Do individuals with problematic and non-problematic internet game use differ in cooperative behaviors with partners of different social distances? Evidence from the Prisoner's Dilemma and Chicken Game

"Support the strong" or "Help the weak?": The effects of social comparison and social distance on cooperative behavior in the dictator game

Within an object-interdependent context, we conducted three experiments to investigate the influence of social comparisons on cooperative behavior, as well as to assess the mediating and moderating effects of related variables. In Experiment 1 (n = 207), we examined whether social comparisons impact cooperative behavior toward a comparator in a dictator game task. Here, we specifically focused on the mediating effects of evaluation of others' competence, along with three other potential mediators: self-competence evaluation, positive emotions, and negative emotions. Following the insights gained from Experiment 1, we proceeded to Experiments 2 (n = 279) and 3 (n = 298) to further explore whether social distance moderates the mediating effect of evaluation of others' competence. The results of all three experiments consistently indicated that upward (vs. non-) comparison facilitated cooperative behavior, whereas downward (vs. non-) comparison hindered it. Furthermore, our findings revealed that evaluation of others' competence served as a mediator between social comparison and cooperative behavior when the comparator (i.e., the cooperative partner) was perceived as being at a far-distance, whereas the mediating effect of evaluation of others' competence disappeared when social distance was close. These results reveal the pivotal role of evaluating others' competence and social distance in social interactions from the perspective of social comparison, which provides insights into how to promote cooperative behavior.

Systematic Review of Gaming and Neuropsychological Assessment of Social Cognition

Playing video games is associated with cognitive changes and possibly psychosocial difficulties. Problematic gaming occurs upon the loss of control over videogame playing; gaming disorder is considered a behavioral addiction in the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases. Models used to understand behavioral addictions include cognition as an essential factor in the development, maintenance, and relapse of addiction. Nevertheless, some aspects of cognition, such as social cognition, remain underexplored, despite evidence of alterations in cognitive and social function among patients with problematic gaming. This review aimed to describe the current understanding of social cognition in individuals exposed to videogames. We included all studies assessing social cognition in participants of any age with a wide range of exposure to video games (from simple use of video games (such as at least two exposures) to problematic gaming, defined according to the included study). This wide range of exposure allowed us to explore the whole process from repeated exposure to addiction. We included only studies that used neuropsychological tasks to assess social cognition. Patient-reported outcomes that could be biased by subjective self-report data were not included. The search was conducted from inception to January 2022 in three databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science). The systematic search identified 39 studies that assessed facial emotion processing, empathy, theory of mind, social decision-making, aggressive behavior, and moral competence. In general, results have been mixed, and a number of questions remain unanswered. Nevertheless, several studies showed cerebral changes when processing facial emotion that were linked with problematic gaming, while no link was obtained between nonproblematic gaming and empathy alterations. The influences of cooperation patterns, theory of mind, moral competence, and gaming frequency were highlighted. Finally, there was substantial heterogeneity in the population assessed and the methods used.

Neural correlates of static and dynamic social decision-making in real-time sibling interactions

In traditional game theory tasks, social decision-making is centered on the prediction of the intentions (i.e., mentalizing) of strangers or manipulated responses. In contrast, real-life scenarios often involve familiar individuals in dynamic environments. Further research is needed to explore neural correlates of social decision-making with changes in the available information and environmental settings. This study collected fMRI hyperscanning data (N = 100, 46 same-sex pairs were analyzed) to investigate sibling pairs engaging in an iterated Chicken Game task within a competitive context, including two decision-making phases. In the static phase, participants chose between turning (cooperate) and continuing (defect) in a fixed time window. Participants could estimate the probability of different events based on their priors (previous outcomes and representation of other's intentions) and report their decision plan. The dynamic phase mirrored real-world interactions in which information is continuously changing (replicated within a virtual environment). Individuals had to simultaneously update their beliefs, monitor the actions of the other, and adjust their decisions. Our findings revealed substantial choice consistency between the two phases and evidence for shared neural correlates in mentalizing-related brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and precuneus. Specific neural correlates were associated with each phase; increased activation of areas associated with action planning and outcome evaluation were found in the static compared with the dynamic phase. Using the opposite contrast, dynamic decision-making showed higher activation in regions related to predicting and monitoring other's actions, including the anterior cingulate cortex and insula. Cooperation (turning), compared with defection (continuing), showed increased activation in mentalizing-related regions only in the static phase, while defection, relative to cooperation, exhibited higher activation in areas associated with conflict monitoring and risk processing in the dynamic phase. Men were less cooperative and had greater TPJ activation. Sibling competitive relationship did not predict competitive behavior but showed a tendency to predict brain activity during dynamic decision-making. Only individual brain activation results are included here, and no interbrain analyses are reported. These neural correlates emphasize the significance of considering varying levels of information available and environmental settings when delving into the intricacies of mentalizing during social decision-making among familiar individuals.

Comparisons are Odious? The neural basis of in-group and out-group social comparison among game players: An fMRI study

Social comparison is an important way for individuals to define their social characteristics. Online games with a large amount of social information provide a convenient platform for social comparison between players. However, few studies have examined the neural basis of different social comparisons in game players. This study aims to explore the activation of brain regions triggered by social comparison in different contexts and the possible moderating effect of group identity. A total of 26 subjects participated in our experiment. We referred to the minimum group paradigm to evoke group identity and used the dot estimation paradigm to generate in-group or out-group social comparisons. The activation of brain regions was measured and analyzed. Compared to upward comparison, the fusiform gyrus, putamen, lentiform nucleus, precuneus, and precentral gyrus were significantly activated in downward comparison when the group identity of the comparison object was the same as that of the player. When the two had different identities, downward comparison significantly activated the angular gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus. However, the moderating effect of group identity was not significant. Further functional connectivity analysis based on the brain region activation results was performed. Our study has shown that social comparison in group contexts leads to the activation of different brain regions and provides neurophysiological evidence of social interaction among game players.

Online Assessment of Social Cognition in a Population of Gamers and Gamblers: Results of the eSMILE Study

The purpose of the eSMILE study was to explore social cognition (SC) in the two behavioural addictions (BAs) included in international classifications: gaming disorder and gambling disorder. In these disorders, cognitive functioning is involved in the development and maintenance of addiction. Nevertheless, SC have received less attention than other cognitive functions. The eSMILE study was conducted online and included 105 participants (gamers and gamblers). This study included: the Penn emotion recognition task, the Condensed and Revised Multifaced Empathy Test, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Chicken Game, social metacognition questions, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. We analysed the relationships among SC measures, addiction levels, and behaviour frequency. For gamers, we showed that the higher their level of addiction was, the lower their self-confidence following the identification of basic emotions, although the more frequently they played, the better their performance on this task. Additionally, we found lower performance on the identification of more complex emotions by gamblers, which seems to be the result of their levels of addiction rather than the frequency of their gambling behaviour. This study contributes to our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying BAs. Additionally, working on SC abilities may be an additional management mode for BAs that could be added to existing treatments.

The role of dominance in sibling relationships: differences in interactive cooperative and competitive behavior

Siblings strongly influence each other in their social development and are a major source of support and conflict. Yet, studies are mostly observational, and little is known about how adult sibling relationships influence social behavior. Previous tasks exploring dynamically adjusting social interactions have limitations in the level of interactivity and naturalism of the interaction. To address these limitations, we created a cooperative tetris puzzle-solving task and an interactive version of the chicken game task. We validated these two tasks to study cooperative and competitive behavior in real-time interactions (N = 56). Based on a dominance questionnaire (DoPL), sibling pairs were clustered into pairs that were both low in dominance (n = 7), both high in dominance (n = 8), or one low and one high in dominance (n = 13). Consistent with our hypothesis, there were significantly more mutual defections, less use of turn-taking strategies, and a non-significant trend for reduced success in solving tetris puzzles together among high dominance pairs compared to both other pair types. High dominant pairs also had higher Machiavellian and hypercompetitiveness traits and more apathetic sibling relationships. Both tasks constitute powerful and reliable tools to study personality and relationship influences on real and natural social interactions by demonstrating the different cooperative and competitive dynamics between siblings.

Social Learning Strategies and Cooperative Behaviour: Evidence of Payoff Bias, but Not Prestige or Conformity, in a Social Dilemma Game

Human cooperation, occurring without reciprocation and between unrelated individuals in large populations, represents an evolutionary puzzle. One potential explanation is that cooperative behaviour may be transmitted between individuals via social learning. Using an online social dilemma experiment, we find evidence that participants’ contributions were more consistent with payoff-biased transmission than prestige-biased transmission or conformity. We also found some evidence for lower cooperation (i) when exposed to social information about peer cooperation levels than without such information, and (ii) in the prisoners’ dilemma game compared to the snowdrift game. A simulation model established that the observed cooperation was more likely to be caused by participants’ general propensity to cooperate than by the effect of social learning strategies employed within the experiment, but that this cooperative propensity could be reduced through selection. Overall, our results support previous experimental evidence indicating the role of payoff-biased transmission in explaining cooperative behaviour, but we find that this effect was small and was overwhelmed by participants’ general propensity for cooperation.

A Case-Control Study on Behavioral Addictions and Neurocognition: Description of the BANCO and BANCO2 Protocols

INTRODUCTION

Only two behavioral addictions (BAs) are currently recognized in international classifications (gambling disorder: GbD; gaming disorder: GmD), while some of them await further investigation (food addiction: FA; sexual addiction: SA). Neurocognitive functioning is considered a risk factor for BAs. Research is quite abundant for GbD and highlights specific deficits in several cognitive functions. Nevertheless, grey areas still exist. The aim of this research programme is to investigate the neurocognitive profiles of patients presenting with various BAs and to establish parallels between different forms of BA to achieve a common addiction concept.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This research program is composed of two studies sharing the same methodology but focusing on different samples: the BANCO study aims to include 30 individuals with a GbD, whereas the BANCO2 study aims to include 30 individuals with a GmD, 30 with a SA, and 30 with a FA. Moreover, for each BA group, 30 healthy controls will be recruited, matched by sex, age and education level. Several cognitive tasks will be completed by participants. Cue reactivity and physiological responses, as well as clinical data regarding addiction characteristics and personality, will also be investigated. A composite score based on the cognitive tasks will be computed using principal component analysis (PCA). Overall cognitive performance and detailed performance on the different cognitive tasks will be compared between individuals with BAs and their matched healthy controls using linear models with random effects. Comparisons will also be made between BA groups to investigate specific alterations associated with each disorder.

DISCUSSION

The results of this research programme will impact both research and clinical areas by (i) providing new knowledge for discussions regarding the inclusion of BAs under the spectrum of addictive disorders; (ii) improving understanding of addiction mechanisms in general; (iii) providing clarity in the grey areas in neurocognitive research on BAs and improving the understanding of less studied BAs, (iv) guiding clinicians to propose therapeutic alternatives and complementary programmes.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

BANCO study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03202290); BANCO2 study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03967418).

The Impact of Social Value Orientation, Game Context and Trust on Cooperative Behavior After Cooperative Video Game Play

This study explores the effects of the cooperative video game context, social value orientation (SVO) and trust on cooperative behavior. The main finding is that collaborative game play significantly increases cooperative behavior, especially in prosocial individuals. In addition, a mediation model is established in which trust partially mediates the association between the game mode and cooperative behavior. The results indicate that playing collaborative games increases cooperation in prosocial people partially by facilitating the trust they have in their gaming partners. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Diagnostic and Classification Considerations Regarding Gaming Disorder: Neurocognitive and Neurobiological Features

Video gaming and Internet use have become a part of the everyday lives of many individuals, especially during adolescence. Given the health concerns related to problematic gaming behaviors, gaming disorder (GD) has been included in the version of the 11th edition of The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) ratified by the secretariat of the World Health Organization. Given these considerations and others (including debate regarding the most appropriate classification of GD and how best to prevent and treat the condition), there is a need for further research into GD. Specifically, we suggest that researching intermediate phenotypes focusing on cognitive and neurobiological function may help clarify GD's relationships to other addictive disorders and more accurately define their relationships with core and associated features of GD. Overlaps in neural activity, cognitive functioning, and other features suggest that GD shares similarities with gambling and substance-use disorders and may best be classified as an addictive disorder. Individuals with GD differ from those with regular game use (RGU) on neurocognitive levels. However, concerns have been raised with respect to the differences between GD and substance-use disorders in certain dimensional features, such as tolerance. Additionally, it has been argued that differences between GD and RGU may not be fully captured by nomenclature systems like the ICD-11. Nonetheless, individuals seek treatment for help with GD, despite the limited data available for effective treatments. As more data are gathered from investigations of GD, they should be translated into refining criteria for GD and optimizing interventions.