Taking video games to task
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Transcript of Taking video games to task
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
ResponseStimulus-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
Interaction Lab
(#ixlab)
Taking video game research to task
Bowman
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.
• Interactivity is Demanding
– Cognitively demanding
– Behaviorally demanding
– Affectively demanding
– Socially demanding?
LC4MPVIDEO GAMES ARE DEMANDING
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
Mission Roamingn = 57 n = 53
n = 110 (63 ♀)
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 DEMANDWhen playing in front of an audience, easy games became easier…
…but hard games didn’t change at all!
• Implications
VIDEO GAMES AND DEMANDING
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Nick Bowman, Ph.D. [CV]
Twitter (@bowmanspartan)
Skype (nicholasdbowman)
http://comm.wvu.edu
/fs/research/lab
Interaction Lab
(#ixlab)