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Experiences of Time Loss among Videogame Players: An Empirical Study
Abstract
Playing videogames is now a major leisure pursuit, yet research in the area is comparatively sparse. Previous correlational evidence suggests that subjective time loss occurs during playing videogames. This study examined experiences of time loss among a relatively large group of gamers (n = 280). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey. Results showed that time loss occurred irrespective of gender, age, or frequency of play, but was associated with particular structural characteristics of games such as their complexity, the presence of multi-levels, missions and/or high scores, multiplayer interactions, and plot. Results also demonstrated that time loss could have both positive and negative outcomes for players. Positive aspects of time loss included helping players to relax and temporarily escape from reality. Negative aspects included the sacrificing of other things in their lives, guilty feelings about wasted time, and social conflict. It is concluded that for many gamers, losing track of time is a positive experience and is one of the main reasons for playing videogames.
... As seen in Table 2, 44 studies found an association of a social structural feature with either GD and/or a proxy variable. The most studied associations within this category were between general socialization features and GD (n 5 10) or a proxy (n 5 23) (Beranuy et al., 2013;Chang, 2013;Cheng, 2019;Dietrich, Mulcahy, & Knox, 2018;Elliott et al., 2012;Ghuman & Griffiths, 2012;Heng, Zhao, & Wang, 2020;Hsu, Lee, & Wu, 2005;Hull, Williams, & Griffiths, 2013;Kang, Lu, Guo, & Zhao, 2020;Karlsen, 2011;King et al., 2011King et al., , 2017Klimmt, Schmid, & Orthmann, 2009;Laconi et al., 2017;Land, 2015;Lee & Schoenstedt, 2011;Lewis, 2016;Mao, 2021;McLean & Griffiths, 2013;Quick & Atkinson, 2014;Smyth, 2007;Wood et al., 2004Wood et al., , 2007. General socialization features were within games features related to in-game socialization as a motive without clearly delineating the specific structural feature. ...
... The capacity to customize the player's avatar was also largely represented in the literature, with two studies finding a direct relation to GD and six with a proxy (Jin, 2009;Kim et al., 2015;Mancini et al., 2019;Morcos, Stavropoulos, Rennie, Clark, & Pontes, 2019;Quick & Atkinson, 2014;Tavakkoli et al., 2015;Westwood & Griffiths, 2010;Wood et al., 2004). Likewise, numerous studies supported the contribution of storytelling devices within video games to the onset of GD (n 5 3) or a proxy (n 5 9) (Cheng, 2019;Hall, 2019;King et al., 2011King et al., , 2017McLean & Griffiths, 2013;Tavakkoli et al., 2014Tavakkoli et al., , 2015Westwood & Griffiths, 2010;Wood et al., 2004Wood et al., , 2007. Most substantially, Hall (Hall, 2019) found that the player's ability to make choices as the character of a story contributed to greater enjoyment and engagement. ...
... From a broader perspective, the reward and punishment category of structural features was one of the most widely reported in the overall literature pool, with 34 studies making up 32.08% of the included papers (see Table 5). A substantial number of the studies included discussed evidence related to general reward features with 5 studies associated with GD and 20 associated with a proxy (Aggarwal, Saluja, Gambhir, Gupta, & Satia, 2020;Banks, 2015;Cruz, Hanus, & Fox, 2017;de Albuquerque & Fialho, 2015;Dietrich et al., 2018;Finserås et al., 2019;Goh and Pe-Than EPPLee, 2017;Herodotou et al., 2015;Hsu & Wang, 2018;Karlsen, 2011;King, Herd, & Delfabbro, 2018;Laffan et al., 2016;Land, 2015;Lee et al., 2020;Lewis, 2016;McKernan et al., 2015;Nadolny et al., 2017;Tavakkoli et al., 2014;Westwood & Griffiths, 2010;Wood et al., 2004;Wood et al., 2007;Yang & Quadir, 2018). Within the general reward features categorization, eight studies found evidence of experience points being potentially problematic (Dietrich et al., 2018;Goh and Pe-Than EPPLee, 2017;Herodotou et al., 2015;Hsu & Wang, 2018;Land, 2015;Nadolny et al., 2017;Westwood & Griffiths, 2010;Wood et al., 2004). ...
Background and aims:
Gaming disorder (GD) is a mental health concern that has been heavily contested by experts. This scoping review synthesizes the literature to identify the structural features of video game design that can contribute to GD. Furthermore, a taxonomy of the structural features implicated with GD is proposed, revised from earlier work.
Methods:
Seven databases, in addition to Google Scholar, were searched. Peer-reviewed studies were included if they assessed a link between gaming structural characteristics and GD or a proxy. The final pool included 105 articles.
Results:
Avatar creation and customizability, multiplayer characteristics, and reward and punishment features were highly represented in the literature. There was no evidence for three categories in the original taxonomy: support network features, sexual content, and explicit language. Furthermore, structural feature sub-categories emerged that were absent from the previous taxonomy, such as general socialization features, type of virtual world, and in-game currency. Manipulation and control features and presentation features were less represented than social features, narrative and identity features, and reward and punishment features. The reviewers propose two broad classes of addictive gaming structural features: 'features enhancing in-game immersion and realism' and 'gambling-like features'.
Discussion and conclusions:
Numerous studies found a relationship between social, narrative and identity, and reward and punishment structural characteristics with GD. Two broad classes of gaming structural features were associated with addiction. The first, 'features enhancing in-game immersion and realism,' including social gameplay, avatar creation, storytelling, and graphics/sound. The second, 'gambling-like features,' included different mechanisms of rewards-and-punishment.
... Conceptually, immersion can be thought of as a precursor to "flow" or a continuum whose endpoint is a flow state, the most extreme level of absorption in an activity that can be achieved (Csikszentmihalyi 1990;Jennett et al. 2008). Although flow states have often been studied in the context of work experiences, prior research has found that flow (Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre 1989;Mannell, Zuzanek, and Larson 1988) and immersive states (Jennett et al. 2008;Wood, Griffiths, and Parke 2007) also emerge during leisure experiences, such as watching TV, socializing, and playing video games. 2 When immersed, consumers feel more engrossed in an experience and less connected to the world outside of it. Indeed, a common by-product of immersion is a lack of temporal awareness and altered perceptions of time. ...
... Indeed, a common by-product of immersion is a lack of temporal awareness and altered perceptions of time. When in a state of immersion (and at the extreme, during an actual flow state), consumers report losing the sense that time is passing and are often surprised to discover how long they have spent performing an activity (Csikszentmihalyi 1990;Jennett et al. 2008;Wood, Griffiths, and Parke 2007). Importantly, there is widespread agreement within this literature regarding the indicators that characterize experiential immersion. ...
... However, limited research has studied how specific actions during an experience might influence consumers' perception of time. Contributing to research demonstrating a close link between time perception, immersion, and enjoyment (Csikszentmihalyi 1990;Gable and Poole 2012;Jennett et al. 2008;Sackett et al. 2010;Wood, Griffiths, and Parke 2007), we consistently find that by increasing immersion, generating content leads to the perception that time is flying, which ultimately boosts enjoyment. ...
Advances in technology, particularly smartphones, have unlocked new opportunities for consumers to generate content about experiences while they unfold (e.g., by texting, posting to social media, writing notes), and this behavior has become nearly ubiquitous. The present research examines the effects of generating content during ongoing experiences. Across nine studies, the authors show that generating content during an experience increases feelings of immersion and makes time feel like it is passing more quickly, which in turn enhances enjoyment of the experience. The authors investigate these effects across a broad array of experiences both inside and outside the lab that vary in duration from a few minutes to several hours, including positive and negative videos and real-life holiday celebrations. They conclude with several studies testing marketing interventions that increase content creation and find that consumers who are incentivized or motivated by social norms to generate content reap the same experiential benefits as those who create content organically. These findings illustrate how leveraging content creation to improve experiences can mutually benefit marketers and consumers.
... People experience flow when engaged in an activity that is appropriately challenging to one's skill level. Recent research in the area of serious education games have reported specific flow components such as challenge [20], time transformation [21], positive affect [22], and motivation [23] with players in game environments. In addition, players' sense of time loss was found to be associated with the game's complexity, use of multi-levels, missions, multiplayer interactions, and narrative [21]. ...
... Recent research in the area of serious education games have reported specific flow components such as challenge [20], time transformation [21], positive affect [22], and motivation [23] with players in game environments. In addition, players' sense of time loss was found to be associated with the game's complexity, use of multi-levels, missions, multiplayer interactions, and narrative [21]. Other game-based studies reported that players engaged in scientific practices with a forensic science augmented reality mystery game achieved a substantive flow-like experience through a sense of discovery and desire for higher performance [24,25]. ...
... Each level of the Likert-scale had a different numeric value with "I strongly disagree" equal to 1 and "I strongly agree" equal to 5. Total possible scores ranged from 10 to 50. The survey derived from the Short Flow State scale (S FSS-2) and the Core Flow State scale (C FSS-2) developed by Jackson, Eklund, and Martin (2010) and has been used twice by Bressler and Bodzin [21,22]; Cronbach's alpha for the instrument in our feasibility study was 0.80. The users also completed a 12-item Likert-scale measuring Students' Perceptions of Learning with VR Games survey designed to understand attitudes toward learning with VR games, immersion and presence, and usefulness. ...
An immersive game-based Virtual Reality (iVR) module for secondary students to learn about locations in their watershed with a primary focus on their city was designed and developed. A design model and associated theory that focuses on elements that lead to engagement and learning with iVR game-based experiences is described. A series of design principles that were used in the iVR environment are discussed. The iVR game was implemented in an urban school in the eastern USA with 54 economically disadvantaged adolescents ages 16-18 who typically are unengaged in traditional school-based learning environments. After game completion, the participants completed a 10-item survey measuring elements of flow and a 12-item survey designed to measure attitudes toward learning with VR games, immersion and presence. The findings revealed that all students experienced a flow state when they played the VR learning game. Almost all users (98.1%) had positive attitudes towards using the VR game. Student responses noted that they experienced high immersion and presence. In addition, students responded with favorable attitudes towards learning with iVR games in school environments. Index Terms—virtual reality, learning game, engagement, flow
... One qualitative study in children uncovered several reasons for engaging (e.g., motives, habit, and contextual factors) or disengaging (e.g., self-regulation, parental intervention, or disruption/frustration of gaming outcomes or psychological needs; [8]). Contextual factors of games or the environment also contribute to the length of gaming sessions: gaming sessions may be prolonged through losing track of time [9], achievement, winning or game mechanics, including gambling-like mechanisms such as loot boxes [8,10]. Disengaging from play may also be easier with support from real-life friends [11] or when using strategies like setting an alarm, taking regular breaks, or setting goals in the game [9]. ...
... Contextual factors of games or the environment also contribute to the length of gaming sessions: gaming sessions may be prolonged through losing track of time [9], achievement, winning or game mechanics, including gambling-like mechanisms such as loot boxes [8,10]. Disengaging from play may also be easier with support from real-life friends [11] or when using strategies like setting an alarm, taking regular breaks, or setting goals in the game [9]. The above findings show a range of individual, game and contextual factors that can promote healthy gaming and prevent disorder. ...
... Prior to the presentation, the authors first briefly reviewed relevant literature on game engagement [8,9,29] and design [29][30][31][32]. We extracted themes and frameworks from these into tables and bulleted notes and discussed and combined results to condense themes surrounding game engagement and self-regulation. ...
Background: Little is known about strategies or mechanics to improve self-regulation of video game play that could be developed into novel interventions. This study used a participatory approach with the gaming community to uncover insider knowledge about techniques to promote healthy play and prevent gaming disorder. Methods: We used a pragmatic approach to conduct a convergent-design mixed-methods study with participants attending a science fiction and education convention. Six participants answered questions about gaming engagement and self- or game-based regulation of gaming which were then categorized into pre-determined (a priori) themes by the presenters during the presentation. The categorized themes and examples from participant responses were presented back to participants for review and discussion. Seven participants ranked their top choices of themes for each question. The rankings were analyzed using a nonparametric approach to show consensus around specific themes. Results: Participants suggested several novel potential targets for preventive interventions including specific types of social (e.g., play with others in a group) or self-regulation processes (e.g., set timers or alarms). Suggestions for game mechanics that could help included clear break points and short missions, but loot boxes were not mentioned. Conclusions: Our consensus development approach produced many specific suggestions that could be implemented by game developers or tested as public health interventions, such as encouraging breaks through game mechanics, alarms or other limit setting; encouraging group gaming; and discussing and supporting setting appropriate time or activity goals around gaming (e.g., three quests, one hour). As some suggestions here have not been addressed previously as potential interventions, this suggests the importance of including gamers as stakeholders in research on the prevention of gaming disorder and the promotion of healthy gaming. A large-scale, online approach using these methods with multiple stakeholder groups could make effective use of players’ in-depth knowledge and help speed discovery and translation of possible preventive interventions into practice and policy.
... In DSM-V the term Internet Gaming Disorders has been introduced in Section III as a condition warranting for more research (APA, 2013). (Wood, 2008;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). Although the early works that analyzed the problem of addiction in video games considered time as a central element (Yang & Oh, 2007;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007;Tejeiro Salguero & Morán, 2002), recently an increasing number of works consider that time has little confusing effect (Seok & DaCosta, 2014) or even no effect (Kovess-Masfety, et al., 2016). ...
... (Wood, 2008;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). Although the early works that analyzed the problem of addiction in video games considered time as a central element (Yang & Oh, 2007;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007;Tejeiro Salguero & Morán, 2002), recently an increasing number of works consider that time has little confusing effect (Seok & DaCosta, 2014) or even no effect (Kovess-Masfety, et al., 2016). Recent research has looked at video game addiction as a behavioral addiction based on model gambling addiction (Griffiths, Pontes, & Kuss, 2015). ...
Video games are widely considered an activity with possibly addictive consequences; as a result, behavioural addiction characteristics related to gaming are recognized in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‑11) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM‑5). Specific characteristics of Pathological Game Usage (PGU) still incite debate among researchers across a spectrum of domains. Time Spent Playing (TSP) is one of the most discussed elements in relation to Pathological Video‑Game Use (PGU). The present study involving 140 respondents researched a possible relationship between the average time spent playing over two specific kinds of days. Statistically specific analyzes, such as correlations and regressions were performed between TSP (based on self‑reported data addressing a specific kind of day: free day/ holiday and work/school day) and PGU (based on the scale developed by Gentile, 2009). Results indicate positive correlations between symptoms/elements of PGU and TSP. Additionally, results indicated significantly higher scores on the PGU scale for males suggesting possible gender differences in the presence of problematic use characteristics.
... When the HapTug is activated-which provides the feeling of haptic feedback an vibration-the user is more immersed in the game. This is supported by the fact that, a shown in Figure 11, the user was not more aware of the playback time [39]. Furthermore users interacted more often per unit time in the game when haptics were activated. ...
... When the HapTug is activated-which provides the feeling of haptic feedback and vibration-the user is more immersed in the game. This is supported by the fact that, as shown in Figure 11, the user was not more aware of the playback time [39]. Furthermore, users interacted more often per unit time in the game when haptics were activated. ...
In this study, a haptic device is proposed for virtual reality (VR) applications. The proposed haptic device is linked to the bundle controller of a VR device. The device proposed in this study is a force-feedback device that focuses on the sensation felt by the hand rather than the feeling of the tool colliding with the object. The device provides sensations of centrifugal or inertial forces due to the weight of the tool when the user swings the tool and the sensation of a reaction force when the user stabs or pokes an object with the tool. The force generated by a haptic device of the linked type was measured and examined to determine whether a sensation of actually using a tool in the virtual environment was provided. In addition, we conducted two types of experiments to evaluate the proposed haptic device. First, VR content was created for the user experience, and a survey was conducted with 30 experimenters to compare the bundle controllers and a haptic device, called HapTug, in terms of realism, immersion, and enjoyment. The survey results demonstrated that the realism, immersion, and enjoyment increased compared to using the bundle controller alone. A total of 41 experimenters were allowed to play freely in a virtual environment for six sessions of 30 s each. They pressed the reset session button when they felt 30 s had passed, and the device they were wearing turned on and off randomly every session. During the experience, their playback time, number of interactions, and range were measured. As a result, when the device was activated, experimenters felt the time was shorter and showed widespread movement. Thus, it was proven that the proposed linked-type haptic device effectively delivered the feeling of wielding a tool, allowing the user to feel the virtual object coming in and going out of the hand when interacting with it. Moreover, three conclusions were drawn from the results of the experiments: previous VR experience times have little to do with satisfaction related to haptic device use, users have low expectations for haptic realism, and users interact more actively and exaggeratedly with a haptic device.
... This may occur because the subjects prioritize the need for relieving leisure boredom over engaging in social interactions with significant others or performing certain tasks at hand (Young, 2010). Another study by Wood et al. (2007) found the emergence of conflict between individuals and their significant others because the individuals "lose track of time" when playing games, which caused the significant others to feel unprioritized. It can be concluded that the more often individuals play games on their smartphones to relieve leisure boredom, the greater the tendency of such individuals to withdraw from their significant others (either knowingly or unknowingly) or lie to cover up the problems that they face. ...
... Hal ini karena subjek lebih memprioritaskan kebutuhannya akan menghilangkan rasa bosan di waktu luang dibandingkan interaksi sosial dengan orang-orang terdekatnya maupun melakukan tugas yang ada (Young, 2010). Di penelitian lain seperti oleh Wood et al. (2007) juga menemukan adanya konflik antar individu dengan significant others dikarenakan individu tersebut "lupa waktu" saat bermain gamenya dan hal ini membuat significant others merasa tidak diprioritaskan. Dari sini dapat disimpulkan bahwa semakin sering seseorang yang bermain game di smartphone untuk menghilangkan rasa bosan di waktu luang maka orang tersebut akan semakin cenderung untuk menarik diri dari orang-orang terdekatnya (secara sengaja maupun tidak sengaja) atau berbohong demi menutupi masalah yang dialaminya. ...
The risk of gaming disorder is not only limited to hardcore gaming style, but is also found in the increasingly popular casual gaming style. This study aims to test how leisure boredom affects gaming disorder in emerging adult smartphone users. A quantitative approach with correlational design was used in the study. The criteria of the respondents were individuals aged 18-25 years, who played games on their smartphones at least once a day and resided in Surabaya, Indonesia. A total of 175 respondents participated in this research. Modified version of the Leisure Boredom Scale (LBS) and the Internet Gaming Disorder - 20 Test (IGD-20 Test) were utilized to collect data. The data was analyzed using simple linear regression. The results indicated that leisure boredom may predict the tendency of gaming disorder in emerging adult smartphone users. The conflict aspect in gaming disorder was found to be the most affected by leisure boredom, whereas the mood modification aspect was found to be the only aspect not affected by leisure boredom. Risiko akan kelainan bermain game tidak hanya terbatas pada gaya bermain intensif (hardcore gaming), namun juga pada gaya bermain santai (casual gaming) yang semakin populer. Studi ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh rasa bosan di waktu luang terhadap kelainan bermain game pada pengguna smartphone dewasa muda. Pendekatan kuantitatif dengan desain korelasional telah digunakan dalam studi ini. Responden memiliki kriteria berusia 18-25 tahun yang bermain game di smartphone minimal satu kali dalam sehari dan berdomisili di Surabaya, Indonesia. Terdapat 175 responden yang bersedia mengikuti studi ini. Alat ukur Leisure Boredom Scale (LBS) dan Internet Gaming Disorder - 20 Test (IGD-20 Test) yang dimodifikasi telah digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data. Data dianalisis menggunakan regresi linear sederhana. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa rasa bosan di waktu luang memprediksi kecenderungan kelainan bermain game pada pengguna smartphone dewasa muda. Aspek conflict ditemukan sebagai aspek yang paling dipengaruhi rasa bosan di waktu luang sedangkan aspek mood modification ditemukan tidak dipengaruhi rasa bosan di waktu luang.
... Numerous articles have shown that excessive network and online gaming have negative effects on the users. These are losing significant relationships, jobs, and education or career opportunities (Allison et (Grüsser et al. 2007); sacrificed sleep, work and/or education, socializing with friends, socializing with partner, and family time (Griffiths 2004); missing other things (e.g., classes, meals or appointments), losing sleep, guilt at "wasting time", and creating conflict with others (Wood et al. 2007); time distortion (Rau et al. 2006); and has negative effects on life satisfaction, low school grades, deterioration in interpersonal relationships, and nonconfrontation of problems (Wang et al 2008). ...
... This is found to be consistent with the studies of De Guzman and Fabian (2009), Young (1996), Griffiths et al. (2004), and Wang et al. (2008). Also, it could also be investigated in terms of Health effects (eigenvalue = 2.192) (similar to the studies of Young (1996) and Wood et al. (2007)). The third dimension of the questionnaire is called Relaxation (eigenvalue = 1.449). ...
This study attempted to develop valid and reliable scales towards the effects of gaming in cyber cafés in Manila. In order to develop the scales, an initial draft of the questionnaire with twenty-seven items was distributed in the fifteen districts of Manila. A total of four hundred eighteen (418) survey forms were retrieved. Factor analysis was used to determine the dimensions of the questions while Cronbach's alpha analysis was utilized to determine the reliability of the questions on each construct. Any items with factor loadings less than 0.50 and Cronbach's alpha values of less than 0.70 were discarded. The final scales had twenty (20) questions. It was revealed that the effects of cyber café gaming could be investigated into the following dimensions-Responsibilities, Health, Relaxation, and Socialization. All questions under each construct were found highly valid and highly reliable. It is expected that various studies could be derived from the use of the developed scales. Limitations of the study and recommendations to improve the scales were also presented.
... By getting hold of our attention, they accelerate the subjective passage of time. In a survey conducted by Wood et al. (2007), 99% of respondents reported losing track of time while playing video games. A number of experimental studies also showed that we tend to underestimate the duration of a play session and experience a faster passage of time (Bisson et al., 2012;Bisson & Grondin, 2013;Luthman et al., 2009;Rau et al., 2006;Rutrecht et al., 2021;Tobin et al., 2010;Tobin & Grondin, 2009;Wood et al., 2004). ...
... Serious games designed for this purpose use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; Coyle et al., 2011;Scholten et al., 2016;Schuurmans et al., 2015) or a mixture of CBT and attention bias modification (ABM; Schoneveld et al., 2016). Commercial video games have been shown to help "alleviate and manage negative feelings" (Villani et al., 2018, p. 10) by functioning as a means of escapism through role play, presence and immersion in other worlds (Hussain & Griffiths, 2009;Kuo et al., 2016), and time loss (Wood et al., 2007). Lobel et al. (2014) observed that in-game interoceptive awareness was positively related to the active implementation of regulatory strategies, hinting at the possibility that games could be used to train regulatory skills. ...
Virtual environments are typically associated with entertainment and a fast subjective passage of time. This study examined the opposite effect by exposing participants (n = 83) to a virtual reality (VR) waiting room for 7.5 min. We assessed the participants' capacity for emotion regulation and self-control as well as their level of boredom, affective states, and experience of time while waiting. We designed this study after one previously conducted by Witowska et al. (2020) in a real waiting room, based on which we modeled the virtual room to compare the results. We expected our VR study to yield similar results to the real waiting room study, with correlations between boredom and a slower passage of time and increased thinking about time. Participants with a higher capacity for emotion regulation and self-control were expected to be less bored and experience time as passing faster than others. VR being an interesting new technology, we hypothesized that the virtual waiting room would be less boring and therefore lead to a faster subjective passage of time than the real room. Our results partly confirm the findings of the real waiting room study, showing correlations between boredom and increased thinking about time and a slower subjective passage of time. Contrary to our expectations, waiting in VR was more boring and led to a slower experience of time and more thoughts about time than waiting in the real room. We did not find the expected effect of emotion regulation and self-control on boredom and time perception. Virtual environments are typically experienced in video games, which provide exciting challenges and captivating audiovisual stimuli designed to capture our attention. By getting hold of our attention, they accelerate the subjective passage of time. In a survey conducted by Wood et al. (2007), 99% of respondents reported losing track of time while playing video games. A number of experimental studies also showed that we tend to underestimate the duration of a play session and experience a faster passage of time (Bisson et al.
... A high level of rumination induces people to repetitively focus on their thinking. This highly immersive cognitive activity can evoke a sense of time loss (Wood et al. 2007) which may aggravate bedtime procrastination. Some empirical studies have confirmed this inference. ...
... Nauts et al. (2019) found that mindless bedtime procrastination (one type of bedtime procrastination) often seems to occur for participants deeply absorbed in an activity. People with a high level of rumination have large amounts of repetitive thinking that can evoke a sense of time loss (Wood et al. 2007). The sense of time loss increases the probability of bedtime procrastination. ...
It has been well documented that rumination has a negative effect on sleep quality. However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. This study investigated the negative effect of rumination on sleep quality mediated by negative affect and bedtime procrastination. In the current study, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Ruminative Responses Scale, Negative Experience Scale, and Bedtime Procrastination Scale were administered to a sample of 1103 college students recruited from an online survey platform, among whom 63% were female. Their age ranged from 17 to 31 with a mean of 20.17 (SD = 1.43). The results indicated that rumination had a significant positive effect on poor sleep quality mediated by negative affect (Effect = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.06, 0.14) and bedtime procrastination (Effect = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.07) separately. Meanwhile, this effect could be serially mediated by the two mediators (Effect = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.06). These findings suggest that, to improve the sleep quality of college students with high levels of rumination, interventions could be targeted at developing their adaptive emotion regulation strategies and behavioral self-regulation skills.
... These games are purposefully designed for the achievement of learning goals through flow-like experiences (Fu et al. 2009). Research in the area of serious education games have reported specific flow components such as challenge (Hamari et al. 2016), time transformation (Wood et al. 2007), positive affect (Wang et al. 2008), and motivation with players in game environments (Huang 2011). In addition, players' sense of time loss was found to be associated with the game's complexity, use of multi-levels, missions, multiplayer interactions, and narrative (Wood et al. 2007). ...
... Research in the area of serious education games have reported specific flow components such as challenge (Hamari et al. 2016), time transformation (Wood et al. 2007), positive affect (Wang et al. 2008), and motivation with players in game environments (Huang 2011). In addition, players' sense of time loss was found to be associated with the game's complexity, use of multi-levels, missions, multiplayer interactions, and narrative (Wood et al. 2007). Other game-based studies reported that players engaged in scientific practices with a forensic science augmented reality mystery game achieved a substantive flow-like experience through a sense of discovery and desire for higher performance Bodzin 2013, 2016). ...
An immersive virtual reality (iVR) game for high school students to learn about locations in their watershed with a primary focus on their city was designed and developed, employing a design model that focuses on flow. An exploratory study with the iVR game was conducted in an urban school in the eastern USA with 57 adolescents ages 16-18 from a population that is economically disadvantaged and includes students who are typically unengaged in traditional school-based learning environments. After game completion, the participants completed a 10-item survey measuring elements of flow and a 12-item survey designed to measure perceptions toward learning with VR games, immersion and presence. Participant focus groups were conducted with an emphasis on features that promoted engagement, learning, immersion, and presence. The findings revealed that all students experienced a flow state when they played the iVR learning game. Almost all users (98.1%) had positive attitudes towards using the iVR game. Students experienced high immersion and presence. In addition, students had favorable attitudes towards learning with iVR games in school environments.
... Not just in games, when we experience flow-characterized by high enjoyment and involvement-this often correlates with losing track of time [50]. This loss of time is reported as a common and positive side effect of engaging gameplay experiences [87]. Time perception-or rather, biased time perception-has thus been framed as a useful indication of immersion and engagement in games user research, as evidenced by its presence in PX questionnaires [6,32]. ...
... Additional overlapping factors include the scale of an observed environment [17], self-referential movement [80], whether observed movements are associated with rest or exertion [51], as well as the colour of lighting [34]: all of these can be present in digital games. Loss of time is a common and often positive gameplay experience [87]. The experience of optimal flow is said to correlate with a distortion in time perception through its effects on concentration and enjoyment [13,15,85]. ...
How much music contributes to player experience (PX) in virtual reality (VR) games remains unclear in the games user research literature. A core factor of PX in VR games that has not been studied before (in relation to audio or otherwise) is time perception. Thus, we provide the first empirical exploration of how music affects time perception in a VR game. In a user study (N=64), we investigated the effects of music on PX and time perception (operationalized as retrospective time estimation). Participants retrospectively perceived time to pass significantly quicker in the VR game when music was present, but reported no difference in PX components, including immersion. This contributes to ongoing discourse on the surprising lack of music effects in VR games. Moreover, our results highlight the need to re-conceptualize our understanding of the relationship between time perception and immersion in games.
... Excessive time spent playing the game I.e. up to 16 hrs per day, not necessarily related to addiction (Allison et al., 2006;Chappell, Eatough, Davies & Griffiths, 2006). Time loss while playing (Rau, Peng & Yang, 2006;Wood, Griffiths & Parkem, 2007). Preoccupation (Chappell et al., 2006;. ...
... A sense that gaming provides compensation for needs not met IRL (Wan & Chiou, 2006b). Flow states, both positively and negatively correlated with addiction (Chou & Ting, 2003;Laffan, Greaney, Barton & Kaye, 2016;Rau et al., 2006;Wan & Chiou, 2006a;Wood et al., 2007). ...
(Internet) Gaming Disorder ((I)GD) is one of the most problematic psychiatric disorders to be recently proposed. It is noted as a condition of further study in the DSM-5 as ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ and is likely to be included in future editions of the DSM pending further research. Both Gaming Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder have been added to the ICD-11.
In this multidisciplinary conceptual analysis, I have combined a philosophical approach with current research in psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, game studies, and economic theory in the area. Presented is a Picoeconomic and Neuroeconomic (PE/NE) model of addiction centred on Disordered and Addictive Gambling. I then begin application of the model to the evidence presented for the (I)GD. I argue that it is possible that some individuals do experience a clinical addiction when they engage in specific activities within games. However, the broader conception of all (video)gaming as socially undesirable and addictive is incorrect and potentially damaging.
By pathologising game play, the psychosciences could be engaging in subjective social judgement of a leisure activity enjoyed by many millions of people of all walks of life, that forms an important part of the personal and social identity of many. Combined with negative media attention on (I)GD, this is contributing to the potentially problematic framing of such behaviour as disordered. This has direct implications for the conceptual understanding of (I)GD in psychiatry; for clinical treatment of those presenting with problematic gaming behaviour; and more broadly for game player’s self-conception – both as individuals and as a group.
(I)GD does not currently fit the PE/NE model because it tends to consider games as a singular category or set of categories. Gamers are grouped according to their negative psychological symptoms, rather than based on their gameplay. It is unclear at this point if grouping gamers in the current way makes conceptual sense, as they may not be engaging in the same behavioural regularities. Additionally, if (I)GD is a discrete disorder, it should not be better understood as a coping mechanism associated with underlying psychosocial or contextual issues.
That a minority of gamers experience negative outcomes from excessive gaming is not in dispute. In fact, such negative outcomes are crucial for understanding any individual gamer behaviour as potentially disordered. However, it is not yet clear that these problems should be attributed to a new disorder. Because of the diversity of both games and gamers, application of the PE/NE model to gaming would require specification of the structural mechanisms of games, and how gamers interact with them. I argue both that (I)GD is a good candidate for conceptual sound application of the PE/NE model of addiction, and that we should be cautious about reifying it as a legitimate, discrete disorder.
... There are 159 Spanish units in the course, otherwise known as "skills" within the Spanish "tree." Users can progress onto more difficult skills as they demonstrate proficiency in easier skills, which is aligned with scaffolding theory (Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). This is a strength of the software because it supports users' learning goals in proficiency in common words and phrases, the enunciation of speech, and echoing (Yakaeva et al., 2017). ...
Spanish is one of the most popular foreign language subjects among learners, as there are currently 142 million users who have used Duolingo to learn Spanish. The Spanish language is projected to see even greater increases in the United States, both academically and demographically. The current research question asks, “How do individual Duolingo Spanish users use discussion boards over time among highly engaged, moderately engaged, and lower engaged users?” This study of Duolingo Spanish users is compared to a previous study about how highly engaged, moderately engaged, and lower engaged Duolingo German users use discussion boards over time. The results of the analysis showed that there were three themes: (1) highly engaged users make comments over a longer period of time over many years and have the highest proficiency in the Spanish language; (2) moderately engaged users make comments over a relatively shorter period of time during the duration of their studies; (3) lower engaged users are more likely to engage in the discussion boards socially about tangential topics over the span of months. The results of this study may inform researchers and educators on how discussion boards may facilitate language learning skills and Spanish knowledge to increase proficiency.
... This satisfying experience is referred to as loss of self-consciousness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). It is also found that game players lose track of time when they are engaged in the games (Wood et al., 2007), which is referred to as transformation of time (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). According to Rachels and Rockinson-Szapkiw (2018), creating autotelic activity is the last element of flow, which is doing the experience for its own sake. ...
This study investigated the effects of digital and non-digital gamification on EFL learners’ learning collocations, satisfaction, perceptions, and sense of flow. The participants divided into three groups of digitally gamified, non-digitally gamified, and non-gamified classes were 75 Iranian EFL students at B1 level. In each class, students were divided into two teams and received the treatment. The data collection instruments included a pretest and a posttest of collocation knowledge, the flow questionnaire, three open-ended questions, and a semi-structured interview. The results of ANCOVA revealed significant improvement in the collocation knowledge of the three groups. The results of an ANOVA revealed significant differences in the collocation posttest scores of digital and non-digital groups compared to that of non-gamified group. Additionally, both gamified groups were satisfied with using gamification for learning collocations, because they believed the class was highly competitive, encouraging them to collaborate and learn in teams. Both groups also had positive perceptions of implementing gamification for learning collocations, which included competition, teamwork, and challenging and fun learning environment. The results indicated that students of both gamified groups considerably experienced the sense of flow because their skills matched the challenges of the games, and they were absorbed in the games. This study recommends that EFL teachers implement gamification as an effective tool to tap into learners’ emotions and to engage them in learning English collocations.
... Although we applied a multiwave, longitudinal design using a novel statistical approach that enabled us to examine the prospective relations between within-person changes in gaming, athletic self-esteem and objectively measured MVPA with adjustment for all unmeasured time-invariant confounders, the findings just discussed should be interpreted in light of some study limitations. First, players often lose track of time while gaming (Wood et al., 2007), possibly because of its absorbing nature. Moreover, many parents may not have a complete overview of their child's spare time use, including their gaming. ...
Background
Youth are increasingly engaged in digital games; while physical activity rates are declining. This study examines whether the amount of time children spend on gaming is related to physical activity and athletic self-esteem.
Method
At ages 8, 10, 12, and 14, a community sample of children (n = 751, 379 girls) was interviewed about how often they played digital games, completed questionnaires regarding their athletic self-esteem and wore an accelerometer to measure physical activity.
Results
A random intercept cross-lagged panel model using the participants as their own controls adjusting for all time-invariant potential confounding factors, revealed that increased gaming predicted reduced athletic self-esteem (B = −0.17, 95% CI: 0.26 to −0.10). Among boys aged 10 years, increased moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) predicted decreased gaming (B = −0.64, 95% CI: 1.12 to −0.16) whereas increased gaming predicted reduced MVPA at the age of 12 (B = −0.08, 95% CI: 0.12 to −0.03). These effects remained evident two years later via stability in gaming and MVPA.
Conclusions
Findings suggest a developmental window for boys in middle childhood during which changes in physical activity and gaming result in longer-term cascades that endure into adolescence: increased gaming predicts reduced MVPA, whereas reduced MVPA predicts increased gaming.
... A study performed by [21] had used open-ended questions to encourage students to report their moods while playing video games. As a result, various negative repercussions indirectly related to academic performance associated with addiction to video gaming were reported, such as skipping classes, missing homework deadlines, etc. ...
... When learners in non-game conditions are compared to those in game conditions, studies have revealed that the game participants experience more flow (Bressler & Bodzin, 2016;Kelders et al., 2018). Other game researchers have found confirmation of specific flow elements such as time transformation (Wood et al., 2007), positive affect (Wang et al., 2008), and motivation (Huang, 2011). Overall, there is a case to be made that well-designed learning games can be structured to promote the positive psychological state known as flow. ...
We report on a design-based research study that was conducted over three iterations. It chronicles the design, development, and implementation of School Scene Investigators, a forensic science game series for middle school students that utilizes mobile augmented reality. Played on mobile devices while exploring the school environment, School Scene Investigators embeds scientific practices in a real-world context. Students work collaboratively playing unique, interdependent roles as they collect and analyze scientific data in order to solve a mystery. School Scene Investigators aims to (1) engage students through the experience of flow, a positive psychological state often experienced during well-designed games and (2) trigger science interest. In order to better understand how to design mobile game environments that engage students in flow and trigger their interest in science, we analyzed students’ self-reports of flow and interest after playing the game. Previous research demonstrated that each iteration of School Scene Investigators engaged students in a substantive flow-like experience. In this study, since engagement does not guarantee interest, we tested whether such engagement, measured as flow, was predictably related to triggered science interest. Data were pooled from all three iterations into a Bayesian multilevel model. Findings demonstrated that students with higher flow had a higher probability of triggered interest. Implications for the findings are discussed.
... Además, muchas de ellas se han centrado en adolescentes (Fisher, 1994;Gentile, citado en Harris Interactive, 2007;Griffiths, 1997;Griffiths y Hunt, 1995;1998;Hauge y Gentile, 2003;Parsons, 1995;Phillips, Rolls, Rouse y Griffiths, 1995;Tejeiro-Salguero y Moran, 2002) o jóvenes (Shotton, 1989). De hecho, hay informes adicionales con indicios de dependencia a los videojuegos entre los adolescentes como son: robar dinero para jugar a juegos de arcade o para comprar nuevos juegos (Griffiths y Hunt, 1995;1998;Keepers, 1990;Klein, 1984), faltar a la escuela para poder jugar (Griffiths y Hunt, 1998;Keepers, 1990), no hacer los deberes o sacar malas notas en la escuela (Griffiths y Hunt, 1998;Phillips et al, 1995), sacrificar actividades sociales para jugar (Egli y Meyers, 1984;Griffiths y Hunt, 1998), irritabilidad y enojo si no es posible jugar (Griffiths y Hunt, 1998;Rutkowska y Carlton, 1994), y jugar más de lo propuesto en un principio y/o perder el tiempo (Egli y Meyers, 1984;Griffiths y Hunt, 1998;Wood y Griffiths, 2007a;Wood, Griffiths y Parke, 2007). No hay duda de que para una minoría de personas (particularmente los adolescentes), los videojuegos pueden tomar una considerable cantidad de tiempo y frecuencia, cosa que podría llevar a etiquetarlos como 'adictos'. ...
Para muchos, el concepto de la adicción a los videojuegos es poco probable, sobretodo si el concepto de adicción implica tomar drogas. Este artículo hace una revisión del área, pequeña pero en crecimiento, de la adicción a los videojuegos, incluyendo la adicción a los videojuegos online. En el mundo hay pocos profesionales especializados en el tratamiento de la adicción a los videojuegos, cosa que podría deberse a que son pocos los jugadores genuinamente adictos a los videojuegos. Sin embargo, Internet puede facilitar el juego en línea excesivo, como evidencia el número en aumento de las clínicas especializadas en el tratamiento de la adicción a los videojuegos online. Tener en cuenta todos los factores y variables y considerar la prevalencia del juego y la prevalencia de los efectos adversos sobre la salud, es relativamente difícil si nos basamos en la evidencia empírica hasta la fecha. Una revisión de la literatura disponible parece indicar que los efectos nocivos afectan, probablemente, a solo un subgrupo pequeño de jugadores y que la mayoría de jugadores con un uso frecuente de los videojuegos están en riesgo de desarrollar problemas de salud. Estos jugadores experimentan unos efectos sutiles, menores y temporales, que se resolverán espontáneamente con la reducción de la frecuencia de juego.
... Serious games present an embodiment of a game, as in the virtual representation often delivered as a 3D construct built on the same architecture as video games (such as the Unity game engine) which encompass levels of interactivity through a graphic user interface (Petridis et al., 2010). Where a video game might be centred on leisurely pursuits (Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007), serious games however are generally developed for educational and training purposes (Michael & Chen, 2005). Gamification, in contrast to serious games, is not generally supported by a fully stimulatory environment developed through a game engine. ...
Organisations are currently lacking in developing and implementing business systems in meaningful ways to motivate and engage their staff. This is particularly salient as the average employee spends eleven cumulative years of their life at work, however less than one third of the workforce are actually engaged in their duties throughout their career. Such low levels of engagement are particularly prominent with younger employees, referred to as Generation Y (GenY), who are the least engaged of all groups at work. However, they will dedicate around five cumulative years of their life immersed playing video games such as ‘Clash of Clans’, whether for social, competitive, extrinsic, or intrinsic motivational factors. Using behavioural concepts derived from video games, and applying game design elements in business systems to motivate employees in the digital economy, is a concept which has come to be recognised as Business Gamification. Thus, the purpose of this research paper is to further our understanding of game design elements for business, and investigate their properties from design to implementation in gamified systems. Following a two-year ethnographic style study with both a system development, and a communication agency largely staffed with GenY employees, findings suggest properties in game design elements are emergent and temporal in their instantiations.
... Serious games present an embodiment of a game, as in the virtual representation often delivered as a 3D construct built on the same architecture as video games (such as the Unity game engine) which encompass levels of interactivity through a graphic user interface (Petridis et al., 2010). Where a video game might be centred on leisurely pursuits (Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007), serious games however are generally developed for educational and training purposes (Michael & Chen, 2005). Gamification, in contrast to serious games, is not generally supported by a fully stimulatory environment developed through a game engine. ...
... For example, ruminative behavior has been shown to evoke increased negative affect (Lai, Han, & Yang, 2009), and one way of coping with such negative affect is to delay time sleeping (Sirois, Nauts, & Molnar, 2019). High levels of rumination can also evoke a sense of time loss (Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007), which is manifested by people losing track of time and thereby gradually increasing bedtime procrastination. Thus, in this study, we hypothesize (H3) that IA may indirectly affect sleep quality through the sequential mediating effects of rumination and bedtime procrastination. ...
Background and aims:
Numerous studies have shown that people who have Internet addiction (IA) are more likely to experience poor sleep quality than people who do not. However, few studies have explored mechanisms underlying the relation between IA and poor sleep quality. As a first attempt to address this knowledge gap, a cross-sectional design was applied, and structural equation modeling was used to explore the direct relationship between IA and poor sleep quality, as well as the potential mediating roles of rumination and bedtime procrastination.
Methods:
A convenience sample, consisting of 1,104 Chinese University students (696 females or 63%), completed an online survey that included the following measures: Young's 8-item Internet Addiction Diagnosis Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Ruminative Responses Scale, and the Bedtime Procrastination Scale.
Results:
While the direct path between IA and poor sleep quality was not found to be significant, rumination and bedtime procrastination were each shown to separately mediate the predictive effect of IA on poor sleep quality. However, the greatest level of support was found for the sequential mediating effects of rumination and bedtime procrastination between IA and poor sleep quality.
Conclusion:
While rumination and bedtime procrastination were both shown to be important independent mediators for the relation between IA and poor sleep quality, their combined effect was as great as either alone.
... Specifically, participants reported that time passed more quickly when engaged with video games compared to movies/TV. Previous research has shown time perception changes associated with video game play (Rau et al., 2006;Tobin & Grondin, 2009;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007), but time perception in noninteractive media is relatively understudied (although see Kweon, Hwang, & Jo, 2011). The current results suggest that time perception changes require interactive involvement with media and that such perceptual distortion may occur regardless of other alterations in self-representation. ...
... Wood, Griffiths and Parke [35] studied the time loss phenomena on video game players. The participants responded an online survey containing open questions about the player's experience on time loss. ...
We present a review on methods used to assess phenomena related to immersion, engagement, flow and presence. These concepts are used to describe the perceived quality of the interaction with digital media and games. However, they are commonly ambiguous, as they can refer to similar phenomena. We approach this ambiguity by focusing our study on measurable phenomena, like the subject's performance in objective tasks and the galvanic skin resistance. Additionally , we highlight the limitations and underlying assumptions of the discussed measurement methods. Finally, we show the factors and game characteristics that can influence on the measured phenomena.
... When people become engaged in games they may experience psychological absorption. More commonly known as 'immersion', this refers to when individual logical integration of thoughts, feelings and experiences is suspended (Funk, Chan, Brouwer, & Curtiss, 2006;Wood, Griffiths, & Parke, 2007). This can incur an altered state of consciousness such as altered time perception and change in degree of control over cognitive functioning . ...
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.
... It is possible that participants just cannot detect perceptual bias for short durations and/or for target durations with no benchmark derived from daily life (e.g., how long does it take to boil an egg). In support of this possibility, for instance Tobin et al. (2010) found that contrary to the anecdotal and empirical evidence (e.g., Wood et al., 2007) and the claim that gamers spend a lot of time playing video games due to their underestimation of elapsed time, gamers overestimated rather than underestimating the gameplay durations (12 min, 35 min, 58 min) when the judgments were made progressively (but also when a 12 min interval was judged retrospectively). One of the possible reasons behind this observation was argued to be the correction of the estimates due to the prior knowledge of the gamers about their tendency to underestimate gameplay duration. ...
Our subjective experience of time intervals is susceptible to the effects of the various properties of the timed stimuli/events (e.g., motion, size, affect). For instance, subjective time is considerably lengthened when observing faster and shortened when observing slower walking animations. Such effects on perceived time have been investigated widely in the field. What we do not know based on these studies is if participants are aware of these sorts of stimulus-induced timing illusions. Thus, the current study, using confidence ratings, investigated whether the participants are aware of their largely biased time perception induced by the observed walking speed in a temporal bisection task. After each categorization of a probe interval as ‘short’ or ‘long’, we asked participants to rate their confidence level regarding their categorization. We reasoned that if participants were aware of their biased time perception, the temporal modulation of confidence ratings regarding their categorization performance would not change between different walking speed conditions. We found that confidence ratings closely tracked shifts in the psychometric functions suggesting that participants were not aware of the stimulus-induced warping of perceived time. We replicated these findings in a second experiment. Our results show that human participants are not aware of the stimulus-induced temporal illusions they experience.
... Simulation games are defined as instruction delivered via a computer program that immerses users in a decision-making exercise in an artificial environment in order to experience the consequences of their decisions [Sitzmann (2011)]. Moreover, simulation games are described as being very motivating and people have reported experiencing a loss of time when engaging with them [Wood et al. (2007)]. A characteristic feature of simulations is that they are reality based, but they can also integrate certain game features such as constraints and competition [Tobias and Fletcher (2007)]. ...
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are ongoing concerns. The best method for preventing the transmission of these infections is the correct and consistent use of condoms. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of serious games and computer simulations for sexual health issues and, in particular, to explore the use of simulations to access and influence attitudes to sexual behaviour and risk. Judgements of attractiveness have previously been shown to influence the character of social interactions. This thesis sought to better understand the relationship between perceived attractiveness, perceived sexual health status and condom use intentions in both heterosexual male and heterosexual female populations. Both samples’ perceptions of attractiveness influenced their condom use intentions. In particular, the more attractive a partner was judged to be on average, the more likely participants would be willing to have sex with them and the less likely they were to intend to use a condom during sex. Therefore, this work suggests that such risk biases should be incorporated into sexual health education programmes and condom use interventions. Few studies have explored the use of computer games in interventions for increasing condom use by challenging the false sense of security associated with judging the presence of an STI based on attractiveness. The studies reported in this thesis extend the literature by investigating the potential of computer simulations in serious games for sex education. Engaging in the simulations and games developed for this research had an impact on participants’ confidence in evaluating sexual risks. The interventions’ efficacy was associated with individual propensity for sexual sensation seeking and sexual excitation seeking. Moreover, the findings of this research work indicate that computer simulations could be an effective sex education intervention, in reducing the barriers to condom use.
... Presence has already been linked to time perception in games. Empirical studies found that a high level of presence was related to greater time loss (Hägni et al., 2007;Sanders & Cairns, 2010;Wood et al., 2007). In contrast, Nordin (2014) did not find a link between presence and time perception. ...
The velocity of moving stimuli has been linked to their experienced duration. This effect was extended to instances of self-motion, where one’s own movement affects the subjective length of time. However, the experimental evidence for this extension is scarce and the effect of self-motion has not been investigated using a reproduction paradigm. Therefore, we designed a virtual reality scenario that controls for attention and eliminates the confounding effect of velocity and acceleration. The scenario consisted of a virtual road on which participants ( n = 26) moved along in a car for six different durations and with six different velocities. We measured the subjective duration of the movement with reproduction and direct numerical estimation. We also assessed levels of presence in the virtual world. Our results show that higher velocity was connected to longer subjective time for both forms of measurement. However, the effect showed deviations from linearity. Presence was not associated with subjective time and did not improve performance on the task. We interpreted the effect of velocity as corroborating previous work using stimulus motion, which showed the same positive association between velocity of movement and subjective time. The absence of an effect of presence was explained in terms of a lacking dependency of time on characteristics of the virtual environment. We suggest applying our findings to the design of virtual experiences intended for inducing time loss.
... Sturrock 2018). Pelaaja voi päätyä pelaamaan aiottua kauemmin, koska haluaa esimerkiksi pelata peliä vielä yhden vuoron lisää tai yrittää jotain pelin haastetta vielä kerran ennen lopettamista (Wood, Griffiths & Parke 2007). Tulkintaa tukevat omatkin kokemukseni pelaajana. ...
Digitaalinen pelaaminen on noussut merkittäväksi harrastukseksi ja ilmiöksi etenkin nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten parissa, ja tuonut mukanaan uudenlaisia kasvatuksellisia haasteita. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan, millaisia vaatimuksia suomalaisten nuorten (13–30-vuotiaat) pelaamismotiivit, kokemukset pelihaitoista ja pelaamiseen liittyvästä kasvatuksesta asettavat kotien pelikasvatukselle. Tutkimuksessa esitellään pelisivistyksen käsite ja tarkastellaan sen näkökulmasta pelikasvatuksen keskeisiä kysymyksiä.
Tutkimuksen kolmessa osatutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin pelaavien nuorten kokemuksia pelaamisestaan: miksi nuoret pelasivat, mitä haittoja nuoret olivat pelaamisen yhteydessä kokeneet ja miten nuoret olivat kokeneet pelaamisen käsittelyn kotikasvatuksessa. Tulokset paljastivat laajan kirjon erilaisia pelaajia, pelikokemuksia ja pelaamisen tapoja. Peleistä saatiin tärkeitä omaehtoisuuden, yhteenkuuluvuuden ja osaamisen kokemuksia, mutta ne olivat myös ajantappamista tylsinä hetkinä.
Runsaasti pelaavilla nuorilla esiintyi muita nuoria enemmän pelihaittoja. Pelaamisen määrä ei kuitenkaan ollut luotettava haitallisuuden mittari, vaan pelaamisen motiivit ja vastaajien omat kokemukset liikaa pelaamisesta olivat yhteydessä haittojen esiintymiseen. Nuoret olivat tietoisia pelaamiseen liittyvistä riskeistä ja pyrkivät ehkäisemään niitä. Tulosten perusteella pelaaminen ei vaikuta olevan suomalaisille nuorille merkittävä riski ikäluokkatasolla, mutta yksilötasolla vaikutukset voivat olla hyvinkin suuria, etenkin mikäli pelaaminen kytkeytyy muihin ongelmiin.
Nuorten kertomuksissa vanhempien asenteet pelaamista kohtaan vaihtelivat hyvin kielteisistä voimakkaan myönteisiin, mikä näkyi myös kasvatusvalinnoissa. Nuorten pelikasvatusnäkemyksissä korostuivat sekä pelaamisen ymmärtämisen ja myönteisen käsittelyn että haittojen ehkäisyn näkökulmat.
Tuloksia peilataan nuorten pelaamisen aiempaan tutkimukseen ja julkiseen keskusteluun. Tulosten perusteella annetaan suosituksia pelisivistykselliseen pelikasvatukseen, jossa huomioidaan sekä nuorten pelaajien että pelaamisen monimuotoisuus ja korostetaan nuorten toimijuutta.
... Hence, future research needs to check and validate the results for other contexts of human-computer interaction such as free explorations of websites or programs and games. Computer games, for example, might involve different modes of time processing due to their immersive nature (Wood et al., 2007). Moreover, the experimental design limits the generalizability as well, as each subject was assigned to one group in our two-by-two between-subject design. ...
Duration perception influences decision and evaluation processes in daily life. Nevertheless, subjectively experienced time is not commonly considered in usability and user experience (UX) testing scenarios. In this paper, we introduce an easy way to measure subjectively experienced time (SXT) and integrate it into a framework of UX, both theoretically and empirically. In two studies ( and ), we show that SXT can be evaluated by users after solving tasks on a website. Moreover, we show that it correlates substantially with components of UX but that it is not redundant to common UX measures. Additionally, we show that varying aspects of the website (usability) and the evaluation task (think aloud) show similar effects on both SXT and UX measures. Our results suggest that SXT is partly based on the estimated clock time as distortions in estimations translate into subjectively experienced time. We conclude that users perceive time during an ongoing interaction with a technical device, that they evaluate it, and integrate this evaluation into their UX evaluation. Hence, the presented way of measuring SXT can be handy for UX practitioners to understand how objective temporal characteristics of the interaction translate into UX, especially when designing temporal aspects of interactions to elicit a positive UX.
... A person who is completely absorbed in performing an activity might reach a state of flow, a mental condition that is marked among other characteristics by a distorted sense of time [17]. Such flow experiences are often reported by people who play computer games [13,59]. We designed our game to be staged, with each level being entirely played at one marker, as discussed in Section 3. ...
Theme parks visits can be very playful events for families, however, waiting in the ride’s queues can often be the cause of great frustration. We developed a novel augmented reality game to be played in the theme park’s queue, and an in-the-wild study with X participants using log data and interviews demonstrated that every minute playing was perceived to the same extent of about 5 minutes of not playing the game. We articulate a design space for researchers and strategies for game designers aiming to reduce perceived waiting time in queues. With our work, we hope to extend how we use games in everyday life to make our lives more playful.
... Since three decades ago, many researchers have looked to the 'consumption of games' and at its impact on persons' life. Playing games affects people behaviour, feelings and daily activities (Wood et al. 2007), but also it may represent a learning opportunity often adopted by educators (Squire 2006) and companies in boosting creativity. On the other side, there are several studies that have used videogames companies as the setting for their research. ...
This paper explores how individual domain passion influences venture development. Albeit passion is one of the most debated concepts in psychology, entrepreneurship and marketing literatures, a framework describing how passion for consumption shapes the entrepreneurial process is still lacking. Based on an inductive qualitative approach, the paper addresses these issues via analysing an Italian and a Japanese videogame companies. The paper provides two important contributions to existing research. First, it shows that obsessive and harmonious passion influence venture growth strategies through what we call a ‘passion-fulfilling’ and a ‘passion-orchestrating’ venture development models. Second, it sheds light on the role of contextual factors in shaping passion. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Problem gambling refers to the adverse effects on the gambler, on other individuals, his/her social life or even on the community as a result of the individual's excessive gambling behaviour. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement, prevalence and counselling implication of problem gambling among student sports bettors of the University of Cape Coast. The study explored the various sub-types of gambling that students are involved in and are prevalent in the University. The Pathways Model of Blaszczynski and Nower was used in identifying subtypes of problem gamblers. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample size of 351 was used from four colleges of the University of Cape Coast. The researchers further used disproportionate stratified sampling technique to draw from each college the number required for the study. The Canadian Problem Gambling Index on a whole recorded Cronbach alpha value of .81. Means, standard deviation and percentages were used in the data analysis. It was found that non-problem gamblers and problem gamblers were most prevalent among the sub-types. Also, students were found to involve in gambling mostly twice or more in a week. On timely basis, 25mins or more were spent on sports betting. It was recommended among other things that a proposed 'Gaming Research Unit' under the auspices of the Department of Education and Psychology, should be set up to ensure the screening of students who are low-risk, moderate-risk or problem gambler and referred them for guidance and counselling and also organise gambling educational programmes and awareness seminars in the University of Cape Coast.
Problem gambling refers to the adverse effects on the gambler, on other individuals, his/her social life or even on the community as a result of the individual's excessive gambling behaviour. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement, prevalence and counselling implication of problem gambling among student sports bettors of the University of Cape Coast. The study explored the various sub-types of gambling that students are involved in and are prevalent in the University. The Pathways Model of Blaszczynski and Nower was used in identifying subtypes of problem gamblers. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. A sample size of 351 was used from four colleges of the University of Cape Coast. The researchers further used disproportionate stratified sampling technique to draw from each college the number required for the study. The Canadian Problem Gambling Index on a whole recorded Cronbach alpha value of .81. Means, standard deviation and percentages were used in the data analysis. It was found that non-problem gamblers and problem gamblers were most prevalent among the sub-types. Also, students were found to involve in gambling mostly twice or more in a week. On timely basis, 25mins or more were spent on sports betting. It was recommended among other things that a proposed 'Gaming Research Unit' under the auspices of the Department of Education and Psychology, should be set up to ensure the screening of students who are low-risk, moderate-risk or problem gambler and referred them for guidance and counselling and also organise gambling educational programmes and awareness seminars in the University of Cape Coast.
El avance tecnológico ha sido muy favorable en diversos ámbitos, sobre todo en el ocio y diversión, debido a la creación de videojuegos y juegos por internet. Las personas que utilizan estas actividades de forma desmedida pueden adquirir una adicción. La Psicología Clínica ha empleado algunas terapias para tratar esta patología, el estudio tiene como objetivo revisar de forma sistemática la evidencia publicada en diferentes revistas científicas sobre el empleo de terapias del enfoque cognitivo conductual en el tratamiento de la adicción a videojuegos. La revisión utilizó los lineamientos de PRISMA y de COCHRANE. Se encontraron 17 estudios, los cuales se analizaron con la escala POMRF (Psychotherapy Outcome Study Methodology Rating Form) y con la herramienta CONSORT (Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials). Los resultados señalan que la utilización de la Terapia Cognitivo Conductual o tratamientos basados en el enfoque cognitivo conductual, son muy eficaces para reducir la adicción a videojuegos y tratar los síntomas que conlleva como depresión, ansiedad, aislamiento social, entre otros.
The immense popularity of social networks such as Facebook has led to concerns about their potentially addictive nature and the ways in which they may be negatively affecting users, especially adolescents. However, despite the fact that “Facebook addiction” and “social media addiction” have become common terms in the media and social dialogue, the empirical evidence at this time does not support the existence of such a psychological affliction for several reasons: (1) The majority of studies on social media addiction are correlational and use self-report questionnaires which are not suitable for diagnosis; (2) Most studies employ non-standardized measures, cut-off scores, and criteria, and (3) There is an absence of case studies, experimental studies, longitudinal studies, and clinical studies in the field. Social interaction is a fundamental human need which social networks facilitate. Therefore, their widespread appeal is understandable. However, although an addiction to social media might not exist, there are still various problems that have been associated with social media use, including lower self-esteem, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), bullying, anxiety, and depression, among others. In this chapter, we review the research on social media addiction, analyze how it fulfills the psychological criteria that define a true addiction, discuss the various problems associated with social media use outside of the addiction framework, and explore how these problems develop as well as look at potential treatments and prevention strategies for them.KeywordsSocial media sitesFacebookAddictionFOMO
Dijital teknolojinin ipleri eğlence dünyasının tasarımı olan oyuna konumlandırılmıştır. Dijitalleşen oyunun hızla artan payı inovasyonun ticari değere dönüşümünü elverişli kılmıştır. Bu bölümde dijital oyun ekonomisi mercek altına alınarak pazarının büyüklüğü ve ihracat potansiyeli performans ve rekabet perspektifinden değerlendirilmiştir. Dijital oyun pazarının kısaca gelişimi incelenmiştir. Dijital oyunların değer zinciri değerlendirilirken Porter yaklaşımı ile bağ kurulmuştur. Küresel ticarette dijital oyun pazarı uluslararası işletmeler, sanal pazarlar çerçevesinde değerlendirilmiştir. Dijital oyun pazarına ilişkin uluslararasılaşma sürecinin getirdiği ticari başarı ve ihracat potansiyeli vurgulanmıştır.
Link: https://acikkaynak.gim.org.tr/img/dijital-oyunlar-2.pdf
La percepción del tiempo, y más concretamente, la estimación de su duración podría verse alterada en diferentes adicciones conductuales. Esto es lo que sucedería en la adicción a videojuegos. Entre otros factores, la alteración en la estimación temporal podría deberse al grado de disfrute que generan estos contenidos. La mayoría de estudios se han centrado casi exclusivamente en hombres, dejando de lado a las mujeres y al posible efecto diferencial del género en este fenómeno. Así, el objetivo del presente trabajo fue explorar si existen diferencias de género en la estimación temporal durante la exposición a videojuegos y el disfrute con estos contenidos. Para ello, 193 personas (54,4% mujeres) entre 18-48 años realizaron una tarea experimental que consistía en la exposición a videos de videojuegos en 4 condiciones temporales (60, 90, 120 y 150 segundos). Tras cada exposición, los participantes estimaban su duración (en segundos) y reportaban el disfrute con el contenido (entre 0-10). Ambos géneros sobreestimaban la duración de la exposición a videojuegos en las 4 condiciones temporales. Sin embargo, se observaron diferencias en función del género para la condición de 60 segundos (t= -1.10; p= .016) y para la estimación media de las 4 condiciones (t= -.741; p=.045); en todos los casos las mujeres tendían a sobreestimar más la duración. Respecto al disfrute, los hombres consideraron más satisfactorios todos los contenidos, siendo las diferencias significativas para la condición de 90 (t=5.56; p=.030), 120 (t=4.05; p=.037), y 150 segundos (t=7.13; p= .039). Tanto hombres como mujeres tendían a sobreestimar el tiempo durante el visionado de videojuegos, resultando este fenómeno más pronunciado en las mujeres. Asimismo, éstas disfrutaron mucho menos del contenido. Esto explicaría que sea menos común el riesgo de adicción en mujeres, ya que percibirían que han pasado más tiempo jugando y sentirían menos atracción hacia su contenido.
Günümüzde dijital oyunların artan kullanımı ile birlikte, bu oyunların oyuncularına sunduğu içerikler, fayda ve zararlar çok daha fazla gündeme gelir olmuştur. Bu çerçeveyle birlikte, bu bölümde öncelikle algı ve bilişin dijital oyunlardan nasıl etkilendiğinden bahsedilecektir. Sonrasında, dijital oyun kullanıcılarının oyuna dair zaman, mekân ve benlik algıları sunulacaktır. Zaman algısı “oyuna dalmak” ve “akış” terimleri ile birlikte ele alınırken mekân algısı, görsel-uzamsal bellek gelişimi ile dijital oyunlarda bakış açısı alma üzerinden sunulacaktır. Dijital oyunlarda benlik ise, avatarlar ve “sanallaşan (çevrimiçileşen) benlik algısı” yardımıyla anlatılacaktır. Son olarak, zihinsel kurgulama seviyelerinin özellikle “ciddi” dijital oyunlar üzerindeki etkilerinden bahsedilecektir.
Understanding how the brain maps time is central to neuroscience, behavior, psychology, and cognition. Just as in spatial navigation, self-positioning in a temporal cognitive map depends on numerous factors that are both exogenous and endogenous (e.g. time of day and experienced durations, respectively). The deprivation of external temporal landmarks can greatly reduce the ability of participants to orient in time and to formulate an adequate endogenous representation of time. However, this area of investigation in humans shows a great paucity of empirical data. This article aims at unearthing some of the experimental work that has systematically explored how humans’ awareness of time is affected by varying degrees of isolation protocols. The assessment of the literature on the impact of isolation (broadly construed) on human temporalities may contribute to contextualizing the temporal distortions and disorientations reported during the ongoing worldwide pandemic Covid-19.
Flow is a mental state characterized by deep absorption during challenging activities, which was first studied by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. One of the defining characteristics of this state is the loss of the sense of time. Despite the widespread scientific interest in flow, there are few quantitative studies specifically on the aspect of time perception. The present study focuses on the relation between time perception and flow states in the context of video game play. Participants (n = 100) played the rhythm game Thumper for 25 minutes in one of two conditions: in virtual reality (VR) or on a computer screen (2D). Participants who played the game in VR performed better and had a stronger feeling of presence than those who played in 2D. Thumper was flow-inducing regardless of condition and the more flow participants experienced the less they thought about time and the faster time passed subjectively. The total score obtained by players as an objective measure of player performance was positively correlated with flow states, indicating that the more flow participants experienced, the better they played.
Research in the area of video game play and sports psychology has suggested that specific strategies are often employed by players to justify aggressive behaviour used during gameplay. The present study investigates the relationship between game play and moral disengagement strategies in a group of 605 adults who played violent videogames or regularly played competitive sports. The results suggest that sports players were more likely than violent game players to endorse moral disengagement strategies. The video gamers were more likely to use a specific set of moral disengagement strategies (i.e., cognitive restructuring) than the other groups and this may be related to the structural characteristics of videogames. The findings add to recent research exploring the mechanisms by which individuals engage in aggressive acts both virtually and in real-life situations. The results are discussed in relation to similar relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research.
Introduction:
World Health Organization recognizes online game addiction as a mental health condition. The rise of excessive online gaming is emerging in the Philippines, with 29.9 million gamers recorded in the country. The incidence of depression is also increasing in the country. The current correlational analysis evaluated the association between online game addiction and depression in Filipino adolescents.
Methods:
A paper-and-pencil self-administered questionnaire assessing depression and online game addiction was distributed from August to November, 2018. The questionnaire included socio-demographic profiles of the respondents, and the 14-item Video Game Addiction Test (VAT) (Cronbach's α=0.91) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Cronbach's α=0.88) to determine levels of online game addiction and depression, respectively. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the association between depression and online game addiction.
Results:
Three hundred adolescents (59% males, 41% females) participated in the study. Fifty-three out of 300 respondents (12.0% males, 5.7% females) had high level of online game addiction as reflected in their high VAT scores. In this study, 37 respondents (6.7% males, 5.7% females) had moderately severe depression and 6 (2.0%) females had severe depression. Online game addiction was positively correlated with depression in this study (r=0.31; p<0.001). When multiple regression analysis was computed, depression was found to be a predictor of online game addiction (Coefficient=0.0121; 95% CI-8.1924 - 0.0242; p=0.05).
Conclusions:
Depression, as associated with online game addiction, is a serious threat that needs to be addressed. High level of online game addiction, as positively correlated to the rate of depression among adolescents in Manila, could potentially be attributed to the booming internet industry and lack of suffiicent mental health interventions in the country. Recommended interventions include strengthening depression management among adolescents and improving mental health services for this vulnerable population groups in schools and within the communities.
Background: Visual impairment can hinder achieving developmental markers in children. Various studies have examined the effectiveness of play therapy in children with visual impairment. However, lack of a comprehensive review study that examined the characteristics and overall effectiveness of these interventions, led to conducting of the present study. Objectives: This study aimed to provide strong evidence on the characteristics and efficacy of play therapy interventions in children and adolescents (0-21 years) with visual impairment. Methods: Our literature searching was done with English and Persian keywords obtained from Mesh in the Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, Iran Medex, Iranian Archive for Scientific Documents Center (IASD), Iranian National Library (INL), Google and Google Scholar, until 2020. The selection process of articles was according to PRISMA. Text data was analyzed by convention content analysis. Additionally, the modified Downs and Black Checklist was used to assess the quality of primary studies. Results: From 1763 articles, finally nine were analyzed which met the inclusion criteria. The major findings were presented in the categories of on participants, implementation, measurements, and efficacy of interventions. All subjects were with visual impairment, without severe physical or cognitive impairment. Play interventions were done by children, or with operational children and their caregivers or parents. Play therapy interventions were in two forms of computer/video based game and child-therapist/parent based game, which were conducted in different settings resembling home, school, or sport camp conditions. Data were gathered by observation of researchers and reports of children using different questionnaires. All of the interventions were effective in improving cognitive, visual, physical, communicative and vestibular skills of the children. Conclusions: Despite the comprehensive efficacy of play therapy intervention in children with visual impairment, few studies have been conducted in this field. Considering multi-biases such as missing control of confounders, more high quality standard studies are needed to further evaluate the effectiveness of play therapy in children with visual impairments.
Internet addiction has gradually turned a medium of gaming and other leisure activities shifting from its original intention to fasten the communication and help in the researches. The excessive usage of internet and nature of its usage has been found to be similar with psycho-addictive substance addiction with similar neurobiological basis. Inclusion of gambling disorder into DSM 5 further strengthens the emerging concept of behavioral addiction. Various worldwide researches also support the upsurge of such problem. The clinical presentation and management options are mostly based on the behavioral principles learned from the substance abuse problems. However, large-scale randomized trails and epidemiological studies are definitely needed to understand this twenty-first century problem.
This paper applies psychological models of time perception to examine how the speed of the passage of time can be altered by video games. Video games are well-known for making time fly, and this experience is typically understood as a sign of a good game. While this is true in many (maybe most) cases, this paper also makes an argument for the slowing down of the passage of time in games, and why experiences like boredom can possess aesthetic value.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, üniversite öğrencilerinin akıllı telefon bağımlılığı düzeylerini cinsiyet, mobil oyun oynama ve akademik başarı düzeyi açısından incelenmektir. Çalışmanın katılımcılarını bir devlet üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 301 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Demirci, Orhan, Demirdaş, Akpınar ve Sert (2014) tarafından dilimize uyarlanan “Akıllı Telefon Bağımlılığı” ölçeği ile veriler toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde bağımsız örneklem t-testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizinden (ANOVA) yararlanılmıştır. Bulgular incelendiğinde, üniversite öğrencilerinin akıllı telefon bağımlılığı düzeylerinde cinsiyet açısından anlamlı bir farklılık bulunmazken, mobil oyun oynayan ve mobil oyun oynama süresi yüksek olan üniversite öğrencilerinin akıllı telefon bağımlılığı düzeyinin yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Akademik başarı düzeyi açısından incelendiğinde akademik başarı düzeyi açısından başarı düzeyi düşük olan öğrencilerin, başarı düzeyi daha yüksek olan öğrencilere göre akıllı telefon bağımlılık riskinin yüksek olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Ayrıca araştırmada öğrencilerin akıllı telefonu kullandıkları yer ile kullanma amaçlarına yönelik bulgular da yer almaktadır.
Literature has shown that immersive learning environments such as digital educational games and simulations often incorporate storytelling elements in their designs as narrative can be an effective way of making learning more meaningful to students. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on the role narrative can play in the experience of a learner engaging in learning games and to synthesize research on features of story that have demonstrated success in these learning environments. The findings have shown that distributed narrative, intrinsically integrated fantasies, empathetic characters and virtual agents, and adaptiveness or responsivity are four characteristics of game narratives found to be effective. Several learning game analyses were performed to illustrate how these games used narrative to foster greater immersion, engagement, motivation, and learning. Finally, a narrative design strategy for serious games is suggested which integrates the effective narrative features as shown in the example games, along with two analysis frameworks, Game Discourse Analysis and Narrative Centered Informant Design. The findings of this study should provide much-needed insights to designers and researchers who are involved in creating immersive learning environments.
Sleep experts have raised concern over the effects of electronic media use on sleep. To date, few studies have looked beyond the effects of duration and frequency of media exposure or examined the underlying mechanisms of this association. As procrastinatory media use has been related to lower well-being, we used data from two survey studies (N1= 821, N2 = 584) to investigate (1) predictors of procrastinatory TV viewing and (2) the link between procrastinatory TV viewing and sleep quality. Findings from both studies indicate that those with a stronger viewing habit, higher TV involvement, and an eveningness preference reported more procrastinatory TV viewing. Procrastinatory TV viewing was related to subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction. This association was fully mediated by perceived stress. As sleep is key for the replenishment of self-control, procrastinators may be setting themselves up to fail at self-regulating, a situation exacerbated by the omnipresence of media in today’s society.
It is suggested that commercial video-games (e.g.Nintendo &Sega) and gambling activities have similar attractive features and intermittent reinforcement schedules. This research seeks to examine the nature of this relationship amongst children. One hundred and four children aged 9 to 14, from grades 4, 6, and 8, participated. A questionnaire exploring issues related to video-game playing and gambling behavior in children and adolescents was completed and a computerized blackjack game was individually administered. High frequency video-game players were compared to low frequency video-game players with respect to their gambling performance on the blackjack gambling task as well as on information gathered from the questionnaire. Of particular concern is the risk-taking strategies used by avid video-game players, whether or not children perceive gambling and video-games as involving similar amounts of skill or whether they realize that gambling is primarily a game of chance. The findings, in general, suggest that high frequency video-game players gamble more than low frequency video-game players, report that gambling makes them feel more important, and take greater risks on the blackjack gambling task although no overall differences in success were found. Males exhibited greater risk-taking tendencies on the blackjack task than females. The clinical implications of the findings are addressed.
Video games and gambling often contain very similar elements with both providing intermittent rewards and elements of randomness. Furthermore, at a psychological and behavioral level, slot machine gambling, video lottery terminal (VLT) gambling and video game playing share many of the same features. Despite the similarities between video game playing and gambling there have been very few studies that have specifically examined video game playing in relation to gambling behavior. This study inquired about the nature of adolescent video game playing, gambling activities, and associated factors. A questionnaire was completed by 996 (549 females, 441 males, 6 unspecified) participants from grades 7–11, who ranged in age from 10–17 years. Overall, the results of the study found a clear relationship between video game playing and gambling in adolescents, with problem gamblers being significantly more likely than non-problem gamblers or non-gamblers to spend excessive amounts of time playing video games. Problem gamblers were also significantly more likely than non-problem gamblers or non-gamblers to rate themselves as very good or excellent video game players. Furthermore, problem gamblers were more likely to report that they found video games, similar to electronic machine gambling, to promote dissociation and to be arousing and/or relaxing.
Computer game playing is a popular activity among adolescents yet there have been no systematic studies in the U.K. on its prevalence and its demographics. A questionnaire study was undertaken with 387 adolescents (12–16 years of age) to establish the time spent playing computer games, who they first started playing with, the reasons why they first started and why they play now and negative consequences of play. Results revealed that for many adolescents, home computer game playing can take up considerable time with 7% of the sample playing for at least 30 hours a week. Although there were no differences between males and females in who played computer games, it was established that males were found to play significantly more regularly than females.
The recent increase in the home video games market has resulted in the ready availability of such games. This study attempted to quantify the extent of home video game playing in a typical population of 11-16-year-olds (429 males and 387 females). Of the children questioned 77.2% played video games. The most common pattern of play was daily with most of the players playing for between one half and one hour per day. A small population of players (7·5% of players: 5·7% of total sample) was identified whose behavior might be considered to be addictive.
This paper presents a general statistical methodology for the analysis of multivariate categorical data arising from observer reliability studies. The procedure essentially involves the construction of functions of the observed proportions which are directed at the extent to which the observers agree among themselves and the construction of test statistics for hypotheses involving these functions. Tests for interobserver bias are presented in terms of first-order marginal homogeneity and measures of interobserver agreement are developed as generalized kappa-type statistics. These procedures are illustrated with a clinical diagnosis example from the epidemiological literature.
A questionnaire was sent to principal investigators of NIH-sponsored clinical research in sickle cell disease. Twenty of 21 respondents indicated they used parenteral narcotic analgesics for pain episodes sufficiently severe to warrant hospitalization. Eleven used meperidine; seven, morphine; and one each, nalbuphine, hydromorphone, and acetaminophen with codeine. They gave the agents at frequent, regular intervals or by continuous infusion. A total of 41 of more than 3,500 patients required chronic transfusion for pain control. Complications included meperidine-associated convulsions reported by nine respondents and addiction by six. This information indicates that vigorous pain-control methods are used at institutions having a special interest in providing medical care for children with sickle cell disease.
Efficient, undistorted communication of the results of medical research is important to physicians, the scientific community, and the public. Information that first appears in the scientific literature is frequently retransmitted in the popular press. Does popular coverage of medical research in turn amplify the effects of that research on the scientific community?
To test the hypothesis that researchers are more likely to cite papers that have been publicized in the popular press, we compared the number of references in the Science Citation Index to articles in the New England Journal of Medicine that were covered by The New York Times with the number of references to similar articles that were not covered by the Times. We also performed the comparison during a three-month period when the Times was on strike but continued to prepare an "edition of record" that was not distributed; doing so enabled us to address the possibility that coverage in the Times was simply a marker of the most important articles, which would therefore be cited more frequently, even without coverage in the popular press.
Articles in the Journal that were covered by the Times received a disproportionate number of scientific citations in each of the 10 years after the Journal articles appeared. The effect was strongest in the first year after publication, when Journal articles publicized by the Times received 72.8 percent more scientific citations than control articles. This effect was not present for articles published during the strike; articles covered by the Times during this period were no more likely to be cited than those not covered.
Coverage of medical research in the popular press amplifies the transmission of medical information from the scientific literature to the research community.
Sixty cancer chemotherapy patients were randomly assigned to one of six conditions formed by a 3(cognitive distraction, relaxation training, no intervention) x 2(high anxiety, low anxiety) factorial design. All patients were followed for five consecutive chemotherapy sessions. Outcome measures included patient reports, nurse observations, and physiological indices. Results indicated that distraction patients reported less nausea prior to chemotherapy and lower systolic blood pressures after chemotherapy than controls. Relaxation training patients reported less nausea prior to chemotherapy and exhibited lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures after chemotherapy than control patients. There were no significant differences between distraction and relaxation training patients on any measure. Patients with high initial levels of anxiety exhibited continually elevated levels of distress throughout the chemotherapy experience; however, anxiety level did not interact with the effectiveness of the treatment interventions. Overall, the data support the use of both cognitive distraction and relaxation training for reducing the distress of chemotherapy with both high and low-anxiety patients and suggest that at least some of the effects of relaxation training can be achieved with distraction alone.
There is little doubt that video game playing is a psychological and social phenomenon. This paper outlines the main structural characteristics of video game playing (i.e., those characteristics that either induce gaming in the first place or are inducements to continue gaming irrespective of the individual's psychological, physiological, or socio-economic status). This online study is the first ever to assess what structural characteristics (if any) are important to a group of self-selected video game players (n = 382). The main variables examined were sound, graphics, background and setting, duration of game, rate of play, advancement rate, use of humor, control options, game dynamics, winning and losing features, character development, brand assurance, and multi-player features. Although there were many major gender differences, one of the main overall findings was the importance of a high degree of realism (i.e., realistic sound, graphics, and setting). Other important characteristics included a rapid absorption rate, character development, the ability to customize the game, and multiplayer features. Suggestions for future research are outlined.
The paper outlines the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet to collect data concerning both online and offline gamers. Drawing from experience of a number of studies carried out online by the authors and by reviewing the available literature, the authors discuss the main issues concerning data collected from video game players. The paper examines a number of areas, including recruiting and utilizing participants, validity, suitable methods of data collection (i.e., questionnaire studies, online tests, participant observation, online interviews), and ethical issues. It is concluded that online research methods can be a useful way of examining the psychosocial aspects of video game playing.
There has been a small but growing body, of largely quantitative research, that has examined problem gambling in the context of poor coping skills. These studies suggest that gambling may be used as an alternative method of coping that some will use to distract themselves from having to deal with problems in their lives.
To examine the role that gambling plays in the lives of problem gamblers and the extent to which it may be used as a means of coping.
Fifty problem gamblers, ranging in age from 18 to 63 years, with an average age of 39 years, were interviewed. The focus of the interview was upon the participant's accounts of how their gambling problem had developed and the role that gambling played in their lives. A structured grounded theory approach was utilized.
Following the selective coding process, 'gambling to escape' was identified as the core category. This state was achieved through 'mood modification', involving fantasies, dissociation and/or changes in arousal. For some problem gamblers seeking mood modification was their primary motivation. For others mood modification was sought as a means to cope with one or two other psychological and/or psychosocial states consisting of 'filling the void' and/or 'avoiding problems'. Two other factors sometimes influenced the need to gamble, either directly through 'control beliefs' or through 'cognitive regret'.
Escape was the prime characteristic of the gambling experience that facilitated the continuation of problem gambling among the interviewed participants. In relation to these findings, the implications for prevention, intervention, treatment and future research are discussed.
Video games and children's be-haviour Elusive links: television, video games, cinema and children's behaviour
- M D Griffiths
Griffiths, M.D. (1997). Video games and children's be-haviour. In: Charlton, T., David, K. (eds.), Elusive links: television, video games, cinema and children's behaviour. Gloucester: GCED/Park Publishers, pp. 66–93.
An overview of content anlaysis. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation Available at: http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?vϭ7&nϭ17
- S Stemler
Stemler, S. (2001). An overview of content anlaysis. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation. Available at: http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?vϭ7&nϭ17. Accessed August 12, 2005.
Elusive links: television, video games, cinema and children's behaviour
- T Charlton
- K David
Charlton, T., David, K. (eds.), Elusive links: television, video games, cinema
and children's behaviour. Gloucester: GCED/Park Publishers, pp. 66–93.