Are “Wii” Exercising Correctly? Understanding How Exergames Can Be Used to Increase Knowledge of Exercise Behavior

Exploring college students' attitudes toward older adults: A description of methods used by the gerontological literacy network

Recognizing the pervasiveness of negative societal attitudes toward aging and older adults is critical, as research indicates how older adults are viewed subsequently influences how they are treated. The Gerontological Literacy Network (GLN) is a multi-university collaboration established to address ingrained beliefs that underlie ageism and gerontophobia. The GLN developed a data-gathering protocol that uses drawing as a foundation to assess the gerontological literacy of college students. The protocol includes drawing what aging means, writing a paragraph describing the drawing, indicating the age at which someone is "old," and writing words associated with "old person" and "grandma/grandpa." Results from 1,609 protocols confirm that college students have negative views of aging as depicted in drawings of negative emotional states, illness, physical decline, and death. The presence of positive representations of aging (e.g., smiling) reveals the heterogeneity of perceptions and suggests the potential to achieve more accurate perceptions through educational interventions. This article provides an overview of the protocols and suggestions for future efforts related to gerontophobia and ageism.

The effects of exergames on muscle strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined studies on the chronic effects of exergames on muscle strength in humans. PubMed, Scopus, CENTRAL, Web of Science, SciELO, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, and Google Scholar were searched, and manual searches of the reference lists of included studies and hand-searches on Physiotherapy Evidence Database and ResearchGate were conducted from inception to August 10, 2020. Randomized and non-randomized exergame intervention studies with or without a non-exercise group and/or a "usual care intervention group" (any other intervention that did not incorporate exergames), which evaluated muscle strength through direct measurements, were included. Forty-seven and 25 studies were included in the qualitative review and meta-analysis, respectively. The between-groups meta-analyses showed no significant differences between exergames and non-exercise control groups for handgrip strength in heathy/unhealthy middle-aged/older adults or knee extension maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in healthy older adults. However, exergames provided a greater increase in handgrip strength, knee flexion MVIC, and elbow extension MVIC, but not knee extension MVIC or elbow flexion MVIC, in individuals with different health statuses when compared to usual care interventions. Also, there was a greater increase in handgrip strength in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy favouring usual care plus exergames compared to usual care interventions. These results suggest that exergames may improve upper and lower limb muscle strength in individuals with different heath statuses compared to usual care interventions, but not muscle strength in middle age/older adults after accounting for random error. Also, exergames appear to be a useful tool for improving handgrip strength in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy when added to usual care. However, as the exergame interventions were applied in different populations and there currently are many different approaches to perform exergames, future randomized controlled trials with high methodological quality and large sample sizes are needed to provide more compelling evidence in favour of a specific exergame protocol, or to elucidate exergame protocol design principles that appear to strongly influence outcomes.

Understanding the Relationship Between Exergame Play Experiences, Enjoyment, and Intentions for Continued Play

OBJECTIVE

Although it is generally understood that exergames can be beneficial, more research is needed to understand how in-game experiences influence enjoyment and the likelihood for continued use of these types of games. Therefore, the objective of this research is to understand how player performance in an exergame affects psychological responses (autonomy, competence, and presence), enjoyment of the experience, and likelihood for future play.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Sixty-two college students (mean age, 20.32 years) participated in an experiment where they played a challenge event on the "Biggest Loser" exergame for the Nintendo (Kyoto, Japan) Wii™ console. Participants were given up to two chances to see if they could "win" the challenge event. A lab assistant recorded player performance for each session in minutes and seconds (range, 30 seconds-10 minutes). The attempt in which the participant achieved the greatest amount of time playing was used as a measure of player performance. After playing, subjects filled out a questionnaire with items pertaining to enjoyment, competence, autonomy, presence, and future intentions for continued use of the exergame.

RESULTS

The results suggest that player achievement (longer time spent playing) directly and indirectly predicts feelings of autonomy, competence, presence, enjoyment, and future intentions to play. Individuals who performed better felt more autonomous and experienced greater presence, leading to greater enjoyment. Enjoyment and presence were found to mediate the relationship between player performance and future intentions to play an exergame.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that performance in exergames is related to psychological experiences that fuel enjoyment and the likelihood for future exergame use. The theoretical and practical significances of these findings are discussed, as well as future research involving exergames.

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.