The Psychology of Video Games

Author: Celia Hodent
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000194760
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 105

Book Description
What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.

Getting Gamers

Author: Jamie Madigan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 9781538121337
Category : Video games
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A psychologist and life-long fan of video games helps you understand what psychology has to say about why video games and mobile game apps are designed the way they are, why players behave as they do, and the psychological tricks used to market and sell them.

The Psychology of Zelda

Author: Anthony Bean
Publisher: BenBella Books
ISBN: 1946885738
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
It's dangerous to go alone! Take this (book). For more than 30 years, The Legend of Zelda—which immerses players in a courageous struggle against the shadowy forces of evil in a world of high fantasy—has spanned more than 30 different installments, selling over 75 million copies. Today, it is one of the most beloved video game franchises around the globe. Video game sales as a whole have continued to grow, now raking in twice as much money per year as the entire film industry, and countless psychologists have turned their attention to the effects gaming has on us: our confidence, our identity, and our personal growth. The Psychology of Zelda applies the latest psychological findings, plus insights from classic psychology theory, to Link, Zelda, Hyrule, and the players who choose to wield the Master Sword. In The Psychology of Zelda, psychologists who love the games ask: • How do Link's battles in Ocarina of Time against Dark Link, his monstrous doppelganger, mirror the difficulty of confronting our personal demons and the tendency to be our own worst enemies? • What lessons about pursuing life's greater meaning can we take away from Link's quests through Hyrule and beyond the stereotypical video game scenario of rescuing a Princess (Zelda)? • What do we experience as players when we hear that familiar royal lullaby on the ocarina, Saria's spirited melody in the Lost Woods, or the iconic main theme on the title screen? • How do the obstacles throughout Majora's Mask represent the Five Stages of Grief? • What can Link's journey to overcome the loss of the fairy Navi teach us about understanding our own grief and depression? • Why are we psychologically drawn to the game each and every time a new version becomes available even when they all have a similar storyline? Think you've completed the quest? The Psychology of Zelda gives you new, thrilling dungeons to explore and even more puzzles to solve.

The Psychology of the Internet

Author: Patricia Wallace
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316432254
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 409

Book Description
An engaging and research-based text, The Psychology of the Internet provides a balanced overview of the psychological aspects of cyberspace. It explores crucial questions about the internet's effects on human behavior, such as why we often act in uncharacteristic ways in online environments and how social media influence the impressions we form and our personal relationships. The book's balanced approach to the subject encourages readers to think critically about the psychology of the internet, and how and why their own online behavior unfolds. Drawing on classic and contemporary research, this second edition examines new trends in internet technology, online dating, online aggression, group dynamics, child development, prosocial behavior, online gaming, gender and sexuality, privacy and surveillance, the net's addictive properties, and strategies for shaping the net's future.

An Introduction to Cyberpsychology

Author: Irene Connolly
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317584538
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Book Description
An Introduction to Cyberpsychology is the first book to provide a student-oriented introduction to this rapidly growing and increasingly studied topic. It is designed to encourage students to critically evaluate the psychology of online interactions, and to develop appropriate research methodologies to complete their own work in this field. The book is comprised of four main sections: An overview of cyberpsychology and online research methodologies Social psychology in an online context The practical applications of cyberpsychology The psychological aspects of other technologies. Each chapter includes: Explanations of key terms and a glossary to facilitate understanding Content summaries to aid student learning Activity boxes, discussion questions and recommended reading to guide further study. Further resources for students and instructors are available on the book’s companion website, including audio and video links, essay questions, a multiple-choice test bank, and PowerPoint lecture slides. Uniquely combining a survey of the field with a focus on the applied areas of psychology, the book is designed to be a core text for undergraduate modules in cyberpsychology and the psychology of the internet, and a primer for students of postgraduate programs in cyberpsychology.

Playing Video Games

Author: Peter Vorderer
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135257477
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 605

Book Description
From security training simulations to war games to role-playing games, to sports games to gambling, playing video games has become a social phenomena, and the increasing number of players that cross gender, culture, and age is on a dramatic upward trajectory. Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences integrates communication, psychology, and technology to examine the psychological and mediated aspects of playing video games. It is the first volume to delve deeply into these aspects of computer game play. It fits squarely into the media psychology arm of entertainment studies, the next big wave in media studies. The book targets one of the most popular and pervasive media in modern times, and it will serve to define the area of study and provide a theoretical spine for future research. This unique and timely volume will appeal to scholars, researchers, and graduate students in media studies and mass communication, psychology, and marketing.

InfoWorld

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 88

Book Description
InfoWorld is targeted to Senior IT professionals. Content is segmented into Channels and Topic Centers. InfoWorld also celebrates people, companies, and projects.

Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy

Author: Anthony M. Bean
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351700677
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy moves beyond stereotypes about video game addiction and violence to consider the role that games play in psychological experiences and mental health. Chapters examine the factors that compel individual gamers to select and identify with particular games and characters, as well as the different play styles, genres, and archetypes common in video games. For clinicians looking to understand their clients’ relationships with video games or to use games as a therapeutic resource in their own practice, this is a thoughtful, comprehensive, and timely resource.

The Medium of the Video Game

Author: Mark J. P. Wolf
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292786646
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
Over a mere three decades, the video game became the entertainment medium of choice for millions of people, who now spend more time in the interactive virtual world of games than they do in watching movies or even television. The release of new games or game-playing equipment, such as the PlayStation 2, generates great excitement and even buying frenzies. Yet, until now, this giant on the popular culture landscape has received little in-depth study or analysis. In this book, Mark J. P. Wolf and four other scholars conduct the first thorough investigation of the video game as an artistic medium. The book begins with an attempt to define what is meant by the term "video game" and the variety of modes of production within the medium. It moves on to a brief history of the video game, then applies the tools of film studies to look at the medium in terms of the formal aspects of space, time, narrative, and genre. The book also considers the video game as a cultural entity, object of museum curation, and repository of psychological archetypes. It closes with a list of video game research resources for further study.

Video Games and Creativity

Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128017058
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Book Description
Video games have become an increasingly ubiquitous part of society due to the proliferation and use of mobile devices. Video Games and Creativity explores research on the relationship between video games and creativity with regard to play, learning, and game design. It answers such questions as: - Can video games be used to develop or enhance creativity? - Is there a place for video games in the classroom? - What types of creativity are needed to develop video games? While video games can be sources of entertainment, the role of video games in the classroom has emerged as an important component of improving the education system. The research and development of game-based learning has revealed the power of using games to teach and promote learning. In parallel, the role and importance of creativity in everyday life has been identified as a requisite skill for success. - Summarizes research relating to creativity and video games - Incorporates creativity research on both game design and game play - Discusses physical design, game mechanics, coding, and more - Investigates how video games may encourage creative problem solving - Highlights applications of video games for educational purposes