Need Satisfaction Supportive Game Features as Motivational Determinants: An Experimental Study of a Self-Determination Theory Guided Exergame

Empirical studies have validated that basic needs satisfaction supported by video game play predicts motivation and engagement outcomes. However, few studies specifically manipulated game features for each of the three basic needs specified in the self-determination theory (SDT) to examine how the game features impact players' need satisfaction and game experience. The current study employed an in-house developed exergame and manipulated the game features in a 2 (autonomy-supportive game features: on vs. off) × 2 (competence-supportive game features: on vs. off) experiment to predict need satisfaction, game enjoyment, motivation for future play, effort for gameplay, self-efficacy for exercise using the game, likelihood of game recommendation, and game rating. The manipulated game features led to the corresponding need satisfaction. Manipulated autonomy-supportive and competence-supportive game features had main effects on most motivation and engagement outcomes. Need satisfaction of autonomy and need satisfaction of competence were both found to be mediators for the relationships between the game features and the motivation and engagement outcomes. The findings add evidence to support the underlying mechanism postulated by SDT for media enjoyment and motivation as well as the emerging entertainment research conceptualizing enjoyment as need satisfaction. The findings also have practical implications for intervention effort that intends to capitalize the motivational pull of video games.     

Facilitating Game Play: How Others Affect Performance at and Enjoyment of Video Games

The current study implements the drive theory of social facilitation to explain the influence of audience presence in video game play. This integration is an important one for research aiming to understand the experience of video game play, as the social aspect of video game play is a relevant dimension of the technology often ignored in research on gaming experiences. The study finds a significant positive association between non-gaming cognitive abilities (such as hand–eye coordination and mental rotation ability) and performance at a first-person shooter. Data also support the social facilitation hypothesis: Game play in the presence of a physical audience significantly predicts increased game performance. Social facilitation effects are only found for low-challenge games where the drive-inducing capacity of task challenge is minimized. Resultant influences on game enjoyment are less clear.     

Cognitive processes mediating behavioral change.

The present experiment was designed to test the theory that psychological procedures achieve changes in behavior by altering the level and strength of self-efficacy. In this formulation, perceived self-efficacy. In this formulation, perceived self-efficacy influences level of performance by enhancing intensity and persistence of effort. Adult phobics were administered treatments based upon either performance mastery experiences, vicarious experiences., or they received no treatment. Their efficacy expectations and approach behavior toward threats differing on a similarity dimension were measured before and after treatment. In accord with our prediction, the mastery-based treatment produced higher, stronger, and more generalized expectations of personal efficacy than did the treatment relying solely upon vicarious experiences. Results of a microanalysis further confirm the hypothesized relationship between self-efficacy and behavioral change. Self-efficacy was a uniformly accurate predictor of performance on tasks of varying difficulty with different threats regardless of whether the changes in self-efficacy were produced through enactive mastery or by vicarious experience alone.     

Effectance and control as determinants of video game enjoyment.

This article explores video game enjoyment originated by games' key characteristic, interactivity. An online experiment (N=500) tested experiences of effectance (perceived influence on the game world) and of being in control as mechanisms that link interactivity to enjoyment. A video game was manipulated to either allow normal play, reduce perceived effectance, or reduce perceived control. Enjoyment ratings suggest that effectance is an important factor in video game enjoyment but that the relationship between control of the game situation and enjoyment is more complex.     

网络游戏成瘾者对成瘾相关线索的注意偏向：一项ERP研究

近年来,网络病态使用的一个子类-网络游戏成瘾已经引起了学术研究的兴趣。本研究采用修正版 Stroop实验范式-Online Game Stroop探讨网络游戏成瘾者的注意偏向过程。结果发现,在网络游戏成瘾组中,网络游戏相关词语与中性词语相比诱发了更高的P200以及P300的振幅,但在正常对照组中未发现相同结果。此线索-反应证实了网络游戏成瘾者对特有的成瘾相关线索的高度敏感化引起的注意偏向可能是其成瘾行为产生和维持的重要基础。     

The Motivational Pull of Video Games: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Four studies apply self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000) in investigating motivation for computer game play, and the effects of game play on well-being. Studies 1–3 examine individuals playing 1, 2 and 4 games, respectively and show that perceived in-game autonomy and competence are associated with game enjoyment, preferences, and changes in well-being pre- to post-play. Competence and autonomy perceptions are also related to the intuitive nature of game controls, and the sense of presence or immersion in participants’ game play experiences. Study 4 surveys an on-line community with experience in multi-player games. Results show that SDT’s theorized needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness independently predict enjoyment and future game play. The SDT model is also compared with Yee’s (2005) motivation taxonomy of game play motivations. Results are discussed in terms of the relatively unexplored landscape of human motivation within virtual worlds.     

Being in the Game: Effects of Avatar Choice and Point of View on Psychophysiological Responses During Play

The innovative features of multi-player computer games offer compelling opportunities for self-representation during interactions, and the ways in which these avatars are chosen and manipulated may change interactive experiences. This study investigated the effects of avatar choice (choice vs. no choice) and visual point of view (POV; first-person vs. third-person) on the physiological arousal and subjective evaluations of game experiences. A 2 (Avatar Choice, No Avatar Choice) × 2 (first-person POV, third-person POV) × 2 (female players, male players) mixed-design experiment was conducted (N = 22). The results demonstrated that being able to pick the character that will represent the player in the game leads to greater arousal, especially for males. Visual POVs alone did not affect the game player's arousal, but moderated the effect of avatar choice on the game player's heart rates. Avatar choice produced a more pronounced effect in the third-person POV (where the “camera” was located behind the avatar) in which avatar choice was visually more reinforced than in the first-person POV (where the “camera” was the eyes of the avatar). The results also revealed that the gender of the game player was a significant factor in game play experience. The results suggest theoretical implications of video game self-representation and effects on game player's psychophysiological responses.     

Feeling the need for (personalized) speed: how natural controls and customization contribute to enjoyment of a racing game through enhanced immersion

Prior research suggests that video game features that appear natural or that otherwise allow players to identify with their in-game experience will promote enjoyment. Using a 2 × 2 experiment, this study demonstrates the positive effects of a steering-wheel controller and the opportunity to customize the driven vehicle on enjoyment of a console driving game, as mediated by transportation and challenge-skill balance. The role of presence is also probed, with results suggesting no direct link to enjoyment.     

The dynamic change of self-efficacy in information searching on the Internet: influence of valence of experience and prior self-efficacy

The authors investigated the dynamic change of specific self-efficacy in information searching on the Internet. In Study 1, the valence of experience was manipulated by task difficulty to obtain the developmental curve of self-efficacy change in consecutive information-searching trials. The results indicated that positive task experiences in information searching elicited a linear increase in self-efficacy. In contrast, negative task experiences elicited a more rapid decrease in self-efficacy. Self-efficacy of participants decreased to a lower level after the first negative experience and displayed a quadratic trend toward a floor effect. In Study 2, the authors examined the moderating effect of initial self-efficacy on the valence of experience. The enhancement effect of positive task experience on self-efficacy was more pronounced for individuals with lower levels of self-efficacy, whereas the deteriorating effect of negative experience was more prominent for individuals with higher levels of self-efficacy.     

Cyber-dehumanization: Violent video game play diminishes our humanity

Across two studies we show that engaging in violent video game play diminishes perceptions of our own human qualities. In addition, when other players are the targets of this violence it reduces our perceptions of their humanity also. In Study 1, we demonstrate that playing Mortal Kombat against another player reduces the perceived humanity of the self as well as the humanity of one's opponent (compared to playing a non-violent game). In Study 2 we replicate this effect on perceived humanity of the self when playing a violent game with a co-player. However, we find no dehumanization of co-players who are not the targets of violence. We demonstrate these effects cannot be reduced to mood, self-esteem, gender, or other characteristics of the game such as excitement and enjoyment. The findings provide a broader perspective from which to view previous work on the adverse effects of violent video games.     

Individual Pathways Through the Junior-to-Senior Transition: Narratives of Two Swedish Team Sport Athletes

Athletes frequently describe the junior-to-senior transition (JST) as the most difficult within-career transition, and many athletes have acknowledged that they failed to cope well with it. Athletes’ development in the JST is influenced by narratives existing within relevant contexts and settings. This study served as a follow-up to the quantitative longitudinal study to gain a deeper understanding of individual JST paths through a qualitative narrative approach. The aim was to explore 2 team sport athletes’ (John, the football player, and Anna, the basketball player) JST pathways, emphasizing psychosocial factors that were perceived as facilitating and debilitating the process. Narrative type interviews were conducted, and the holistic-form structural analysis was used. Through their narratives, John and Anna reconstructed their JST paths, attaching meanings to certain events, recounting the people involved, and making personal reflections. John had a performance and family narrative and Anna had an enjoyment and relationship narrative. They perceived their key facilitating persons to be their family members and teammates. The debilitating factors were some coaches’ behaviors. At the time of this study, John and Anna had already terminated their athletic careers and had refocused on getting an education. Although they did not reach elite senior levels in their sports, they found their athletic careers to be meaningful life experiences.

Lay Summary: The aim was to explore two team sport athletes’ junior-to-senior transition (JST) pathways, emphasizing psychosocial factors involved in the transition process. The findings revealed two narratives. John (football player) storied his JST as a performance and family narrative and Anna (basketball player) as an enjoyment and relationship narrative.     

高中生物理和化学学科中同伴学业支持与学业情绪的关系:学习效能感的中介作用和性别的调节作用

研究发现学习效能感会受到同伴支持的影响,同时它又是影响学生学业状况的重要前因变量。根据控制价值理论,本研究通过对3329名高一和高二学生的调查,考察在物理和化学学科中,学习效能感是否会在同伴学业支持和学业情绪中起到中介作用。发现：(1)同伴学业支持和学习效能感呈显著正相关;两者与高兴学业情绪显著正相关,与厌倦学业情绪显著负相关;(2)在控制了年龄、年级、性别和地域后,学习效能感在同伴学业支持和高兴学业情绪中起部分中介作用,在同伴学业支持和厌倦学业情绪中起完全中介作用;(3)在物理学科中,性别调节了学习效能感和学业情绪的关系。本研究验证并拓展了控制价值理论,对于如何提高中学生物理和化学学习的积极情绪有借鉴意义。     

Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance

Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game.     

A cognitive approach to game usability and design: mental model development in novice real-time strategy gamers.

We developed a technique to observe and characterize a novice real-time-strategy (RTS) player's mental model as it shifts with experience. We then tested this technique using an off-the-shelf RTS game, EA Games Generals. Norman defined mental models as, "an internal representation of a target system that provides predictive and explanatory power to the operator." In the case of RTS games, the operator is the player and the target system is expressed by the relationships within the game. We studied five novice participants in laboratory-controlled conditions playing a RTS game. They played Command and Conquer Generals for 2 h per day over the course of 5 days. A mental model analysis was generated using player dissimilarity-ratings of the game's artificial intelligence (AI) agents analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS) statistical methods. We hypothesized that novices would begin with an impoverished model based on the visible physical characteristics of the game system. As they gained experience and insight, their mental models would shift and accommodate the functional characteristics of the AI agents. We found that all five of the novice participants began with the predicted physical-based mental model. However, while their models did qualitatively shift with experience, they did not necessarily change to the predicted functional-based model. This research presents an opportunity for the design of games that are guided by shifts in a player's mental model as opposed to the typical progression through successive performance levels.     

What's My Motivation? Video Games and Interpretative Performance

The interpretation of character motivations is a crucial part of the understanding of many narratives, including those found in video games. This interpretation can be complicated in video games by the player performing the role of a player‐character within the game narrative. Such performance finds the player making choices for the character and also interpreting the resulting character actions and their effect on the game's narrative. This can lead to interpretative difficulties for game narratives and their players: if a decision to act is made by the player, is it that the player's own imaginative reasons for acting warrant some narrative interpretations and exclude others? To answer this I argue that we need to investigate (a) the interactive ontology of video game narratives, (b) the notion of game playing as interpretative performance, and (c) the player‐character, an artifact through which performance is focused in narrative games. Doing so shows there to be at least two problems with the notion of the correct interpretation of narrative games. Neither of these problems entirely negates the normativity of game narratives, however, and so players are left with the problem of how they might decide which of the possible playings are warranted. I end by making some practical suggestions for the thoughtful and narratively interested game player.     

Effects of soundtrack music on the video game experience

ABSTRACT

Aesthetic elements such as soundtrack music have been neglected in game entertainment research. Based on previous work in games research and the psychology of film soundtracks (Cohen, 2001), we test the hypotheses that soundtrack music contributes to players‘ enjoyment via intensification of emotions (affective route) and via amplification of the sense of spatial presence and identification with the game character (cognitive routes). Study 1 tested these assumptions with N = 68 young male players of an episode of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag^®, either with the original soundtrack music present or absent, and reported game enjoyment, as well as scores of the assumed mediator variables afterward. In Study 2, N = 59 young males played an episode of Alien: Isolation^® with soundtrack music present or absent and reported their horror experience, as well as the experiential facets as in study 1. Findings clearly show an indirect effect of soundtrack music on enjoyment through positive emotions (study 1) and an impact of (shocking) music on players’ horror experience (study 2). However, a mediation of the effect of soundtrack music on game enjoyment via spatial presence or identification was not established. We discuss implications for future research in game entertainment.     

Creative Metacognitive Feelings as a Source of Information for Creative Self-efficacy,Creativity Potential,Intrapersonal Idea Selection,and Task Enjoyment

Creativity scholars try to untangle the commonalities and differences between creative self-beliefs: creative self-efficacy, creative self-concept, creative metacognition, and creative role identity. While these efforts are already contributing significantly, we would like to suggest that for creative metacognition, we need to go beyond the assessment of confidence beliefs and regulation and include creative metacognitive feelings and intrapersonal idea selection as two additional components. To test the validity of our proposition, this study examined the influence of creative metacognitive feelings on creative self-efficacy, creative potential, accurate intrapersonal idea selection (agreement between individuals’ selection of their most creative idea and two independent judges’ selection of the participants’ best idea), and task enjoyment. To elicit metacognitive feelings, participants were randomly assigned to remember and write down two or six instances in their lives in which they generated novel and useful ideas that helped solve a problem. Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing creative self-efficacy, ease of recall as a proxy of metacognitive feelings, performance on a divergent thinking task, and task enjoyment. Results showed an indirect influence of recalling fewer examples on creative self-efficacy through its influence on metacognitive feelings. Metacognitive feelings then had an indirect influence, through creative self-efficacy, on creative potential and task enjoyment.     

Effects of coping skills training on generalized self-efficacy and locus of control

A number of studies have shown that mastery experiences strengthen self-efficacy expectancies that are specific to the mastery situation. In this study I assessed the effects of cognitive-behavioral coping skills training on generalized expectancies concerning self-efficacy and locus of control in test-anxious college students. Compared with a waiting-list control group, the trained subjects exhibited significant decreases on trait and state measures of test anxiety and a higher level of academic performance on classroom tests, as well as changes in specific self-efficacy expectancies relating to test-anxiety management and academic performance. Consistent with generalization predictions derived from self-efficacy theory, the coping skills group also exhibited decreases in general trait anxiety and increased scores on a trait measure of generalized self-efficacy. Locus of control was unaffected by the program, and changes in general self-efficacy were unrelated to changes in locus of control, suggesting the possibility that different parameters of experience are related to changes in the two types of generalized expectancies.