Gaming well: Links between videogames and flourishing mental health

Frontiers in Psychology

Volumn 5, Issue MAR, 2014, Pages

  Jones, Christian M ^a   Scholes, Laura ^a   Johnson, Daniel ^b   Katsikitis, Mary ^a   Carras, Michelle C ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST   (Australia)

^b QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Australia)

^c JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Flourishing; Mental health; PERMA; Seligman; Videogames; Well being

Indexed keywords

EID: 84897951157     PISSN: None     EISSN: 16641078     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00260     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. Allahverdipour, H., Bazargan, M., Farhadinasab, A., and Moeini, B. (2010). Correlates of video games playing among adolescent in an Islamic country. BMC Public Health 10:286. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-286.
2. Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Kingsbury, M., and Schneider, B. (2013). Friendship: an old concept with a new meaning? Comput. Human Behav. 29, 33-39. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.025.
3. Anderson, C. A., Shibuya, A., Ihori, N., Swing, E. L., Bushman, B. J., Sakamoto, A., et al. (2010). Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western countries: a meta-analytic review. Psychol. Bull. 136, 151-173. doi: 10.1037/a0018251.
4. Bagwell, C. L., and Schmidt, M. E. (2011). The friendship quality of overtly and relationally victimized children. Merril Palmer Q. 57, 158-185. doi: 10.1353/mpq.2011.0009.
5. Baranowski, T., Buday, R., Thompson, D., and Baranowski, J. (2008). Playing for real: video games and stories for health-related behavior change. Am. J. Prev. Med. 34, 74-82. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2007.09.027.
6. Bardzell, S., Bardzell, J., Pace, T., and Reed, K. (2008). "Blissfully productive: grouping and cooperation in world of warcraft instance runs," in Proceedings of the 2008 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW '08), (New York, NY: ACM), 357-360. doi: 10.1145/1460563.1460621.
7. Barr, P., Khaled, R., Noble, J., and Biddle, R. (2006). "Feeling strangely fine: the well-being economy in popular games," in Proceedings of the First International Conference on Persuasive Technology for Human Well-being (Berlin: Springer-Verlag Heidelberg), 60-71.
8. Boyle, E. A., Connolly, T. M., and Hainey, T. (2011). The role of psychology in understanding the impact of computer games. Entertain. Comput. 2, 69-74. doi: 10.1016/j.entcom.2010.12.002.
9. Brand, J. (2012). Digital Australia (2012). National Research Prepared by Bond University for the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association. School of Communication and Media, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Bond University.
10. Bucolo, D. (2011). Violent video game exposure and physical aggression in adolescence: tests of the general aggression model. Diss. Abstr. Int. 71, 5180.
11. Burns, J., Webb, M., Durkin, L., and Hickie, I. (2010). Reach out central: a serious game designed to engage young men to improve mental health and wellbeing. Med. J. 192, S27-S30.
12. Carver, C. S., and Scheier, M. F. (1990). Origins and functions of positive and negative affect: a control-process view. Psychol. Rev. 97, 19-35. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.97.1.19.
13. Chak, K., and Leung, L. (2004). Shyness and locus of control as predictors of internet addiction and internet use. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 7, 559-570. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2004.7.559.
14. Clark, L., Lawrence, A. J., Astley-Jones, F., and Gray, N. (2009). Gambling near-misses enhance motivation to gamble and recruit win-related brain circuitry. Neuron 61, 481-490. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.12.031.
15. Cole, H., and Griffiths, M. (2007). Social interactions in massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 10, 575-583. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2007.9988.
16. Colwell, J. (2007). Needs met through computer game play among adolescents. Pers. Individ. Dif. 43, 2072-2082. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2007.06.021.
17. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. New York: Basic Books.
18. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row.
19. Desai, R. A., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Cavallo, D., and Potenza, M. N. (2010). Video-gaming among high school students: health correlates, gender differences, and problematic gaming. Pediatrics 126:e1414. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-2706.
20. Durkin, K., and Barber, B. (2002). Not so doomed: computer game play and positive adolescent development. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 23, 373-392. doi: 10.1016/S0193-3973(02)00124-7.
21. Ferguson, C. J. (2007). The good, the bad and the ugly: a meta-analytic review of positive and negative effects of violent video games. Psychiatr. Q. 78, 309-316. doi: 10.1007/s11126-007-9056-9.
22. Gee, J. P. (2008). "Learning and games," in The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning, ed. K. Salen (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press), 21-40.
23. Gentile, D. A. (2009). Pathological videogame use among youth 8 to 18: a national study. Psychol. Sci. 20, 594-602. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02340.x.
24. Gentile, D. A., and Gentile, J. R. (2008). Violent videogames as exemplary teachers: a conceptual analysis. J. Youth Adolesc. 37, 127-141. doi: 10.1007/s10964-007-9206-2.
25. Grüsser, S. M., Thalemann, R., and Griffiths, M. D. (2007). Excessive computer game playing: evidence for addiction and aggression? Cyberpsychol. Behav. 10, 290-292. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2006.9956.
26. Hull, K. (2009). Computer/Video Games as a Play Therapy Tool in Reducing Emotional Disturbances in Children. Doctoral dissertation, UMI Number: 3380362, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA.
27. Huppert, F., and So, T. T. (2013). Flourishing across Europe: application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Soc. Indic. Res. 110, 837-861. doi: 10.1007/s11205-011-9966-7.
28. John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., and Kentle, R. L. (1991). The Big Five Inventory-Versions 4a and 54. Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Personality and Social Research.
29. Johnson, D., and Gardner, J. (2010). "Personality, motivation and video games," in The Proceedings of the 22nd Conference of the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of Australia on Computer-Human Interaction, OZCHI 2010, Brisbane, 276-279.
30. Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K. (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium.
31. Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life. J. Health Soc. Behav. 43, 207-222. doi: 10.2307/3090197.
32. Killingsworth, M. A., and Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wan-dering mind is an unhappy mind. Science 330, 932. doi: 10.1126/science.1192439.
33. Ko, C., Yen, C., Yen, C., Yen, J., Chen, C., and Chen, S. (2005). Screening for internet addiction: an empirical research on cut-off points for the Chen Internet Addiction Scale. Kaohsiung J. Med. Sci. 21, 545-551. doi: 10.1016/S1607-551X(09)70206-2.
34. Kutner, L., and Olson, C. K. (2008). Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. New York: Simon & Schuster.
35. Lemmens, J., Valkenburg, P., and Peter, J. (2011). Psychosocial causes and consequences of pathological gaming. Comput. Human Behav. 27, 144-152. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.015.
36. Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting, Appl. Prev. Psychol. 5, 117-124. doi: 10.1016/S0962-1849(96)80005-9.
37. McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Sydney: Random House.
38. Möller, I., and Krahé, B. (2009). Exposure to violent videogames and aggression in German adolescents: a longitudinal analysis. Aggress. Behav. 35, 75-89. doi: 10.1002/ab.20290.
39. Przybylski, A. K., Ryan, R. M., and Rigby, C. S. (2009a). The motivating role of violence in video games. Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 35, 243-259. doi: 10.1177/0146167208327216.
40. Przybylski, A. K., Weinstein, N., Ryan, R. M., and Rigby, C. S. (2009b). Having to versus wanting to play: background and consequences of harmonious versus obsessive engagement in videogames. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 12, 485-492. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0083.
41. Przybylski, A. K., Weinstein, N., Murrayama, K., Lynch, M. F., and Ryan, R. M. (2011). The ideal self at play: the appeal of video games that let you be all you can be. Pscyhol. Sci. 23, 69-76. doi: 10.1177/0956797611418676.
42. Pwn or Die Blog. (2009). 12 Ways Video Games Actually Benefit Real Life [Web log post]. Available at: http://www./pwnordie.com/blog/posts/15739 (accessed May 12, 2009).
43. Russoniello, C. V., O'Brien, K., and Parks, J. M. (2009). The effectiveness of casual video games in improving mood and decreasing stress. J. Cyber Ther. Rehabil. 2, 53-66.
44. Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing. Am. Psychol. 55, 68-78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68.
45. Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2008). From ego depletion to vitality: theory and findings concerning the facilitation of energy available to the self. Soc. Personal. Psychol. Compass 2, 702-717. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00098.x.
46. Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., and Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: a self-determination theory approach. Motiv. Emot. 30, 347-363 doi: 10.1007/s11031-006-9051-8.
47. Seligman, M. (1998). Learned Optimism. New York: Pocket Books.
48. Seligman, M. (2004). Authentic Happiness. New York: Free Press.
49. Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free Press.
50. Sheldon, K. M., and Kasser, T. (1995). Coherence and congruence: two aspects of personality integration. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 68, 531-543. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.68.3.531.
51. Sherry, J. (2004). Flow and media enjoyment. Commun. Theory 14, 328-347. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00318.x.
52. Sherry, J. (2007). "Violent video games and aggression: why can't we find links?" in Mass Media Effects Research: Advances Through Meta-Analysis, eds R. Preiss, B. Gayle, N. Burrell, M. Allen, and J. Bryant (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 231-248.
53. Shernoff, D. (2012). "Engagement and positive youth development: Creating optimal learning environments," in APA Educational Psychology Handbook, Vol. 2, Individual Differences and Cultural and Contextual Factors. APA Handbooks in Psychology, eds K. Harris, S. Graham, T. Urdan, S. Graham, J. Royer, and M. Zeidner (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association), 195-220.
54. Shibuya, A., Sakamoto, A., Ihori, N., and Yukawa, S. (2008). The effects of the presence and contexts of videogame violence on children: a longitudinal study in Japan. Simul. Gaming 39, 528-539. doi: 10.1177/1046878107306670.
55. Snodgrass, J., Dengah, F., Lacy, M., Fagan, J., Most, D., Blank, M., et al. (2012). Restorative magical adventure or warcrack? Motivated MMO play and the pleasures and perils of online experience. Games Cult. 7, 13-28. doi: 10.1177/1555412012440312.
56. Snodgrass, J., Lacy, M., Dengah, F., and Fagan, J. (2011a). Enhancing one life rather than living two: playing MMO's with offline friends. Comput. Human Behav. 27, 1211-1222. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2011.01.001.
57. Snodgrass, J., Lacy, M., Dengah, F., Fagan, J., and Most, D. (2011b). Magical flight and monstrous stress: technologies of absorption and mental wellness in Azeroth. Cul. Med. Psychiatry 35, 26-62. doi: 10.1007/s11013-010-9197-4.
58. Stickney, A. (2013). World of Warcraft down to 9.6 million subscribers. Available at: http://wow.joystiq.com/tag/wow-subscriber-numbers/(accessed December 1, 2013).
59. Suznjevic, M., and Matijasevic, M. (2010). Why MMORPG players do what they do: relating motivations to action categories. Int. J. Adv. Media Commun. 4, 405. doi: 10.1504/IJAMC.2010.036838.
60. Taylor, T. L. (2003). The Sopranos meets Everquest: socialization processes in massively multiusergames. Paper Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture (DAC) Streaming Wor(l)ds Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
61. Trepte, S., Reinecke, L., and Juechens, K. (2012). The social side of gaming: how playing online computer games creates online and offline social support. Comput. Human Behav. 28, 832-839. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2011.12.003.
62. Valkenburg, P. M., and Peter, J. (2011). Online communication among adolescents: an integrated model of its attraction, opportunities, and risks. J. Adolesc. Health 48, 121-127. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.08.020.
63. Van Rooij, A. J., Schoenmakers, T. M., Vermulst, A. A., van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., and van de Mheen, D. (2011). Online videogame addiction: identification of addicted adolescent gamers. Addiction 106, 205-212. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03104.x.
64. Wack, E., and Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2009). Relationships between electronic game play, obesity, and psychosocial functioning in young men. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 12, 241-2444. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2008.0151.
65. Wang, C. K., Khoo, A., Liu, W. C., and Divaharan, S. (2008). Passion and intrinsic motivation in digital gaming. Cyberpscyhol. Behav. 11, 39-45. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2007.0004.
66. Williams, D., Ducheneaut, N., Xiong, L., Zhang, Y., Yee, N., and Nickell, E. (2006). From tree house to barracks: the social life of guilds in World of Warcraft. Games Cult. 1, 338-361. doi: 10.1177/1555412006292616.
67. Words with Friends [WwF]. (2013). Words with Friends download page, Zygna mobile game developer, Retrieved from http://www.wordswithfriends.com/.
68. World Health Organisation. (2001). World Health Report 2011: Mental Health, New Understanding, New Hope. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
69. Yee, N. (2006). Motivations for playing online games. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 9, 772-775. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2006.9.772.