 children in grades 3 (N = 743), 4 (N = 711), 7 (N = 916), and 8 (N = 664). Several hypothesized risk and protective factors for developing or overcoming pathological gaming were measured, including weekly amount of game play, impulsivity, social competence, depression, social phobia, anxiety, and school performance.
The prevalence of pathological gaming was similar to that in other countries (∼9%). Greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming.
This study adds important information to the discussion about whether video game "addiction" is similar to other addictive behaviors, demonstrating that it can last for years and is not solely a symptom of comorbid disorders.
Studies of neural activity in animals and humans suggest that experiences are "replayed" in cortical and hippocampal networks during NREM sleep. Here, we examine whether memory reactivation in sleeping humans might also be evident within reports of concomitant subjective experience (i.e., dreaming).
Participants were trained on an engaging visuomotor learning task across a period of one or more days, and sleep onset mentation was collected at variable intervals using the "Nightcap" home-monitoring device. Verbal reports of sleep onset mentation were obtained either at the beginning of the night, or following 2 h of initial sleep.
Data were collected in participants' home environments, via the Nightcap monitoring system, and at The Center for Sleep and Cognition, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston MA.
43 healthy, medication-free college students (16 males, age 18-25 years).
N/A.
The learning task exerted a powerful, direct effect on verbal reports of mentation during light NREM sleep (stages 1 and 2). On post-training nights, a full 30% of all verbal reports were related to the task. The nature of this cognitive "replay" effect was altered with increasing durations of sleep, becoming more abstracted from the original experience as time into sleep increased.
These observations are interpreted in light of memory consolidation theory, and demonstrate that introspective reports can provide a valuable window on cognitive processing in the sleeping brain.
Addiction to online role-playing games is one of the most discussed aspects of recent cyberpsychology, mainly for its potentially negative impact on the social lives of young people. In our study, we focus on some aspects of youth and adolescent addiction to MMORPGs. We investigated connections between players and their game characters and examined if, and in what ways, player relationship to their character affected potential addiction. Players attitude to their characters seems to play a specific role, since players who tend to be addicted view their characters as being superior and more often wish to be like their characters in their real lives. Our research also confirmed that younger players are generally more prone to addiction.
Previous qualitative studies suggest that gamers experience Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP), a variety of non-volitional phenomena related to playing videogames including thoughts, urges, images, sounds when not playing. To investigate (i) which types of GTP were more common and (ii) their general characteristics, the present study surveyed a total of 2,362 gamers via an online survey. The majority of the participants were male, students, aged between 18 and 27 years, and ‘hard-core’ gamers. Most participants reported having experienced at least one type of GTP at some point (96.6%), the majority having experienced GTP more than once with many reporting 6 to 10 different types of GTP. Results demonstrated that videogame players experienced (i) altered visual perceptions (ii) altered auditory perceptions (iii) altered body perceptions (iv) automated mental processes, and (v) behaviors. In most cases, GTP could not be explained by being under the influence of a psychoactive substance. The GTP experiences were usually short-lived, tended to occur after videogame playing rather than during play, occurred recurrently, and usually occurred while doing day-to-day activities. One in five gamers had experienced some type of distress or dysfunction due to GTP. Many experienced GTP as pleasant and some wanted GTP to happen again.
Video games have been present in our entertainment landscape for over 30 years now, and there is a growing body of literature dealing with the effects of gaming on a variety of social, emotional and cognitive factors. Very little has been said, however, about the impact of gaming on dream life. The present chapter investigates the gaming and dreaming lives of over 900 World of Warcraft (WoW) players who responded to an online questionnaire, alongside over 300 dream reports describing a gaming dream they provided. The aim was to examine the ways in which video games can be reflected in the players' dreams. To analyse the dream reports, a novel coding scheme was created that followed the features of World of Warcraft and allowed for distinctions between the various types of game content that can be incorporated. The dream and gaming activity data was then explored with an eye towards the possible contributions of the continuity theory (Schredl, 2003) and the sleep memory consolidation approach (Smith, 2010). The results suggest that the amount of gaming dreams the participants reported was linked with their engagement with the game, as measured by the time they spent on playing and out-of-game activities that were still centred around World of Warcraft. The dream content analysis identified a number of incorporation categories, grouped around three components of video games: form, content and mechanism; and implied that the pattern of game features that appear in the dream reports is related to the types of game activities the players prefer. The findings are interpreted in the light of existing dream content theories as well as select gaming psychology ones.
Previous qualitative and quantitative studies examining Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) have demonstrated that GTP experiences are common. These studies have shown that many gamers report altered perceptions, involuntary thoughts and behaviors after playing video games (e.g., pseudo-hallucinatory experiences, automatic motor activations, etc.). However, the factors associated with GTP are unknown. In the present study, a total of 2362 gamers were surveyed using an online questionnaire to examine the relationship between GTP and socio-demographic factors, gaming habits, individual characteristics, and motivations for playing. Results showed that having a pre-existing medical condition, playing for 3–6 h, and playing for immersion, exploration, customization, mechanics and escape from the real world were significantly associated with having experienced GTP. Those who were 33–38 years old, playing sessions for less than one hour, being a professional player, being self-employed, and never recalling dreams, were significantly more likely to have not experienced GTP. The findings suggest that attention should be paid to young adults and the length of gaming sessions, as well as taking into consideration underlying factors such as medical conditions that may make gamers more prone to GTP.
Video game playing is a popular activity and its enjoyment among frequent players has been associated with absorption and immersion experiences. This paper examines how immersion in the video game environment can influence the player during the game and afterwards (including fantasies, thoughts, and actions). This is what is described as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). GTP occurs when video game elements are associated with real life elements triggering subsequent thoughts, sensations and/or player actions. To investigate this further, a total of 42 frequent video game players aged between 15 and 21 years old were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that many players experienced GTP, where players appeared to integrate elements of video game playing into their real lives. These GTP were then classified as either intentional or automatic experiences. Results also showed that players used video games for interacting with others as a form of amusement, modeling or mimicking video game content, and daydreaming about video games. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how video games triggered intrusive thoughts, sensations, impulses, reflexes, visual illusions, and dissociations.
The effect of problematic use of the Internet on mental health, particularly depression among young people, has been established but without a probable model for the underlying mechanism. In this study, a model is presented to describe possible pathways for the linkage between Internet gaming addiction and depression possibly mediated by sleep problems. A systematic review was conducted to gather epidemiological evidence to support or refute the link between addictive Internet gaming, problematic Internet use, and sleep problems including insomnia and poor sleep quality. Seven studies were identified through a systematic literature search, of these three related to addictive Internet gaming and four on problematic Internet uses and sleep problems. Information was extracted and analysed systematically from each of the studies and tabulated as a summary. Results of the review suggest that additive gaming, particularly massively multiplayer online role-playing games MMORPG, might be associated with poorer quality of sleep. Results further indicated that problematic Internet use was associated with sleep problems including subjective insomnia and poor sleep quality.
Video game playing is a popular activity and its enjoyment among frequent players has been associated with absorption and immersion experiences. This paper examines how immersion in the video game environment can influence the player during the game and afterwards (including fantasies, thoughts, and actions). This is what is described as Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP). GTP occurs when video game elements are associated with real life elements triggering subsequent thoughts, sensations and/or player actions. To investigate this further, a total of 42 frequent video game players aged between 15 and 21 years old were interviewed. Thematic analysis showed that many players experienced GTP, where players appeared to integrate elements of video game playing into their real lives. These GTP were then classified as either intentional or automatic experiences. Results also showed that players used video games for interacting with others as a form of amusement, modeling or mimicking video game content, and daydreaming about video games. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how video games triggered intrusive thoughts, sensations, impulses, reflexes, optical illusions, and dissociations.
This book is essentially about media influence—its power and our propensity either to deny that power or at least to fail in understanding fully how to deal with it. Both of these common stances—denial and impotence—raise many issues that merit further exploration. Throughout this book, I view the role of media in our culture through a wide-angle lens, telling the story of what social scientists have learned about the psychology of the mass media. Exactly how and why do the media change us and mold us? And mold us they do. A broad premise of the book is that mass media are a persistent and pervasive influence in our lives and that their influence is meaningful. Though far from the only factors that influence our behavior, the effects of media are not trivial. Early in the book, I explore several reasons for a persistent dichotomy: if media are indeed so influential, why are many of us are under the impression of being almost entirely unaffected by media exposure? And before we're through, I'll give concrete suggestions about how we can become much more savvy about how we use media and how it uses us. There are many positive uses and effects of media, and I explore these as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)(book)
A cognitive approach to the understanding of psychotic symptoms that focuses on the interpretation of intrusions into awareness is outlined. It is argued that many positive psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations and delusions) can be conceptualized as intru-sions into awareness or culturally unacceptable interpretations of such intrusions, and that it is the interpretation of these intrusions that causes the associated distress and disability. It is also argued that the nature of these interpretations is affected by faulty self and social knowledge and that both the intrusions and their interpretations are maintained by mood, physiology, and cognitive and behavioural responses (including selective attention, safety behaviours and counterproductive control strategies). The literature is reviewed and found to be compatible with such a model and the clinical implications are discussed.
Research into online gaming addiction is a relatively new area of psychological study. Furthermore, there are studies that
have claimed that online gaming addiction may be addictive because of self-report accounts of very excessive use of up to
80h a week. This study uses data from two case studies to highlight the role of context in distinguishing excessive gaming
from addictive gaming. Both of the gamers in this study claimed to be playing for up to 14h a day yet and although they were
behaviorally identical in terms of their game playing, they were very different in terms of psychological motivation and the
meaning and experience of gaming within their lives. It is argued that one of the players appears to be genuinely addicted
to online gaming but that the other player is not based on context and consequences. The two cases outlined highlight the
importance of context in the life of a gamer and demonstrates that excessive gaming does not necessarily mean that a person
is addicted. It is argued that online gaming addiction should be characterized by the extent to which excessive gaming impacts
negatively on other areas of the gamers’ lives rather than the amount of time spent playing. It is also concluded that an
activity cannot be described as an addiction if there are few (or no) negative consequences in the player’s life even if the
gamer is playing 14h a day.
Fantasy proneness refers to an extensive involvement in fantasy and daydreaming. Previous studies have shown that fantasy proneness overlaps with dissociative tendencies, as measured with the Dissociative Experiences Scale. We tested the hypothesis that deviant sleep experiences form the critical link between fantasy proneness and dissociation. Undergraduate students (N = 205) completed the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Iowa Sleep Experiences Survey. Self-reports of sleep experiences, such as narcolepsy, vivid and unusual dreams, and deviant nocturnal experiences, but not lucid dreaming, were related to both fantasy proneness and dissociation. However, the relationship between fantasy proneness and dissociation was only partially accounted for by these sleep experiences. This suggests that deviant sleep experiences but also other, as yet unknown, factors contribute to the overlap between fantasy proneness and dissociation.
This study considered whether the distinction between core and peripheral criteria for behavioral addiction, previously drawn with respect to computing activities in general, applies in the specific area of Massively Multiplayer Online Game playing. Questionnaire items were administered over the Internet to 442 game players. Factor-analysis of the data supported the previous findings for computing in general. An addiction factor loaded on items tapping previously identified core criteria (conflict, withdrawal symptoms, relapse and reinstatement and behavioral salience) and a (non-pathological) engagement factor loaded on items tapping previously identified peripheral criteria (cognitive salience, tolerance and euphoria). Analysis of response frequencies supported the existence of a developmental process whereby peripheral criteria are met before core criteria. Players who might be considered addicted using a monothetic classification system involving only the core criteria were shown to spend a significantly greater amount of time playing per week than those endorsing only the peripheral criteria. It is concluded that the study supports the idea that it is inappropriate to use some of the previously used criteria for addiction when researching or diagnosing computer-related addictions. Implications of the present findings for Internet-mediated data collection methodologies are also discussed.
Considerable research has demonstrated that playing violent video games can increase aggression. The theoretical framework upon which a good deal of this research has rested is known as the General Aggression Model (GAM; [Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 27–51]). The current study tested an assumption of the GAM by examining if the dispositional trait of anger moderated the relation between violent video games and aggression. A total of 167 undergraduate students (79 females, 88 males) first completed a measure of anger and were then randomly assigned to play either a non-violent or violent video game. After the video game play period, participants completed ambiguous story stems in order to assess aggression. Consistent with predictions of the GAM, anger significantly moderated the effect of video game violence on aggression. Specifically, participants who were angry were more affected by violent video games than participants who were not angry.
The study investigates the relationship between empathy and attitudes towards violence and real-life exposure to violent films and computer games. It is hypothesised that low empathy and attitudes that predispose people towards violence are more strongly related to exposure to violent films and computer games than to superordinate personality traits (e.g., EPQ psychoticism, extraversion, antisocial personality traits), or subtraits, such as sensation-seeking. Four hundred and thirty-three students in further education completed three personality questionnaires, a questionnaire of attitudes towards violence, and reported on their use of violent computer games, films and videos. Multivariate analyses in the form of ordinary least squares (OLS) models were used to test the primary hypotheses. Acceptance of violence, as measured by the Maudsley Violence Questionnaire (MVQ), was the strongest and most consistent predictor of violent media use. Superordinate personality traits were generally fully mediated by acceptance of violence. The findings emphasise the importance of general acceptance of violence in the consumption of violent games and films. Some gender differences emerged; particularly in relation to the use of violent computer games. Empathy had no significant effects for either males or females.
Patients with on-line game addiction (POGA) and professional video game players play video games for extended periods of time, but experience very different consequences for their on-line game play. Brain regions consisting of anterior cingulate, thalamus and occpito-temporal areas may increase the likelihood of becoming a pro-gamer or POGA. Twenty POGA, seventeen pro-gamers, and eighteen healthy comparison subjects (HC) were recruited. All magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on a 1.5 Tesla Espree MRI scanner (SIEMENS, Erlangen, Germany). Voxel-wise comparisons of gray matter volume were performed between the groups using the two-sample t-test with statistical parametric mapping (SPM5). Compared to HC, the POGA group showed increased impulsiveness and perseverative errors, and volume in left thalamus gray matter, but decreased gray matter volume in both inferior temporal gyri, right middle occipital gyrus, and left inferior occipital gyrus, compared with HC. Pro-gamers showed increased gray matter volume in left cingulate gyrus, but decreased gray matter volume in left middle occipital gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus compared with HC. Additionally, the pro-gamer group showed increased gray matter volume in left cingulate gyrus and decreased left thalamus gray matter volume compared with the POGA group. The current study suggests that increased gray matter volumes of the left cingulate gyrus in pro-gamers and of the left thalamus in POGA may contribute to the different clinical characteristics of pro-gamers and POGA.
The current study examined the potential moderating effects of motion capture technology and partici- pants' own level of psychoticism on their hostility and aggressive thoughts after playing violent video games. A total of 118 participants (68 females, 50 males) first completed a measure of psychoticism and then played either a violent video game or a non-violent video game using either a traditional con- troller or motion capture controls. Immediately after the video game play period, participants' current level of hostility and aggressive cognitions were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Results indi- cated that the use of motion capture controls did not increase the negative effects of violent video games. However, participants with elevated levels of psychoticism were much more affected by violent video games than other participants. Such findings suggest that only some individuals are adversely affected by violent video games and that those who are affected have preexisting dispositions which make them susceptible to such violent media.
Online survey data were collected from 30,000 users of Massively Multi-User On- line Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) over a three year period to explore users' demographics, motivations, and derived experiences. Not only do MMORPGs ap- peal to a broad age range (Mage 26.57, range 11- 68), but the appeal is strong (on average 22 hours of usage per week) across users of all ages (r -.04). An exploratory factor analysis revealed a five factor model of user motivations— Achievement, Relationship, Immersion, Escapism, and Manipulation—illustrating the multifaceted appeal of these online environments. Male players were significantly more likely to be driven by the Achievement and Manipulation factors, while female players were significantly more likely to be driven by the Relationship factor. Also, the data indicated that users derived meaningful relationships and salient emotional experiences, as well as real-life leadership skills from these virtual environments. MMORPGs are not simply a pastime for teenagers, but a valuable research venue and platform where millions of users interact and collaborate using real-time 3D avatars on a daily basis.
In 2011 the field of video game violence experienced serious reversals with repudiations of the current research by the US Supreme Court and the Australian Government as non-compelling and fundamentally flawed. Scholars too have been calling for higher quality research on this issue. The current study seeks to answer this call by providing longitudinal data on youth aggression and dating violence as potential consequences of violent video game exposure using well-validated clinical outcome measures and controlling for other relevant predictors of youth aggression.
A sample of 165, mainly Hispanic youth, were tested at 3 intervals, an initial interview, and 1-year and 3-year intervals.
Results indicated that exposure to video game violence was not related to any of the negative outcomes. Depression, antisocial personality traits, exposure to family violence and peer influences were the best predictors of aggression-related outcomes.
The current study supports a growing body of evidence pointing away from video game violence use as a predictor of youth aggression. Public policy efforts, including funding, would best be served by redirecting them toward other prevention programs for youth violence.
Research into online gaming has steadily increased over the last decade, although relatively little research has examined the relationship between online gaming addiction and personality factors. This study examined the relationship between a number of personality traits (sensation seeking, self-control, aggression, neuroticism, state anxiety, and trait anxiety) and online gaming addiction. Data were collected over a 1-month period using an opportunity sample of 123 university students at an East Midlands university in the United Kingdom. Gamers completed all the online questionnaires. Results of a multiple linear regression indicated that five traits (neuroticism, sensation seeking, trait anxiety, state anxiety, and aggression) displayed significant associations with online gaming addiction. The study suggests that certain personality traits may be important in the acquisition, development, and maintenance of online gaming addiction, although further research is needed to replicate the findings of the present study.