Could Video Games Fill Psychological Needs?
Psychologists at the University of Rochester and virtual worlds researchers at Immersyve Inc. (wow… they have virtual world researchers…) believe that people may be playing video games for more then just enjoyment. Their research shows that video games may help satisfy fundamental psychological needs.
Their research was published December 26th 2006 in the journal of Motivation and Emotion.
Comments from psychologist Richard Ryan: “We think there’s a deeper theory than the fun of playing,”. Gamers said they felt the best about their experience when the games they played produced positive outcomes in scenarios related to the real world. “It’s our contention that the psychological ‘pull’ of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness,” The draw of video games “also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term,”.
This research could have very interesting implications, especially in relation to video game addiction.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Link to article posted by CBC News:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/12/27/tech-videogamesaddictive-061227.html
December 29th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Immersyve also has a number of studies in progress looking further at issues of motivation for games and their psychological impact that we hope will better inform the questions about addiction and violence — but we are approaching the question from the point of view that games may have tremendous potential for good and meaningful psychological effects in addition to the possibility for unhealthy outcomes. We want to understand and inform about both so there can be a more balanced perspective. In addition, if we can help clarify what is truly at the heart of more meaningful game experiences, we hope it will empower developers to innovate new gaming experiences that are perhaps less focused on violence and more on providing true (and healthy) satisfaction of motivational needs.