In-session gaming as a tool in treating adolescent problematic gaming

For some adolescent gamers, playing online games may become problematic, impairing functioning in personal, family, and other life domains. Parental and family factors are known to influence the odds that adolescents may develop problematic gaming (PG), negative parenting and conflictual family dynamics increasing the risk, whereas positive parenting and developmentally supportive family dynamics protecting against PG. This suggests that a treatment for adolescent PG should not only address the gaming behaviors and personal characteristics of the youth, but also the parental and family domains. An established research-supported treatment meeting these requirements is multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), which we adapted for use as adolescent PG treatment. We report here on one adaptation, applying in-session gaming. In-session demonstration of the “problem behavior” is feasible and informative in PG. In the opening stage of therapy, we use in-session gaming to establish an alliance between the therapist and the youth. By inviting them to play games, the therapist demonstrates that they are taken seriously, thus boosting treatment motivation. Later in treatment, gaming is introduced in family sessions, offering useful opportunities to intervene in family members' perspectives and interactional patterns revealed in vivo as the youth plays the game. These sessions can trigger strong emotions and reactions from the parents and youth and give rise to maladaptive transactions between the family members, thus offering ways to facilitate new discussions and experiences of each other. The insights gained from the game demonstration sessions aid the therapeutic process, more so than mere discussion about gaming.     

Passion, craving, and affect in online gaming: Predicting how gamers feel when playing and when prevented from playing

According to the Dualistic Model of Passion, two forms of passion can motivate a behavior: harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Across various life activities, studies have found that the two forms of passion show different relationships with affect, linking harmonious passion to positive affect and obsessive passion to negative affect. To investigate if this pattern also holds for online gaming, the present study investigated 160 gamers involved in playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOs) and examined positive and negative affect (a) when playing and (b) when prevented from playing. In addition, the effects of general affect and craving for playing MMOs were controlled for. Results were as expected from the Dualistic Model of Passion: harmonious passion for online gaming predicted positive affect when playing whereas obsessive passion predicted negative affect when playing and when prevented from playing. Moreover, these effects remained unchanged when general affect and craving were controlled for. With this, the present research shows that individual differences in passion for online gaming explain unique variance in gaming-related emotions. Moreover, the present findings suggests that craving is a variable that future research on positive and negative affect in online gaming should pay closer attention to.     

The importance of reflection and evaluation processes in daily training sessions for progression toward elite level swimming performance

Self-regulated learning (SRL) involves self-directed metacognitive subprocesses and motivational beliefs that facilitate more effective and efficient learning. We investigated whether youth swimmers who are on track to becoming elite swimmers apply SRL subprocesses more frequently in their daily training sessions compared with swimmers who are not on this track. Insights into swimmers’ use of training-centered SRL could advance understanding about underlying individual characteristics that contribute to optimal engagement in daily training and, consequently, progression toward elite level swimming performance. We collected data on training-centered SRL subprocesses (evaluation, planning, reflection, speaking up, effort and self-efficacy) and performance data for 157 youth swimmers aged 12–21 years (73 males and 84 females). The results of a multivariate analysis of covariance revealed significantly higher scores for reflection processes during training for high-performing swimmers but lower scores for effort compared with lower-performing swimmers (p < 0.05). A closer examination of the high-performing group showed that those demonstrating greater improvement during a season scored significantly higher for evaluation processes after training compared with those evidencing less improvement during a season (p < 0.05). Significant between-group differences in SRL subprocesses remained after adjusting for differences in weekly training hours. Youth swimmers on track to becoming elite swimmers are characterized by more frequent use of reflection processes during training and evaluation processes after training, which suggests that these swimmers’ learning and training processes are more effective and efficient. Ultimately, this could contribute to a higher quality of daily training, which may result in greater improvements during a season, higher performance levels, and a greater chance of reaching the level of elite swimming performance.     

What’s Your Style? Preliminary Validation of the Gaming Styles Questionnaire

Within-group differences amongst gamers must be considered when studying the psychological correlates of gameplay. A conceptual framework, whereby gaming may be treated as a means to other ends—such as coping with boredom or bonding with friends—or as an end in itself, was the basis upon which the Gaming Styles Questionnaire was developed. Factor analysis and criterion-group validity, based on data obtained from a heterogeneous sample of gamers, offered support to a continuum of gamers, ranging from those for whom gaming is a means to other ends to those for whom gaming is an end in itself. Although age did not correlate with gaming style, men’s endorsement of gaming as an end in itself was stronger than women’s.     

French Validation of the Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale (FVCAAS)

The aim of this study was to propose a French Validation of the Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale (FVCAAS). The instrument was developed from the original version, which is composed of two subscales (six items by subscales) assessing aggressiveness and anger in competitive athletes (CAAS, Maxwell & Moores, 2007). Four studies have been conducted with 1428 competitors. In the first study, the exploratory factor analysis extracted the two-factor structure from the original version, both with good internal consistency. The second study confirmed that the two-factor structure of the instrument was consistent with the original version and showed its partial invariance across genders. The third study demonstrated the temporal stability of the FVCAAS. In the fourth study, both concurrent and discriminant validities were confirmed, supporting the validity and reliability of the FVCAAS. The contributions of this study and limitations are discussed, together with perspectives for future studies of aggressiveness in competitive sports.     

Are unsupervised neural networks ignorant? Sizing the effect of environmental distributions on unsupervised learning

Learning environmental biases is a rational behavior: by using prior odds, Bayesian networks rapidly became a benchmark in machine learning. Moreover, a growing body of evidence now suggests that humans are using base rate information. Unsupervised connectionist networks are used in computer science for machine learning and in psychology to model human cognition, but it is unclear whether they are sensitive to prior odds. In this paper, we show that hard competitive learners are unable to use environmental biases while recurrent associative memories use frequency of exemplars and categories independently. Hence, it is concluded that recurrent associative memories are more useful than hard competitive networks to model human cognition and have a higher potential in machine learning.     

The Role of Strategy in Mixed-Gender Group Interactions: A Study of the Television Show “The Weakest Link”

This paper studies mixed-gender group interactions in a strategic game where group members are sequentially eliminated till a single winner takes all. Study 1 tests the hypothesis that female contestants are retained till final rounds where they are eliminated. Using observational data from the US television show The Weakest Link (20 shows), results show that females are finalists but not winners. In a laboratory study (Study 2, 67 Berkeley undergraduates), we show that this effect is attenuated when winnings are shared among finalists (versus one winner takes all) due to the reduction in competitive pressures in the context. This research was supported in part by the Junior Faculty Research Grant awarded by the University of California at Berkeley to the second author.     

Unsanctioned aggression in rugby union: relationships among aggressiveness,anger, athletic identity,and professionalization

Aggressive players who intentionally cause injury to their opponents are common in many sports, particularly collision sports such as Rugby Union. Although some acts of aggression fall within the rules (sanctioned), others do not (unsanctioned), with the latter tending to be less acceptable than the former. This study attempts to identify characteristics of players who are more likely to employ unsanctioned methods in order to injure an opponent. Male Rugby Union players completed questionnaires assessing aggressiveness, anger, past aggression, professionalization, and athletic identity. Players were assigned to one of two groups based on self‐reported past unsanctioned aggression. Results indicated that demographic variables (e.g., age, playing position, or level of play) were not predictive of group membership. Measures of aggressiveness and professionalization were significant predictors; high scores on both indicated a greater probability of reporting the use of unsanctioned aggressive force for the sole purpose of causing injury or pain. In addition, players who had been taught how to execute aggressive illegal plays without detection were also more likely to report using excessive force to injure an opponent. Results provide further support that highly professionalized players may be more likely to use methods outside the constitutive rules of Rugby Union in order to intentionally injure their opponents. Results are discussed within the context of the increasing win‐at‐all‐cost attitude that is becoming more prevalent in sport and its implications for youth athletes. Aggr. Behav. 35:237–243, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The Effect of Intra- and Intergroup Leadership on Group Goal Attainment in a North-South Gaming Simulation

This research investigated the role of leadership functions in a context of intergroup negotiation by using a simulation game of inter-regional conflict and cooperation (SIRC²). As a part of their social psychology course, 151 undergraduate students participated. It was hypothesized that there are four leadership factors in an intergroup context: in-group performance, in-group maintenance, out-group negotiation performance, and out-group relation maintenance. According to a factor analysis, however, the functions of in-group performance and out-group performance merged into the same category and could not be differentiated independently. Moreover, this research provided evidence that opportunities for intergroup communication and the amount of resources available to each group can facilitate these leadership functions. This study also found links between leadership functions and group outcomes. In a group with members who were homogeneous and facing common survival problems, the in-group/out-group performance function facilitated the achievement of the group goal. On the other hand, in a group with members with different roles, and who were self-sufficient for survival, the in-group maintenance function facilitated the achievement of the group goal. Moreover, in the intergroup context, the out-group relationship maintenance function was also important for group goal attainment. These results were interpreted using the path–goal theory and Fiedler's contingency theory.     

父母忽视与青少年网络游戏成瘾的关系:希望的中介作用和性别的调节作用

为探究父母忽视与青少年网络游戏成瘾的关系及其中心理机制,本研究以全国七个省的八所中学共805名初二学生为被试,采用问卷法考察了父母忽视与青少年网络游戏成瘾的关系及希望在其中的中介作用,并检验了该过程是否受到性别的调节。在控制了每周上网时间和网龄后,结果发现：（1）父母忽视对网络游戏成瘾具有正向预测作用;（2）希望在父母忽视和网络游戏成瘾间起到完全中介作用;（3）性别调节了中介模型的前半段路径,具体表现为相对于女生,父母忽视对男生希望的负向预测作用更显著。结果表明父母忽视会明显降低初二学生的希望水平,进而增加其网络游戏成瘾风险,并且在男生群体中的作用更加显著。