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memory
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
We adapted the computer game TETRIS to investigate the process of affective-motivational counter-regulation, that is, attentional biases for emotional stimuli that are in opposition to the momentary Motivational focus. Counter-regulation is seen as a mechanism which should prevent escalation and impulsivity, and it should help to avoid becoming "locked up" in affective-motivational states. Accordingly, for a negative outcome focus condition (i.e., risk of losing a current high score), we hypothesized greater interference by positive distractors that were included in the game, whereas for a positive outcome focus (i.e., chance to improve one's current high score), we hypothesized greater interference by negative distractors. Supporting our hypotheses, we found the predicted interactions between distractor valence and type of outcome focus. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that adolescents might underestimate time while playing a video game. To test this hypothesis, 116 adolescents (14-15 years old) had to judge prospectively or retrospectively the duration of three consecutive tasks: a 8 min and a 24 min task of playing video game (Tetris) and an 8 min task of reading on a computer screen (control task). The main hypothesis received support: for a same duration, the video game task was estimated as shorter than the reading task. Moreover, participants with a game-inclined profile showed a stronger underestimation of time while playing. Finally, the short durations were overestimated and the long duration underestimated. The main findings are accounted for by an attention-based explanation.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Uncertainty may be an important component of the motivation provided by learning games, especially when associated with gaming rather than learning. Three studies are reported that explore the influence of gaming uncertainty on engagement with computer-based learning games. In the first study, children (10-11 years) played a simple maths quiz. Participants chose their preferred reward for a correct answer prior to seeing each question. They could either receive a single point or toss an animated coin to receive 2 points for heads or none for tails. A preference for the uncertain option was revealed and this increased during the quiz. The second study explored the discourse around learning when pairs of participants (13-14 years) competed against the computer in a science quiz. Progress depended on the acquisition of facts but also on the outcomes of throwing dice. Discourse was characterised by a close intermingling of learning and gaming talk without salient problematic constructions regarding fairness when losing points due to gaming uncertainty. A final experiment explored whether, in this type of game, the uncertainty provided by the gaming component could influence players' affective response to the learning component. Electrodermal activity (EDA) of 16 adults was measured while they played the quiz with and without the element of chance provided by the dice. Results showed EDA when answering questions was increased by inclusion of gaming uncertainty. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential benefits of combining gaming uncertainty with learning and directions for further research in this area are outlined.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Research has consistently shown that aggressive video console and PC games elicit aggressive cognitions, affect, and behaviors. Despite the increasing popularity of racing (driving) games, nothing is known about the psychological impact of this genre. This study investigated whether playing racing games affects cognitions, affect, and behaviors that can promote risk taking in actual road traffic situations. In Study 1, the authors found that the frequency of playing racing games was positively associated with competitive driving, obtrusive driving, and car accidents; a negative association with cautious driving was observed. To determine cause and effect, in Study 2, the authors manipulated whether participants played I of 3 racing games or I of 3 neutral games. Participants who played a racing game subsequently reported a higher accessibility of cognitions and affect positively associated with risk taking than did participants who played a neutral game. Finally, on a more behavioral level, in Study 3, the authors found that men who played a racing game subsequently took higher risks in computer-simulated critical road traffic situations than did men who played a neutral game. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Past self-organizing models of collectively moving "particles" (simulated bird flocks, fish schools, etc.) have typically been based on purely reflexive agents that have no significant memory of past movements. We hypothesized that giving such individual particles a limited distributed memory of past obstacles they encountered could lead to significantly faster travel between goal destinations. Systematic computational experiments using six terrains that had different arrangements of obstacles demonstrated that, at least in some domains, this conjecture is true. Furthermore, these experiments demonstrated that improved performance over time came not only from the avoidance of previously seen obstacles, but also (surprisingly) immediately after first encountering obstacles due to decreased delays in circumventing those obstacles. Simulations also showed that, of the four strategies we tested for removal of remembered obstacles when memory was full and a new obstacle was to be saved, none was better than random selection. These results may be useful in interpreting future experimental research on group movements in biological populations, and in improving existing methodologies for control of collective movements in computer graphics, robotic teams, particle swarm optimization, and computer games.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
While numerous studies have reported learning of perceptual- motor skills by amnesic patients, few if any have documented the eventual acquisition of expertise on a given task. This paper recounts the learning of the computer game Tetris by a hippocampal amnesic,whose acquisition of the task in a formal evaluation was somewhat slower than that of a comparison group, but who after many hours of self-paced practice achieved expert-level play.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This paper describes the design and implementation of a module of emotions and personality for synthetic actors. Here are presented the results of previous researches, which were the basis of this project. With this information, a model for emotion generation using personality traits was designed in three stages, and implemented. using fuzzy logic, FSMs, and probability theory. Finally, the functionalities of the module were shown using a demo version implemented with the videogame engine Unreal (R) 2 Runtime.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Emotion is a key component for sound design in movies and videogames. We believe that it is also a key component in virtual environments and simulation. The following paper summarizes work at the MOVES Institute's Immersive Audio Laboratory which demonstrates the emotional impact of sound in interactive media and also shows that emotionality evoked in a simulation has a positive impact on learning for events that occur in the simulation. Our research methods employ objective measures such as physiological recordings and memory recall testing rather than the more commonly used subjective questionnaires and surveys. It is our belief that these objective measures are more easily replicated and generalized to a wide variety of simulations and situations. We discuss our research in terms of the parallel development in the MOVES Institute of the videogame "America's Army: Operations," which we use as an experimental test bed and tool. Applications of this research are discussed in terms of high-end simulation projects like the Virtual Technologies and Environments (VIRTE) program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This study assessed the speed of recognition of facial emotional expressions (happy and angry) as a function of violent media consumption. Color photos of calm facial expressions morphed to either an angry or a happy facial expression. Participants were asked to make a speeded identification of the emotion (happiness or anger) during the morph. Results indicated that. independent of trait aggressiveness, participants high in violent media consumption responded slower to depictions of happiness and faster to depictions of anger than participants low in violent media consumption. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to current models of aggressive behavior.
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This study investigated the effects of violent video game play and trait hostility on attentional bias toward negatively valenced words. Following video game play, participants completed an emotional Stroop task. Results indicated greater Stroop interference for participants high in trait hostility and for participants playing violent video games. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to current models of aggressive behavior.
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