SlideShare une entreprise Scribd logo
1  sur  18
PSYCHO/BIOLOGICAL 
CONSIDERATIONS FOR 
HUMAN INTERACTIONS 
WITHIN VIDEO GAMES 
Bowman · Cummings · Grizzard 
Huskey · Lynch · Matthews · Weber
PANEL DESCRIPTION 
The current panel explores the general utility of psycho/biological 
variables by reviewing relevant theories, hypothetical applications, 
and contemporary findings surrounding video game research. 
Often, media research relies heavily on social learning theories. 
Although useful, the explanatory power of nurture based models is 
limited. However, some psychological and/or biological perspectives 
provide a human-centric understanding of effects that accounts for 
individual differences and processing. Thus, the current panel 
illustrates how psycho/biological considerations may yield new 
understanding of existing relationships and illuminate fresh avenues 
for future work.
PROCESS > CONTENT 
Response 
Stimulus-Response models consider the 
Content as key to media effects… 
…but they fail to 
consider the role 
of Processing in 
the media effects 
equation. 
Stimulus 
Organism
PROCESS > CONTENT 
Communication is a “process by 
which we stimulate meaning in 
the minds of others.” 
(McCroskey & Richmond, 1996)
S  O  R 
VIDEO games 
• Narrative worlds 
Video GAMES 
• Ludic systems
Taking video game 
research to task 
Bowman 
Interaction Lab 
(#ixlab)
VIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING 
• Video games are inherently 
unfinished texts requiring 
players to exert agency 
• “…in a video game, if somebody 
is crying it’s likely because the 
player both caused it and can 
solve it.” 
(Oliver et al., in press) 
What happens next? 
That’s up to you.
VIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING 
• Interactivity is Demanding 
– Cognitively demanding 
– Behaviorally demanding 
– Affectively demanding 
– Socially demanding? 
LC4MP
COGNITIVE DEMAND 
• In video game, 
performance is based 
on our ability to control 
the interactivity (form + 
content) 
• One such control is our 
cognitive abilities 
(a few) cognitive skills 
found to correlate w/ 
game performance: 
2D mental rotation 
3D mental rotation 
Moving targeting 
Fixed targeting 
Eye-hand coordination 
Fine motor skill 
Word completion
COG + AFFECTIVE DEMAND
AFFECTIVE DEMAND 
“Lugo: You’re f*cking kidding, 
right? That’s white phosphorous! 
Walker: Yeah I know what it is… 
Lugo: You’ve seen what the sh*t 
does! You know we can’t … 
Adams: ...We might not have a 
choice Lugo… 
Lugo: There’s always a choice!”
AFFECTIVE DEMAND 
“When players recall 
meaningful gaming 
experiences, they 
reported on how those 
storylines helped them 
feel a sense of 
poignancy and 
insightfulness as they 
were able to relate to 
the story content”
BEHAVIORAL DEMAND
BEHAVIORAL 
DEMAND Training 
n = 110 (63 ♀) 
n = 57 n = 53 
Mission Roaming 
Walkers relied on 
their dominant 
habit, while non-walkers 
let the game 
guide them!
SOCIAL DEMAND 
• Gaming and sociability 
– Games as “third spaces of 
discourse” 
– Extraverts prefer gaming 
– Gaming fosters relatedness 
– Interdependence (from 
gaming) fosters transactive 
memory
SOCIAL DEMAND 
When playing in front 
of an audience, easy 
games became easier… 
…but hard games 
didn’t change at all!
VIDEO GAMES AND DEMANDING 
• Implications
FOR MORE INFORMATION 
http://comm.wvu.edu 
/fs/research/lab 
Nick Bowman, Ph.D. [CV] 
Twitter (@bowmanspartan) 
Skype (nicholasdbowman) 
nicholas.bowman@mail.wvu.edu 
Interaction Lab 
(#ixlab)

Contenu connexe

Similaire à Taking video games to task

Serious games PSST 2012 Linz
Serious games PSST 2012 LinzSerious games PSST 2012 Linz
Serious games PSST 2012 Linz
Univ of Ljubljana
 
Social Gaming for Events
Social Gaming for EventsSocial Gaming for Events
Social Gaming for Events
Midori Connolly
 
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docxDoes playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
jacksnathalie
 

Similaire à Taking video games to task (20)

Video Games: Positive Agents Of Socializaiton
Video Games:  Positive Agents Of SocializaitonVideo Games:  Positive Agents Of Socializaiton
Video Games: Positive Agents Of Socializaiton
 
Serious games PSST 2012 Linz
Serious games PSST 2012 LinzSerious games PSST 2012 Linz
Serious games PSST 2012 Linz
 
Serious Games Challenges and Potentials
Serious Games Challenges and PotentialsSerious Games Challenges and Potentials
Serious Games Challenges and Potentials
 
Ludological Psychometrics
Ludological PsychometricsLudological Psychometrics
Ludological Psychometrics
 
Psychology of Design (UX Intensive for MySkills4Afrika)
Psychology of Design (UX Intensive for MySkills4Afrika)Psychology of Design (UX Intensive for MySkills4Afrika)
Psychology of Design (UX Intensive for MySkills4Afrika)
 
2019 dhdownunder game prototyping workshop
2019 dhdownunder game prototyping workshop2019 dhdownunder game prototyping workshop
2019 dhdownunder game prototyping workshop
 
Bruners Tenets
Bruners TenetsBruners Tenets
Bruners Tenets
 
Social Gaming for Events
Social Gaming for EventsSocial Gaming for Events
Social Gaming for Events
 
Cets 2015 glenn path to mastery serious games
Cets 2015 glenn path to mastery serious gamesCets 2015 glenn path to mastery serious games
Cets 2015 glenn path to mastery serious games
 
August 18, 2015 Presentation
 August 18, 2015 Presentation August 18, 2015 Presentation
August 18, 2015 Presentation
 
Presentation11 091715
Presentation11 091715Presentation11 091715
Presentation11 091715
 
Gaming the System with Mary Poppins & Mr T
Gaming the System with Mary Poppins  & Mr TGaming the System with Mary Poppins  & Mr T
Gaming the System with Mary Poppins & Mr T
 
4. Serious Games: an Introduction
4. Serious Games: an Introduction4. Serious Games: an Introduction
4. Serious Games: an Introduction
 
A multimodal discourse analysis of video games (toh weimin)
A multimodal discourse analysis of video games (toh weimin)A multimodal discourse analysis of video games (toh weimin)
A multimodal discourse analysis of video games (toh weimin)
 
The Mechanic is not the (whole) message: Procedural rhetoric meets framing in...
The Mechanic is not the (whole) message: Procedural rhetoric meets framing in...The Mechanic is not the (whole) message: Procedural rhetoric meets framing in...
The Mechanic is not the (whole) message: Procedural rhetoric meets framing in...
 
Coursera Reflections on Gamification
Coursera Reflections on GamificationCoursera Reflections on Gamification
Coursera Reflections on Gamification
 
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docxDoes playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
Does playing video or computer games have beneficial effects.docx
 
Playing with Digital Meaning: Video Games, Narrative, Cognition
Playing with Digital Meaning: Video Games, Narrative, CognitionPlaying with Digital Meaning: Video Games, Narrative, Cognition
Playing with Digital Meaning: Video Games, Narrative, Cognition
 
Algorithms Pushed Me to the Dark Side: Questions for Procedural Rhetoric
Algorithms Pushed Me to the Dark Side: Questions for Procedural RhetoricAlgorithms Pushed Me to the Dark Side: Questions for Procedural Rhetoric
Algorithms Pushed Me to the Dark Side: Questions for Procedural Rhetoric
 
Game based learning
Game based learningGame based learning
Game based learning
 

Plus de West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies

Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
 
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self):  The impact of wearable technology on perce...Through the Looking Glass (Self):  The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
 
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
 
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working MothersStereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
 
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta:  Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...You say dāta, I say däta:  Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies
 

Plus de West Virginia University - Department of Communication Studies (20)

It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...
It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...
It’s too dirty for me, so it’s too dirty for the kids: A cross-comparison of ...
 
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
Of beard physics and worldness: The (non) effect of enhanced anthropomorphism...
 
Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions
Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensionsVirtual tensions fuel narrative tensions
Virtual tensions fuel narrative tensions
 
From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...
From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/divergence ...From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/divergence ...
From toy and tool to partner and person: Phenomenal convergence/ divergence ...
 
Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...
Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control:  Validation of a merged metric f...Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control:  Validation of a merged metric f...
Emotion, anthropomorphism, realism, control: Validation of a merged metric f...
 
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self):  The impact of wearable technology on perce...Through the Looking Glass (Self):  The impact of wearable technology on perce...
Through the Looking Glass (Self): The impact of wearable technology on perce...
 
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media FandomSport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
Sport Fans and Sci-Fi Fanatics: The Social Stigma of Popular Media Fandom
 
The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...
The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...
The people dissent, or The People’s consent? Comparing news agendas of tradit...
 
Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...
Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...
Mountaineers Are Always Free (To Post Online): Facebook and Group Identity P...
 
“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...
“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?”  The impact of dissonant origin and ant...“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?”  The impact of dissonant origin and ant...
“Web-sling to save or shoot to kill?” The impact of dissonant origin and ant...
 
Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...
Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...
Private Flirts, Public Friends: Understanding Romantic Jealousy Responses to ...
 
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on vid...
 
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working MothersStereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers
 
My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...
My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...
My Ideal Professor: Examining College Students' Preferences for Effective Tea...
 
WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising)
WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising) WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising)
WVU COM 105 - Chapter 10 (Advertising)
 
The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...
The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...
The win, the worth, and the work of play: Exploring phenomenal entertainment ...
 
The (not so) Secret Life of Avatars
The (not so) Secret Life of AvatarsThe (not so) Secret Life of Avatars
The (not so) Secret Life of Avatars
 
WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)
WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)
WVU: Lambda Pi Eta + UCA Meeting (Fall 2014)
 
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta:  Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...You say dāta, I say däta:  Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
You say dāta, I say däta: Harnessing the friction of competing epistemologie...
 
Social Media for the Social Classroom
Social Media for the Social Classroom Social Media for the Social Classroom
Social Media for the Social Classroom
 

Dernier

Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functionsSalient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
KarakKing
 
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please PractiseSpellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
AnaAcapella
 
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
ZurliaSoop
 

Dernier (20)

Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functionsSalient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
Salient Features of India constitution especially power and functions
 
80 ĐỀ THI THỬ TUYỂN SINH TIẾNG ANH VÀO 10 SỞ GD – ĐT THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH NĂ...
80 ĐỀ THI THỬ TUYỂN SINH TIẾNG ANH VÀO 10 SỞ GD – ĐT THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH NĂ...80 ĐỀ THI THỬ TUYỂN SINH TIẾNG ANH VÀO 10 SỞ GD – ĐT THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH NĂ...
80 ĐỀ THI THỬ TUYỂN SINH TIẾNG ANH VÀO 10 SỞ GD – ĐT THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH NĂ...
 
Unit 3 Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence.pdf
Unit 3 Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence.pdfUnit 3 Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence.pdf
Unit 3 Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence.pdf
 
Introduction to Nonprofit Accounting: The Basics
Introduction to Nonprofit Accounting: The BasicsIntroduction to Nonprofit Accounting: The Basics
Introduction to Nonprofit Accounting: The Basics
 
HMCS Vancouver Pre-Deployment Brief - May 2024 (Web Version).pptx
HMCS Vancouver Pre-Deployment Brief - May 2024 (Web Version).pptxHMCS Vancouver Pre-Deployment Brief - May 2024 (Web Version).pptx
HMCS Vancouver Pre-Deployment Brief - May 2024 (Web Version).pptx
 
Interdisciplinary_Insights_Data_Collection_Methods.pptx
Interdisciplinary_Insights_Data_Collection_Methods.pptxInterdisciplinary_Insights_Data_Collection_Methods.pptx
Interdisciplinary_Insights_Data_Collection_Methods.pptx
 
Understanding Accommodations and Modifications
Understanding  Accommodations and ModificationsUnderstanding  Accommodations and Modifications
Understanding Accommodations and Modifications
 
Beyond_Borders_Understanding_Anime_and_Manga_Fandom_A_Comprehensive_Audience_...
Beyond_Borders_Understanding_Anime_and_Manga_Fandom_A_Comprehensive_Audience_...Beyond_Borders_Understanding_Anime_and_Manga_Fandom_A_Comprehensive_Audience_...
Beyond_Borders_Understanding_Anime_and_Manga_Fandom_A_Comprehensive_Audience_...
 
SKILL OF INTRODUCING THE LESSON MICRO SKILLS.pptx
SKILL OF INTRODUCING THE LESSON MICRO SKILLS.pptxSKILL OF INTRODUCING THE LESSON MICRO SKILLS.pptx
SKILL OF INTRODUCING THE LESSON MICRO SKILLS.pptx
 
This PowerPoint helps students to consider the concept of infinity.
This PowerPoint helps students to consider the concept of infinity.This PowerPoint helps students to consider the concept of infinity.
This PowerPoint helps students to consider the concept of infinity.
 
Towards a code of practice for AI in AT.pptx
Towards a code of practice for AI in AT.pptxTowards a code of practice for AI in AT.pptx
Towards a code of practice for AI in AT.pptx
 
Python Notes for mca i year students osmania university.docx
Python Notes for mca i year students osmania university.docxPython Notes for mca i year students osmania university.docx
Python Notes for mca i year students osmania university.docx
 
Sociology 101 Demonstration of Learning Exhibit
Sociology 101 Demonstration of Learning ExhibitSociology 101 Demonstration of Learning Exhibit
Sociology 101 Demonstration of Learning Exhibit
 
Accessible Digital Futures project (20/03/2024)
Accessible Digital Futures project (20/03/2024)Accessible Digital Futures project (20/03/2024)
Accessible Digital Futures project (20/03/2024)
 
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please PractiseSpellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
Spellings Wk 3 English CAPS CARES Please Practise
 
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
Jual Obat Aborsi Hongkong ( Asli No.1 ) 085657271886 Obat Penggugur Kandungan...
 
Food safety_Challenges food safety laboratories_.pdf
Food safety_Challenges food safety laboratories_.pdfFood safety_Challenges food safety laboratories_.pdf
Food safety_Challenges food safety laboratories_.pdf
 
How to Manage Global Discount in Odoo 17 POS
How to Manage Global Discount in Odoo 17 POSHow to Manage Global Discount in Odoo 17 POS
How to Manage Global Discount in Odoo 17 POS
 
Google Gemini An AI Revolution in Education.pptx
Google Gemini An AI Revolution in Education.pptxGoogle Gemini An AI Revolution in Education.pptx
Google Gemini An AI Revolution in Education.pptx
 
HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptxHMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
 

Taking video games to task

  • 1. PSYCHO/BIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR HUMAN INTERACTIONS WITHIN VIDEO GAMES Bowman · Cummings · Grizzard Huskey · Lynch · Matthews · Weber
  • 2. PANEL DESCRIPTION The current panel explores the general utility of psycho/biological variables by reviewing relevant theories, hypothetical applications, and contemporary findings surrounding video game research. Often, media research relies heavily on social learning theories. Although useful, the explanatory power of nurture based models is limited. However, some psychological and/or biological perspectives provide a human-centric understanding of effects that accounts for individual differences and processing. Thus, the current panel illustrates how psycho/biological considerations may yield new understanding of existing relationships and illuminate fresh avenues for future work.
  • 3. PROCESS > CONTENT Response Stimulus-Response models consider the Content as key to media effects… …but they fail to consider the role of Processing in the media effects equation. Stimulus Organism
  • 4. PROCESS > CONTENT Communication is a “process by which we stimulate meaning in the minds of others.” (McCroskey & Richmond, 1996)
  • 5. S  O  R VIDEO games • Narrative worlds Video GAMES • Ludic systems
  • 6. Taking video game research to task Bowman Interaction Lab (#ixlab)
  • 7. VIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING • Video games are inherently unfinished texts requiring players to exert agency • “…in a video game, if somebody is crying it’s likely because the player both caused it and can solve it.” (Oliver et al., in press) What happens next? That’s up to you.
  • 8. VIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING • Interactivity is Demanding – Cognitively demanding – Behaviorally demanding – Affectively demanding – Socially demanding? LC4MP
  • 9. COGNITIVE DEMAND • In video game, performance is based on our ability to control the interactivity (form + content) • One such control is our cognitive abilities (a few) cognitive skills found to correlate w/ game performance: 2D mental rotation 3D mental rotation Moving targeting Fixed targeting Eye-hand coordination Fine motor skill Word completion
  • 10. COG + AFFECTIVE DEMAND
  • 11. AFFECTIVE DEMAND “Lugo: You’re f*cking kidding, right? That’s white phosphorous! Walker: Yeah I know what it is… Lugo: You’ve seen what the sh*t does! You know we can’t … Adams: ...We might not have a choice Lugo… Lugo: There’s always a choice!”
  • 12. AFFECTIVE DEMAND “When players recall meaningful gaming experiences, they reported on how those storylines helped them feel a sense of poignancy and insightfulness as they were able to relate to the story content”
  • 14. BEHAVIORAL DEMAND Training n = 110 (63 ♀) n = 57 n = 53 Mission Roaming Walkers relied on their dominant habit, while non-walkers let the game guide them!
  • 15. SOCIAL DEMAND • Gaming and sociability – Games as “third spaces of discourse” – Extraverts prefer gaming – Gaming fosters relatedness – Interdependence (from gaming) fosters transactive memory
  • 16. SOCIAL DEMAND When playing in front of an audience, easy games became easier… …but hard games didn’t change at all!
  • 17. VIDEO GAMES AND DEMANDING • Implications
  • 18. FOR MORE INFORMATION http://comm.wvu.edu /fs/research/lab Nick Bowman, Ph.D. [CV] Twitter (@bowmanspartan) Skype (nicholasdbowman) nicholas.bowman@mail.wvu.edu Interaction Lab (#ixlab)

Notes de l'éditeur

  1. I’d like to share a slide from my media effects courses – one that shows us how we might better understand the way in which media content – the Stimuli – might eventually trigger a human Response. Often times, we study media content because we are deeply concerned about how on-screen content might be expected to impact the frail minds of audiences (such as children, in this example). Such a focus is a noble and a reasonable one, but it doesn’t consider one incredibly important element for the research model: the organism.
  2. Looking to my communication studies roots, I’m reminded of the very simple definition of the communication process offered by the late James McCroskey – communication, to him and Virginia Richmond (his partner and research associate) was a process of stimulating meaning in the mind of another. That is, a “thing” was communicated whenever meaning was created in the mind of the receiver of a message. Sender characteristics, channel characteristics, and even message characteristics can of course impact this “stimulation” process, but it wasn’t until the receiver of a message “assembled all of the bits of the thing” that we could conclude that a communication had occurred. As media scholars, it is paramount that we understand the same goes for audiences – from passive movie audiences to co-creators of video game violence: the moral panic is not about the content, but about the “nexus of moderating and mediating factors” (to borrow from Joseph Klapper) that lead to media’s potentially profound impact on us all.
  3. Another incredibly important aspect of video games: They are inherently unfinished texts. That is, games are created in order to be completed by the gamer, not simply consumed by a (passive) audience member. In this process, gamers take control over the narrative and the on-screen action, writing each page of the game with each button press and action.
  4. Procedure   Participants (N = 110, 63 females, M age = 20.5, SD = 1.62, n = 62 upper-level undergraduates) were recruited to participate in a study on playing video games from a large, mid-Atlantic university, and were given course credit for participation. After obtaining informed consent, participants were randomly assigned to play a custom-made version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA; Rockstar Games, 2004) with either a closed-ended waypoint mission or an open-ended freeplay mission. Prior to gameplay, participants were asked to complete a short demographic profile along with measures of self-reported video game play and physical activity lifestyle habits. They were also given a tutorial with the video game in the form of a custom-created level that allowed them to practice walking, bicycling, and driving controls prior to the experimental game session (these being the three transportation choices available in-game). Following gameplay, participants were asked questions regarding body shame and presence. Experimental sessions lasted between 20 and 30 minutes in total, with 10 to 15 minutes of this devoted to gameplay.