Journal Articles, Peer Reviewed by Nicholas Bowman
The main purpose of this study was to examine various potential influences (including mass media ... more The main purpose of this study was to examine various potential influences (including mass media reporting, in-structors/teachers, and personal experience) of students' attitudes toward both social media and face-to-face (FtF) communication. Such questions emerged from recent debates over the role of technology in the college classroom that commonly center on the comparison of FtF and computer-mediated communication (CMC). Of the 545 college students surveyed online, mass media and instructors/teachers emerge as primary sources of information about negative elements of social media, while friends and personal experience are primary sources about the benefits of CMC. Most all sources examined provide positive information about FtF benefits, and none were sources of negative elements of FtF interaction. These findings are discussed in terms of how educators and others might recognize the impact of how they frame and discuss social media in and out of their classrooms.
The model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) highlights the central influence of innate m... more The model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) highlights the central influence of innate moral instincts (or intuitions) in media use. Recent experimental research on the MIME found that moral intuitions that are chronically accessible in video gamers are likely to influence players to uphold related moral principles in the game. This study replicated and extended this research to examine the influence of both chronic and temporary accessibility of moral intuitions. Discussion focuses on the prospect that while chronic accessibility should be a better predictor of behavior in most cases, there are proximal in-game instances where environmental cues temporarily increase the accessibility of other moral intuitions. This suggests that (a) players do not necessarily disengage their morals during gameplay, and that moral intuitions influence their in-game decisions, and that (b) this influence is not fixed, but can be continuously modulated by game design features.
The almost ubiquitous use of Facebook and other social networking
sites (SNSs) by adults in the U... more The almost ubiquitous use of Facebook and other social networking
sites (SNSs) by adults in the United States raises important
practice considerations for school psychologists. This study examined
the SNS practices of school psychologists, graduate trainers,
and graduate students to explore (a) SNS use training experiences
for school professionals, (b) personal and work-related
social networking practices, (c) concerns about potential damage
related to SNS use, and (d) beliefs regarding the use of SNSs in professional
and preprofessional evaluations. Findings suggest that
problematic behaviors on SNSs are more the exception than the
normamong these groups. These results are discussed in the context
of the literature on SNS practices in professional psychology
andmoral panic. Practice implications and recommendations are
provided.
Based on the Theory of Subjective Quality Assessments, the present study examined players’ assess... more Based on the Theory of Subjective Quality Assessments, the present study examined players’ assessments of video game design features (qualities) as related to self-reported feelings of presence in role-playing games (RPG) and first-person shooters (FPS). An initial qualitative study with 8 focus groups (Study 1) was conducted to explore important game quality dimensions. Afterwards an online survey was designed to explore the association of those discrete dimensions with recollections of presence (Study 2). Using a quota sample of RPG and FPS gamers in Germany (N = 5,180), survey results show that recollections of presence were associated with positive quality assessments regarding a game’s environment, the player’s interaction with nonplayable characters in that environment, and the environment’s.
Extant research has established that racially based brawn and brain frames are common within spor... more Extant research has established that racially based brawn and brain frames are common within sports media. Framing theory suggests that these brawn and brain frames should influence audience members’ behaviors and attitudes, but little empirical evidence to support this notion exists. This study used a quasi-experimental design (Frame x Athlete Race) to understand how exposure to sports news articles that emphasize the physical or mental attributes of White and Black athletes may result in audiences’ subsequent observable behaviors or character judgments toward athletes. Results indicated that frames influenced
audiences’ behaviors in a simulated environment and attitudes regarding athletes’ mental abilities, whereas athlete race influenced audiences’ attitudes of athletes’ physical abilities. These findings support sports scholars’ assertions about framing effects and underscore the
potential dangers of current sports media trends.
The smartphone app market is a prime example of a digital market where consumers are tasked with ... more The smartphone app market is a prime example of a digital market where consumers are tasked with selecting one option among a plethora of alternatives, at times indistinguishable from one another. Building upon findings on information processing and decision-making, we postulate that consumers follow simple (rather than complex) heuristic rules to navigate the app market. In particular, we focus on two such strategies: the recognition heuristic and the majority vote heuristic. App privacy information was also considered as a potentially salient cue in the decision making process, given the personal data stored on smartphones. Results of a mixed-method design (behavioral analysis and thinkaloud protocols) study with German (N = 18) and US (N = 25)
students find a dominance of the recognition heuristic. Decisions are further supported by majority vote heuristics. Privacy information is largely disregarded, particularly by US participants. Implications for app market design and engagement are discussed.
Emerging research on video games has suggested that feelings of both enjoyment and meaningfulness... more Emerging research on video games has suggested that feelings of both enjoyment and meaningfulness can be elicited from gameplay. Studies have shown enjoyment and meaningfulness evaluations to be associated with discrete elements of video games (ratings of gameplay and narrative, respectively), but have relied on closed-end data analysis. The current study analyzed participants' open-ended reviews of either their ''most fun'' or ''most meaningful'' video game experience (N = 575, randomly assigned to either condition). Results demonstrated that ''fun'' games were explained in terms of gameplay mechanics, and ''meaningful'' games were explained in terms of connections with players and in-game characters.
Emerging research on video games has suggested that feelings of both
enjoyment and meaningfulness... more Emerging research on video games has suggested that feelings of both
enjoyment and meaningfulness can be elicited from gameplay. Studies have shown enjoyment and meaningfulness evaluations to be associated with discrete elements of video games (ratings of gameplay and narrative, respectively), but have relied on closed-end data analysis. The current study analyzed participants’ open-ended reviews of either their ‘‘most fun’’ or ‘‘most meaningful’’ video game experience (N = 575, randomly assigned to either condition). Results demonstrated that ‘‘fun’’ games were explained in terms of gameplay mechanics, and ‘‘meaningful’’ games were explained in terms of connections with players and in-game characters.
Research on the impact of instructor-guided Facebook usage in college classrooms shows that the t... more Research on the impact of instructor-guided Facebook usage in college classrooms shows that the technology can increase students' cognitive and affective learning, yet the role of social media in the classroom remains contentious. Analysis of open-and closed-ended survey data from 87 students enrolled in university courses from 15 institutions showed that students participating in a class Facebook group reported more interest in and perceived more value in course content, felt closer to the course and perceived their instructors as more involved. Effects on perceived closeness to course instructors and classmates were negligible, and effects on instructor immediacy or credibility were not found.
Rationale: Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The suggested association bet... more Rationale: Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The suggested association between social media use (SMU) and depression may be explained by the emerging maladaptive use pattern known as problematic social media use (PSMU), characterized by addictive components. Objective: We aimed to assess the association between PSMU and depressive symptomsdcontrolling for overall time and frequency of SMUdamong a large sample of U.S. young adults. Methods: In October 2014, participants aged 19e32 (N ¼ 1749) were randomly selected from a nationally-representative U.S. probability-based panel and subsequently invited to participate in an online survey. We assessed depressive symptoms using the validated Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) brief depression scale. We measured PSMU using an adapted version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale to encompass broader SMU. Using logistic regression models, we tested the association between PSMU and depressive symptoms, controlling for time and frequency of SMU as well as a comprehensive set of socio-demographic covariates. Results: In the multivariable model, PSMU was significantly associated with a 9% increase in odds of depressive symptoms (AOR [adjusted odds ratio] ¼ 1.09; 95% CI [confidence interval]: 1.05, 1.13; p < 0.001.) Increased frequency of SMU was also significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms, whereas SMU time was not (AOR ¼ 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.01; p ¼ 0.001 and AOR ¼ 1.00; 95% CI: 0.999e1.001; p ¼ 0.43, respectively). Conclusion: PSMU was strongly and independently associated with increased depressive symptoms in this nationally-representative sample of young adults. PSMU largely explained the association between SMU and depressive symptom, suggesting that it may be how we use social media, not how much, that poses a risk. Intervention efforts aimed at reducing depressive symptoms, such as screenings for mal-adaptive SMU, may be most successful if they address addictive components and frequencydrather than timedof SMU.
The current study used selective perception as a conceptual framework to examine how one's socio-... more The current study used selective perception as a conceptual framework to examine how one's socio-cultural identification (" Hillbilly " or " Yuppie ") guides interpretations and enjoyment of tendentious comedy. Two episodes of Squidbillies were screened-selected based on existing narrative analysis (Bowman & Groskopf, 2010) coupled with show writer interviews suggesting the target episodes to offer targeted-yet-humorous critiques on the " banality and absurdity of the [Yuppie] status quo. " A theoretically causal model connecting viewer identification, character identification, character liking, perceived humorous intent, and enjoyment demonstrate that as one's " Yuppie " identification increases, enjoyment suffers due to the fact that they perceive the humor as more tendentious towards their own peer group. Results suggest that audiences might not be as open to humorous self-critique as assumed by past research.
This research report sought to understand how gamers experienced recent gaming sessions using tra... more This research report sought to understand how gamers experienced recent gaming sessions using traditional game controllers (gamepads) or natural user interfaces (NUIs, such as the Nintendo Wiimote). A secondary qualitative analysis of N=238 open-ended comments to a larger game controller experience survey were analysed for emergent themes, with χ2 tests used to compare the frequency of their mention between the two controller types. While the same eleven discussion themes emerged when players described either gamepad or NUI experiences, participants discussing gamepads were more likely to comment on the controller’s precision, comfort, success using the controller, and their past experience with the controller. Likewise, participants discussing NUIs were more likely to comment on the controller’s lack of precision, feeling unnatural, having less success during the game session, and seeing the controller as more novel. No differences in controller simplicity or the overall enjoyment were found. Additionally, game genre differences were found suggesting shooting games (first- and third-person shooters) to be more frequently played with gamepads and sports games to be more frequently played with NUIs, and gamepad session were as much as 50 per cent longer on average. This research supports and extends prior findings which suggest that NUIs might not be as natural and
intuitive as they are designed to be.
Identification is understood to be central to player–avatar relations in digital games
however, e... more Identification is understood to be central to player–avatar relations in digital games
however, extant literature is fragmented. Scholars tend to either treat discrete features of identification as equivalent to the broader construct or use a rigid, monothetic measurement architecture that potentially excludes some who may actually identify with a game avatar. Toward a more inclusive model, then, this study integrated different factors culled from the literature to develop a more comprehensive measurement scheme in which physical similarity, value homophily, wishful identification, perspective-taking, liking, and embodiment are all subconstructs that fall under the larger umbrella of the player–avatar identification construct. The second-order factor structure suggests the construct to be more complex than is currently engaged in the literature, and a polythetic approach to measuring identification is proposed for understanding gamers’ connections with their avatars.
Despite the increasing convergence of digital, physical, and immaterial dimensions of game charac... more Despite the increasing convergence of digital, physical, and immaterial dimensions of game characters, little attention has been paid to the role of materiality in how gamers connect with the characters they play. This study evaluated potential differences in character identification and interaction in a gaming context affording various character materialities: the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Multimethod analysis of online survey data (N ¼ 1,135) reveals that character identification and interaction dimensions were invariant across primary character-representation mode (figurine, physical image, digital image, written, and imagined); however, post-hoc analysis suggests that multimaterial assemblages and social factors are key in how character representations are linked to character relations. Following, we argue that game characters may be more appropriately understood as subjective experiences rather than varying according to a given digital or physical manifestation.
This article conceptually integrates research on the experience of nostalgia—defined as a predomi... more This article conceptually integrates research on the experience of nostalgia—defined as a predominantly positive, social, and past-oriented emotion—into the fold of video game research. We emphasize the role of nostalgia as an explanation for contemporary retro gaming trends, and suggest that nostalgia towards gaming events is a necessary area of research. To those ends, we broadly review existing literature on nostalgia before specifically focusing on media-induced nostalgia, and demonstrate how theoretical and empirical observations from this work can be applied to understand video game nostalgia. In particular, we argue that engaging in older gaming experiences indirectly (via memories) and even directly (via replaying or recreating experiences) elicits nostalgia, which in turn contributes to players' self-optimization and enhanced well-being. Moreover, as gamers and the medium mature together, nostalgic experiences with the medium are likely to become increasingly prevalent. The broad aim of this article is to offer future directions for research on video game nostalgia and provide a research agenda for research in this area
Objective: To examine the association between degree of real-life closeness of social media (SM) ... more Objective: To examine the association between degree of real-life closeness of social media (SM) contacts and depressive symptoms.
Participants: Students ages 18-30 (N=1124) were recruited in August 2016.
Methods: Participants completed an online survey assessing SM use and depression. We
used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between real-life closeness of SM contacts and depressive symptoms. Results: After controlling for covariates, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had no face-to-face relationship was associated with a 9% increase in odds of depressive symptoms (AOR=1.09; 95% CI=1.05-1.13). However, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had a close face-to-face relationship was associated with a 7% decrease in depressive symptoms (AOR=0.93; 95% CI=0.89-0.97).
Conclusions: Having no in-person relationship with SM contacts is associated with increased depressive symptoms; however, having close in-person relationships with SM contacts is associated with decreased depressive symptoms.
To the Editor — Crockett’s Comment ‘Moral outrage in the digital age’1 explains how social media ... more To the Editor — Crockett’s Comment ‘Moral outrage in the digital age’1 explains how social media affect responses to moral violations and the consequences thereof: social media increase the frequency of exposure to moral violations, alter the cost and constraints of experiencing them, and promote feuding responses. We applaud Crockett for addressing this pressing topic. However, a significant body of communication science research suggests important ways in which Crockett’s model
and hypotheses could be enriched and refined.{MORE}
Recent years have seen important advances in the study of video games, with many scholars examini... more Recent years have seen important advances in the study of video games, with many scholars examining how video games impact emotional experiences of players. While this research borrows heavily from traditional media effects paradigms, it has proceeded without effectively integrating developments in emotion and emotion regulation. Therefore, this paper first reviews the nature of emotion and emotion regulation, and then reviews the extant video game literature. We next draw on theoretical accounts of emotion to frame three broad research questions that may advance future work on video games and emotions: (1) What is the nature of video game-evoked emotional experiences? (2) What are the processes through which video games produce emotions? (3) How are video games used to regulate emotions?
Research has established that students often consider the delivery of instructor feedback to be a... more Research has established that students often consider the delivery of instructor feedback to be a face-threatening event. To minimize the potential negative effects of feedback, verbal and nonverbal face-threat mitigation (FTM) strategies are utilized by instructors. Advances in digital feedback systems, like online documents and learning management platforms, allow instructors to add nonverbal elements, such as profile pictures or emojis, to this feedback. Two mixed-method studies were employed to investigate the role of these nonverbal cues in digital feedback. Study 1 (N = 236) employed a 2 by 2 experiment (presence or absence of FTM tactics by presence or absence of instructor picture), showing that FTM strategies have substantial positive impact on feedback and instructor perceptions, and that the inclusion of instructor pictures with this feedback has no effect. Study 2 (N = 218) utilized a 2 by 2 experimental design (presence or absence of FTM tactics by presence or absence of matched-valence emojis). Results confirm main effects of FTM techniques (mitigation strategies lead to positive effects), but the addition of emojis had no perceptible influence. Implications for technology-driven instructional feedback are discussed.
Social media allows users to explore self-identity and express emotions or thoughts. Research loo... more Social media allows users to explore self-identity and express emotions or thoughts. Research looking into the association between social media use (SMU) and mental health outcomes, such as anxiety or depressive symptoms, have produced mixed findings. These contradictions may best be addressed by examining different patterns of SMU as they relate to depressive symptomatology. We sought to assess the independent associations between active versus passive SMU and depressive symptoms. For this, we conducted an online survey of adults 18–49 of age. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System brief depression scale. We measured active and passive SMU with previously developed items. Factor analysis was used to explore the underlying factor structure. Then, we used ordered logistic regression to assess associations between both passive and active SMU and depressive symptoms while controlling for sociodemographic covariates. Complete data were received from 702 participants. Active and passive SMU items loaded on separate factors. In multivariable analyses that controlled for all covariates, each one-point increase in passive SMU was associated with a 33 percent increase in depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.33, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.17–1.51). However, in the same multivariable model, each one-point increase in active SMU was associated with a 15 percent decrease in depressive symptoms (AOR = 0.85, 95 percent CI = 0.75–0.96). To inform interventions, future research should determine directionality of these associations and investigate related factors.
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Journal Articles, Peer Reviewed by Nicholas Bowman
sites (SNSs) by adults in the United States raises important
practice considerations for school psychologists. This study examined
the SNS practices of school psychologists, graduate trainers,
and graduate students to explore (a) SNS use training experiences
for school professionals, (b) personal and work-related
social networking practices, (c) concerns about potential damage
related to SNS use, and (d) beliefs regarding the use of SNSs in professional
and preprofessional evaluations. Findings suggest that
problematic behaviors on SNSs are more the exception than the
normamong these groups. These results are discussed in the context
of the literature on SNS practices in professional psychology
andmoral panic. Practice implications and recommendations are
provided.
audiences’ behaviors in a simulated environment and attitudes regarding athletes’ mental abilities, whereas athlete race influenced audiences’ attitudes of athletes’ physical abilities. These findings support sports scholars’ assertions about framing effects and underscore the
potential dangers of current sports media trends.
students find a dominance of the recognition heuristic. Decisions are further supported by majority vote heuristics. Privacy information is largely disregarded, particularly by US participants. Implications for app market design and engagement are discussed.
enjoyment and meaningfulness can be elicited from gameplay. Studies have shown enjoyment and meaningfulness evaluations to be associated with discrete elements of video games (ratings of gameplay and narrative, respectively), but have relied on closed-end data analysis. The current study analyzed participants’ open-ended reviews of either their ‘‘most fun’’ or ‘‘most meaningful’’ video game experience (N = 575, randomly assigned to either condition). Results demonstrated that ‘‘fun’’ games were explained in terms of gameplay mechanics, and ‘‘meaningful’’ games were explained in terms of connections with players and in-game characters.
intuitive as they are designed to be.
however, extant literature is fragmented. Scholars tend to either treat discrete features of identification as equivalent to the broader construct or use a rigid, monothetic measurement architecture that potentially excludes some who may actually identify with a game avatar. Toward a more inclusive model, then, this study integrated different factors culled from the literature to develop a more comprehensive measurement scheme in which physical similarity, value homophily, wishful identification, perspective-taking, liking, and embodiment are all subconstructs that fall under the larger umbrella of the player–avatar identification construct. The second-order factor structure suggests the construct to be more complex than is currently engaged in the literature, and a polythetic approach to measuring identification is proposed for understanding gamers’ connections with their avatars.
Participants: Students ages 18-30 (N=1124) were recruited in August 2016.
Methods: Participants completed an online survey assessing SM use and depression. We
used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between real-life closeness of SM contacts and depressive symptoms. Results: After controlling for covariates, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had no face-to-face relationship was associated with a 9% increase in odds of depressive symptoms (AOR=1.09; 95% CI=1.05-1.13). However, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had a close face-to-face relationship was associated with a 7% decrease in depressive symptoms (AOR=0.93; 95% CI=0.89-0.97).
Conclusions: Having no in-person relationship with SM contacts is associated with increased depressive symptoms; however, having close in-person relationships with SM contacts is associated with decreased depressive symptoms.
and hypotheses could be enriched and refined.{MORE}
sites (SNSs) by adults in the United States raises important
practice considerations for school psychologists. This study examined
the SNS practices of school psychologists, graduate trainers,
and graduate students to explore (a) SNS use training experiences
for school professionals, (b) personal and work-related
social networking practices, (c) concerns about potential damage
related to SNS use, and (d) beliefs regarding the use of SNSs in professional
and preprofessional evaluations. Findings suggest that
problematic behaviors on SNSs are more the exception than the
normamong these groups. These results are discussed in the context
of the literature on SNS practices in professional psychology
andmoral panic. Practice implications and recommendations are
provided.
audiences’ behaviors in a simulated environment and attitudes regarding athletes’ mental abilities, whereas athlete race influenced audiences’ attitudes of athletes’ physical abilities. These findings support sports scholars’ assertions about framing effects and underscore the
potential dangers of current sports media trends.
students find a dominance of the recognition heuristic. Decisions are further supported by majority vote heuristics. Privacy information is largely disregarded, particularly by US participants. Implications for app market design and engagement are discussed.
enjoyment and meaningfulness can be elicited from gameplay. Studies have shown enjoyment and meaningfulness evaluations to be associated with discrete elements of video games (ratings of gameplay and narrative, respectively), but have relied on closed-end data analysis. The current study analyzed participants’ open-ended reviews of either their ‘‘most fun’’ or ‘‘most meaningful’’ video game experience (N = 575, randomly assigned to either condition). Results demonstrated that ‘‘fun’’ games were explained in terms of gameplay mechanics, and ‘‘meaningful’’ games were explained in terms of connections with players and in-game characters.
intuitive as they are designed to be.
however, extant literature is fragmented. Scholars tend to either treat discrete features of identification as equivalent to the broader construct or use a rigid, monothetic measurement architecture that potentially excludes some who may actually identify with a game avatar. Toward a more inclusive model, then, this study integrated different factors culled from the literature to develop a more comprehensive measurement scheme in which physical similarity, value homophily, wishful identification, perspective-taking, liking, and embodiment are all subconstructs that fall under the larger umbrella of the player–avatar identification construct. The second-order factor structure suggests the construct to be more complex than is currently engaged in the literature, and a polythetic approach to measuring identification is proposed for understanding gamers’ connections with their avatars.
Participants: Students ages 18-30 (N=1124) were recruited in August 2016.
Methods: Participants completed an online survey assessing SM use and depression. We
used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between real-life closeness of SM contacts and depressive symptoms. Results: After controlling for covariates, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had no face-to-face relationship was associated with a 9% increase in odds of depressive symptoms (AOR=1.09; 95% CI=1.05-1.13). However, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had a close face-to-face relationship was associated with a 7% decrease in depressive symptoms (AOR=0.93; 95% CI=0.89-0.97).
Conclusions: Having no in-person relationship with SM contacts is associated with increased depressive symptoms; however, having close in-person relationships with SM contacts is associated with decreased depressive symptoms.
and hypotheses could be enriched and refined.{MORE}
the reasons that both are critical to providing readers with a more complete sense of any manuscript’s evidential value.
Mortality salience, efficacy, and message recall of airline safety demonstration videos. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Las Vegas, NV.
Supreme Court case (Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 2011). One had coauthored a report attempting to link video games and other media to mass shootings. One had signed another statement that linked media violence to societal violence following the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. The appearance that the 2015 APA task force had been stacked from the start led 238 scholars to write an open letter to the APA in 2013 asking it to retire the task force’s policy statements (Consortium of Scholars, 2013). Unfortunately, the APA task force made no known effort to initiate a dialog with these 238 scholars to learn of their concerns.
method of distribution of the gaming software, and most of these innovations would establish the conventions of modern first-person shooters for years to come.
players can vividly recall the first time—perhaps, the only time in any video game at that time—that a non-player character took operational control of the console and television, probed the player’s memory card, and reported back a strikingly accurate breakdown of the player’s personality before engaging in one of the most mentally exhausting boss fights in gaming history. This showdown between Solid Snake (the player’s main character) and the frail and floating Russian psychic Tretij Rebenok, known to players as Psycho Mantis, rates as the second-best video game moment of all-time according to IGN, with Psycho Mantis himself rated as one of the most memorable video game villains of all time.23 Perhaps fittingly given Psycho Mantis’s telepathic abilities, the player’s short encounter with the villain may leave him or her mentally exhausted, confused, and pleasantly surprised. Rarely has a game character violated so many assumptions about the rules of engagement—stretching the conflict from the television screen to the player’s own mind. Players first encounter Psycho Mantis a bit over midway
character’s (or narrator’s) actions within a story—in many cases, these motives are even an extension of the author’s own worldview. This entry introduces the key elements of the dramatistic pentad and explores how the dramatistic pentad is used to analyze texts in the communications research
field.
explain, predict, and control such effects is a core goal of any social scientific research paradigm.
The emphasized above line is taken from a sermon from English poet and cleric John Donne, intended to remind parishioners that a deeper understanding of the self cannot be attained in isolation. Rather, the self can best (and perhaps only) understood upon reflection of the relationships that one has with others and, by proxy, the reputations that emerge from those relationships. In a sense, Donne's philosophy can be applied to how we might understand avatars in videogames. Applied in a literal sense, one could argue that a comprehensive understanding of what an avatar " is " cannot be complete without understanding that avatar's relationships and reputations with myriad elements in the gaming environment. For the most part, avatars are the central contact that a player has with the gameworld and, as such, avatars mediate the player's understanding of the digital environment. In a sense, avatars might be understood as the core node in the network of elements that can potentially matter (re: influence each other; Latour, 1992)—be they ludic or narrative elements—that connects the player to every other potentially meaningful aspect of the game experience (cf. Banks, 2014). In this way, the relationships that avatars have within their games, as well as the reputations that emerge through these relationships, is integral to reflexively understanding the avatar.
which they played a cooperative video game with either a human, embodied robot, or non-embodied AI. Results indicated that few statistically significant or meaningful differences existed between any of the partner types on perceived closeness with partner, relatedness need satisfaction, or entertainment outcomes. However, qualitative data suggested that human and robot partners were both seen as more sociable, while AI partners were seen as more functional.
intends to help us better understand the world around us, but we usually prefer scholarship aimed at risk identification and aversion.{MORE}
To this end, three studies were conducted. Study 1 varied task demand in a video game by experimentally manipulating the amount of control an individual had over a mediated environment and found that (a) increased task demand heightens a video game’s intervention potential, (b) heightened intervention potential enhances the video game’s ability to relieve boredom and stress, (c) too much task demand has a detrimental effect on mood repair, and (d) the ability of video games to repair negative affect is a function of increased task demand, and not simply increased arousal. Study 2 used behavioral measures of user engagement rather than experimental manipulations of task demand and found that (a) increased involvement with some game controls has a positive influence on post-game play affect and (b) increased involvement with game controls has a positive influence on affect for bored participants and a negative influence on affect for stressed individuals. Study 3 focused on selective exposure stemming from expectations of a video game’s task demand learned from game play, and found that (a) participants in states of boredom and stress preferred moderate levels of expected task demand, and (b) this preference was stronger for stressed participants than for bored participants.
By focusing attention on the role of task demand in these processes, this collection of studies expands previous conceptualization of intervention potential in a manner that aids efforts to understand the uses and effects of interactive media as related to mood regulation. Combined, these studies advance our knowledge of mood management and selective exposure processes related to a specific and increasingly-popular form of interactive media: the video game.