The mediational role of identification in the relationship between experience mode and self-efficacy: Enactive role-playing versus passive observation

Melanoma prevention using an augmented reality-based serious game

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to field-test a recently developed AR-based serious game designed to promote SSE self-efficacy, called Spot.

METHODS

Thirty participants played the game and answered 3 questionnaires: a baseline questionnaire, a second questionnaire immediately after playing the game, and a third questionnaire 1 week later (follow-up).

RESULTS

The majority of participants considered that the objective quality of the game was high, and considered that the game could have a real impact in SSE promotion. Participants showed statistically significant increases in SSE self-efficacy and intention at follow-up. Of the 24 participants that had never performed a SSE or had done one more than 3 months ago, 12 (50.0%) reported doing a SSE at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides supporting evidence to the use of serious games in combination with AR to educate and motivate users to perform SSE. Spot seems to be an inconspicuous but effective strategy to promote SSE, a cancer prevention behavior, among healthy individuals.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Patient education is essential to tackle skin cancer, particularly melanoma. Serious games, such as Spot, have the ability to effectively educate and motivate patients to perform a cancer prevention behavior.

Identification with Game Characters: Theoretical Explanations, Predictors, and Psychological Outcomes

This review investigates theoretical explanations, predictors, and psychological outcomes of identification with game characters. Theoretical explanations depended on Cohen’s conceptualization of identification with media characters, wishful identification, similarity identification, embodied presence concepts, self-perception, self-discrepancy, and social identity theories. Predictors included customizability, how the character is perceived (ideal, attractive, similar, real), narrative, immersion, presence, age, time spent playing/playing history, player’s psychological characteristics, and perceived performance. Psychological outcomes included enjoyment, flow experience, addiction, problematic gaming, playing motivations, self-efficacy, competence, short-term outcomes (change in aggression, empathy), intention to continue playing, game-related spending, social identification, and in-group bias. The self-discrepancy perspective provides the most prevalent explanation, which proposes that game characters are closer to players’ ideal selves, and identification with the game character reduces their self-discrepancies. However, the social identity perspective offers more overarching explanations discussing identification with game-related groups (groups created within the game and game community) and the game character together, thus pointing to a bigger picture where players develop social identities through interaction with game-related groups. Therefore, unlike other explanations discussing game character identification as a temporary experience, the social identity perspective indicates it may be a lasting experience. Regarding predictors, only two were game-related (customizability, narrative), while most were player-related (e.g., age, time spent playing, player’s psychological characteristics), which might show that player characteristics deserve more attention than the game itself to understand the identification process. Concerning psychological outcomes, while two were positive (enjoyment, flow experience) and two were negative (addiction, problematic gaming), most had various aftermaths, such as a short-term outcome of an increase in aggression or empathy.

Using Serious Games for Antismoking Health Campaigns: Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

Serious games for health have been gaining in popularity among scholars and practitioners. However, there remain a few questions to be addressed.

OBJECTIVE

This study tests the effects of a serious game and fear appeals on smoking-related outcomes. More specifically, this research aims to understand how serious games function as a more effective vehicle for a health campaign than a traditional medium, such as a print-based pamphlet. Further, while serious games utilize a variety of persuasive strategies in the game's content, it is not clear whether fear appeals, which are widely used persuasive-message strategies for health, can be an effective strategy in serious games. Thus, we are testing the effect of fear appeals in a serious game.

METHODS

We created a computer game and a print brochure to educate participants about the risks of smoking. More specifically, a flash-based single-player game was developed in which players were asked to avoid cigarettes in the gameplay context. We also developed an online brochure based on existing smoking-related brochures at a university health center; antismoking messages on the computer game and in the brochure were comparable. Then, an experiment using a 2 (media type: game vs. print) x 2 (fearful image: fear vs. no-fear) between-subjects design was conducted. The study recruitment was announced to undergraduate students enrolled in a large, public Midwestern university in the United States. After a screening test, a total of 72 smokers, who reported smoking in the past 30 days, participated in the experiment.

RESULTS

Overall, gameplay, when compared to print-based pamphlets, had greater impacts on attitudes toward smoking and the intention to quit smoking. Further, the game's persuasive effects were especially pronounced when messages contained fear appeals. When fearful images were presented, participants in the game condition reported significantly more negative attitudes toward social smoking than those in the print condition [F(1,67)=7.28; P=.009; η_p2=0.10]. However, in the no-fear condition, there was no significant difference between the conditions [F(1,67)=0.25; P=.620]. Similarly, the intention to quit smoking [F(1,67)=4.64; P=.035; η_p2=0.07] and susceptibility [F(1,67)=6.92; P=.011; η_p2=0.09] were also significantly different between the conditions, but only when fear appeals were used.

CONCLUSIONS

This study extends fear appeal research by investigating the effects of different media types. It offers empirical evidence that a serious game can be an effective vehicle for fear appeals.

Gaming Avatar Can Influence Sustainable Healthy Lifestyle: Be Like an Avatar

Online gaming is consistently changing with the use of new technologies and seen as making an impact on consumers’ sustainable lifestyles. The gaming avatars have influenced low avatar identification players to engage in physical and learning activities through massively multiplayer online (MMO) game genre. The fundamental purpose of the study is to classify the association of an avatar with consumer’s behavioural intention for exercise and to consume healthy food. This study incorporates three theories: social cognitive theory (SCT), social determination theory (SDT) and player-avatar identification (PAI) theory to determine its four dimensions’ impact on exercise and healthy food intention to attain a sustainable healthy lifestyle. SCT is related to human cognitive behaviour in the light of immersive experience, self-presence, and enjoyment. SDT related to the physical aspects of consumers that are exercise intention and consumption of healthy food. The results have shown that immersive experience, self-presence and enjoyment do impact the consumer’s behavioural intention towards an individual’s sustainability.

Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims

Empathy—putting oneself in another’s shoes—has been described as the “social glue” that holds society together. This study investigates how exposure to sexist video games can decrease empathy for female violence victims. We hypothesized that playing violent-sexist video games would increase endorsement of masculine beliefs, especially among participants who highly identify with dominant and aggressive male game characters. We also hypothesized that the endorsement of masculine beliefs would reduce empathy toward female violence victims. Participants (N = 154) were randomly assigned to play a violent-sexist game, a violent-only game, or a non-violent game. After gameplay, measures of identification with the game character, traditional masculine beliefs, and empathy for female violence victims were assessed. We found that participants’ gender and their identification with the violent male video game character moderated the effects of the exposure to sexist-violent video games on masculine beliefs. Our results supported the prediction that playing violent-sexist video games increases masculine beliefs, which occurred for male (but not female) participants who were highly identified with the game character. Masculine beliefs, in turn, negatively predicted empathic feelings for female violence victims. Overall, our study shows who is most affected by the exposure to sexist-violent video games, and why the effects occur. (200 words)

Transportability and Presence as Predictors of Avatar Identification Within Narrative Video Games

To understand how narratives may best be implemented in video game design, first we must understand how players respond to and experience narratives in video games, including their reactions to their player character or avatar. This study looks at the relationship that transportability, self-presence, social presence, and physical presence have with identification with one's avatar. Survey data from 302 participants (151 males, 151 females) were analyzed. Both transportability and self-presence explained a significant amount of variance in avatar identification. We discuss the implications of these findings for future narrative video game research.

Does Digital Game Interactivity Always Promote Self-Efficacy?

Interactive digital games can promote self-efficacy by engaging players in enactive and observational learning. However, interactivity does not always lead to greater self-efficacy. Important constructs in social cognitive theory, such as performance outcome and perceived similarity, are often not accounted for in studies that have tested the effect of digital game interactivity on self-efficacy. This study assessed the effects of interactive digital games compared with passive digital games based on video comparison, a common experimental design used to test the effect of digital game interactivity on self-efficacy. In addition, this study also evaluated player performance and measured perceived similarity to the observed player. Findings suggested that in general, digital game interactivity predicted higher self-efficacy compared with noninteractive passive games. However, in the noninteractive conditions, the effects of performance on self-efficacy were moderated by perceived similarity between the observer and the observed player. When the observed player was perceived to be similar to the observer, the effects of performance on self-efficacy were comparable to the interactive game, but when the observed player was perceived as dissimilar to the observer, observing the dissimilar player failed to increase observer self-efficacy. Implications for interactivity manipulations and game developers are discussed.

A meta-analysis of serious digital games for healthy lifestyle promotion

Several systematic reviews have described health-promoting effects of serious games but so far no meta-analysis has been reported. This paper presents a meta-analysis of 54 serious digital game studies for healthy lifestyle promotion, in which we investigated the overall effectiveness of serious digital games on healthy lifestyle promotion outcomes and the role of theoretically and clinically important moderators. Findings showed that serious games have small positive effects on healthy lifestyles (g=0.260, 95% CI 0.148; 0.373) and their determinants (g=0.334, 95% CI 0.260; 0.407), especially for knowledge. Effects on clinical outcomes were significant, but much smaller (g=0.079, 95% CI 0.038; 0.120). Long-term effects were maintained for all outcomes except for behavior. Serious games are best individually tailored to both socio-demographic and change need information, and benefit from a strong focus on game theories or a dual theoretical foundation in both behavioral prediction and game theories. They can be effective either as a stand-alone or multi-component programs, and appeal to populations regardless of age and gender. Given that effects of games remain heterogeneous, further explorations of which game features create larger effects are needed.

Cultivating Engagement and Enjoyment in Exergames Using Feedback, Challenge, and Rewards

OBJECTIVE

This article reviews theoretical and empirical evidence related to three mechanisms for encouraging enjoyment during exergame play: Feedback, challenge, and rewards.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A literature search and narrative review were conducted.

RESULTS

Feedback is found in nearly all exergames, and richer, more in-depth feedback is associated with increased activity. Challenge is a vital component of any videogame, and exergames include physical as well as cognitive challenges. Flow states have traditionally been conceptualized as occurring when an optimal match between player skills and game challenge occurs. However, failure and retrial are necessary for feelings of overall satisfaction and fun, despite not necessarily being ideally fun or satisfying themselves. Rewards are a more complicated issue, with significant theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting positive and negative effects of reward systems. How rewards are integrated into the mechanics and storyline of the game likely impacts how they are perceived and, thus, their effectiveness. Finally, integration of these mechanisms into exergames requires specific attention to both cognitive and physical implementations. Movements that are not themselves enjoyable or engaging may lead to cheating and lower energy expenditure.

CONCLUSIONS

Feedback, challenge, and rewards are promising mechanisms by which exergames could become more enjoyable. How these concepts are operationalized can affect physical and psychological reactions to exergames. Attention to these concepts in future exergame development and implementation would benefit theory, research, and practice.

Stories in Games for Health: More Pros or Cons?

There has been a debate about whether entertainment videogames should incorporate story or narrative. A concern has been whether story cut scenes break game immersion, and thereby minimize the fun of gameplay. Alternatively, games for health (G4H) have an agenda that goes beyond just having fun. The possible role of story in G4H has not been thoroughly addressed. We have assembled a group of experts who have worked with stories in G4H, and asked some pointed questions.