Gaming Frequency, Time, and types of Gamer

The gaming frequency and the amount of time spent on playing video games have been studied
for years frequently in association with gaming addiction (Daniel Luke King 2012; Ko et al. 2009),
psychological constructs (e.g., self-concept clarity, self-control, and flow) (Khang et al. 2013; Lee et al.
2012), negative consequences (e.g., missing school work) (Hellström et al. 2012), and even academic
performance or learning outcome (Furió et al. 2013; Ip et al. 2008). Ip et al. (2008) analyzed the
relationships between gaming frequency and academic performance among 713 students. The study
found that frequent gamers, who spend more than 2 hours per day playing video games, performed less
well than infrequent gamers. Hellström et al. (2012) examined the relationship between gaming time,
motives to play, and negative consequences because of playing Massively multiplayer online role-playing
games (MMORPGs). They recruited 7,757 Swedish adolescents and had them completed a questionnaire
and found that time spent on gaming was related to negative consequences, e.g., “less sleep due to
gaming.” Ventura et al. (2012) constructed an online survey with 252 undergraduate students and a
positive indication was found between video gameplay and academic performance. That is, students who
spent 11-50 hours playing video games had significantly higher GPAs than students who spent 0-10 hours
playing video games. Types of gamers are associated with the frequency and amount of time a player has
spent on playing video games. However, the segmentation between types of gamers has not been
significantly, rigorously studied. Two types of gamers, casual and hardcore gamers, have been growing
rapidly in recent years. Kuittinen et al. (2007) discussed the characteristics and differences between casual
and hardcore gamers. For example, hardcore gamers play extremely competitive games and require a
much higher degree of involvement than casual gamers.

Self-control and flow

Self-control, sometimes called self-regulation, is the ability to control emotions, anxiety, and
behavior to gain possible rewards or avoid punishment (Timpano et al. 2013). LaRose et al. (2003) describe
deficient self-regulation as diminishing consciousness of self-control because of lacking awareness and
attention to behaviors. Khang et al. (2013) found that self-control affected users’ flow and addiction in
mobile phones, Internet, and even video games. A detailed distinction of those psychological factors is
beyond the scope of this study; however, it is worth including the factors into our survey questions.
Psychological factors, e.g., flow and self-control have been frequently studied in gaming addiction and
gaming behaviors. Flow, proposed by Csikszentmihalyi (1991) which has been studied over 30 years, is the
mental state of immersion or concentration in an activity. Playing games can give rise to a state of flow
which led to the loss of self-consciousness and sense of time (Csíkszentmihályi 1975; Liu et al. 2013). The
association between flow and video-game playing has been studied in nascent studies with different
findings. For example, it was found that the flow was not related to the amount of time spent on playing
video games (Lee et al. 2007) and to online game addiction (Wan et al. 2006). However, Lee et al. (2012)
conducted a survey with a sample of 330 students drawn from a university in the northwestern in the U.S.
and found that instances of the flow experience were associated to the amount of time spent on gaming.
 3

RE6IEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Online Games

Playing video games is often associated in our society with poor academic performance. This anecdotal
idea is supported by some research. A 2000 study found a negative correlation between GPA and time
spent playing video games (Anderson and Dill, 2000). The correlation was relatively small. Time
alone accounted for a 4% variance in GPA, yet the findings are significant. However, several older studies
contend that the results of research have been mixed. A 1997 study suggests that “there is no clear causal
relationship between video game playing and academic performance” (Emes, 199G, p. 143). It goes on to
say that the research is “sparse and contradictory” (Emes, 199G, p. 413).

The effect that interactive digital media has on the learning process is not completely negative. It is not
that the medium itself is inherently flawed, but much of the information that gets transmitted through it
may be. As was noted in a 2008 study on media attention and cognitive abilities, “content appears to
be crucia” (Schmidt & Vanderwater, 2008, p. 63). If the content being consumed is positive, then positive
results can be expected. If the content is negative, then negative results can be expected. The
study examined research from many sources in arriving at this conclusion.

Student Engangement and Sociological Effects

Research on the social effects of video games is also mixed (Allison, Wahlde, Shockley & Gabbard, 2006).
Home studies have found that video games are similar to addictions such as gambling which create
negative social effects. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) have been called
“heroinware” because they are “simultaneously competitive and highly social” (Allison, Wahlde, Shockley
& Gabbard, 2006, p. 383). Other studies have noted positive aspects of the games such as the ability to
experiment with aspects of individual identity which do not come out in public.

MMORPGs have been criticized for hampering academic and job performance. The FCC has specifically
accused World of Warcraft, one of the most popular games, as leading to college dropouts (Somaiya,
2009). Students can become obsessed with these games and become disengaged from schools, friends,
and life in general. Video games can also have positive social effects. One measure of this which
has significant research is that of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior is defined as when one person
acts to help another. While research on this topic is mixed, there is evidence that games which focus on
prosocial behavior lead to prosocial results (Schie & Wiegman, 1997).

Intelligence Benefits

According to all Academic Research, playing computer games may not be all that bad for yourchildren.
)eng =ei states that educational games can be effective assisting tools in theeducational areas of
management, medicine and science. *f you choose the right educationalcomputer games, your child may
learn better problem"solving s&ills and eye"hand coordination.4our child may also get the ability to
thin& fast and thin& of multiple things all at once. #&illsobtained from playing computer games may help
your child learn uic&ly when it comes to hisstudies. *f your child is struggling in one of his school sub(ects,
there are many educationalcomputer games available for him. There are math and reading related games
that may helpboost your child@s s&ills. These games can be both fun and educational for your children.

38 P'si%i+e E))e(%s ') 6i&e' G! es

When your child plays video games, it gives his brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills
required to win involve abstract and high-level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school. Some
of the mental skills enhanced by video games include following instructions, problem solving and
logic (when a child plays a game such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, he trains
his brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts), Hand-eye
coordination, fine motor and spatial skills. In shooting games, the character may be running and shooting
at the same time. This requires the real-world player to keep track of the position of the character, where
he/she is heading, his speed, where the gun is aiming, if the gunfire is hitting the enemy, and so on. All
these factors need to be taken into account, and then the player must then coordinate the brain’s
interpretation and reaction with the movement in his hands and fingertips. This process requires a great
deal of eye-hand coordination and visual-spatial ability to be successful. Research also suggests that
people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video games. There have been even studies
with adults showing that experience with video games is related to better surgical skills. Also, a reason
given by experts as to why fighter pilots of today are more skillful is that this generation’s pilots are being
weaned on video games. Planning, resource management and logistics. The player learns to manage
resources that are limited, and decide the best use of resources, the same way as in real life. This skill is
honed in strategy games such as SimCity, Age of Empires, and Railroad Tycoon. Notably, The American
planning association, the trade association of urban planners and Maxis, the game creator, have claimed
that SimCity has inspired a lot of its players to take a career in urban planning and architecture.
8ultitas&ing, simultaneous tracking of many shifting variables and managing multiple objectives. In
strategy games, for instance, while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might
emerge. This forces the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics. (Daphne Bavalier)

Quick thinking, making fast analysis and decisions. Sometimes the player does this almost every second
of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to researchers at the university of Rochester, led
by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle
or action games could be a training tool for real-world situations. The study suggests that playing action
video games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Video games can be used to train soldiers and
surgeons, according to the study. Importantly, decisions made by action-packed video game players are
no less accurate. According to Bavelier, “Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time.
If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, which can make all the difference.” Accuracy-
Action games, according to a study by the University of Rochester, train the player’s brain to make faster
decisions without losing accuracy. In today’s world, it is important to move quickly without sacrificing
accuracy. Strategy and anticipation - Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good for you: How
Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter, calls this ”telescoping.” The gamer must deal with
immediate problems while keeping his long-term goals on his horizon. Situational awareness -- Defense
News reported that the army include videogames to train soldiers to improve their situational awareness
in combat. Many strategy games also require the player to become mindful of sudden situational changes
in the game and adapt accordingly. Developing reading and math skills – The young gamer reads to get
instructions, follow storylines of games, and get information from the game texts. Also, using math skills
is important to win in many games that involves quantitative analysis like managing resources.
Perseverance – In higher levels of a game, the player usually fails the first time around, but he&eeps on
trying until he succeeds and move on to the next level. Pattern recognition – games have internal logic in
them, and the player figures it out by recognizing patterns. Estimating skills. Inductive reasoning and
hypothesis testing " Lames )aul 3ee, professor of education at the<niversity of =isconsin"8adison, says
that playing a video game is similar to wor&ing through ascience problem. ?i&e a student in a laboratory,
the gamer must come up with a hypothesis. >orexample, the gamer must constantly try out combinations
of weapons and powers to use todefeat an enemy. *f one does not wor&, he changes hypothesis and try
the next one. Videogames are goal"driven experiences, says 3ee, which are fundamental to learning.
8apping -Thegamer use in"game maps or build maps on his head to navigate around virtual worlds.0
8emory ")laying first person shooter games such as Call of $uty and Jattlefield series enables the playerto
effectively (udge what information should be stored in his wor&ing memory and what can bediscarded
considering the tas& at hand, according to a study published in the )sychologicalIesearch. Concentration,
5 study conducted by the 5ppalachia ducational ?aboratory revealthat children with attention"deficit
disorder who played $ance Ievolution improve their readingscores by helping them concentrate
*mproved ability to rapidly and accurately recogni+e visualinformation " 5 study from Jeth *srael 8edical
Center ;4, found a direct lin& between s&ill at video

gaming and still at eyhole, or laparoscopic, surgery. Ieasoned (udgments, Ta&ing ris&s "=inning in any
game involves a player%s courage to ta&e ris&s. 8ost games do not reward playerswho play safely. How
to respond to challenges, How to respond to frustrations, How to exploreand rethin& goals, Teamwor&
and cooperation when played with others 8any multiplayer gamessuch as Team >ortress A involve
cooperation with other online players in order to win. Thesegames encourage players to ma&e the most
of their individual s&ills to contribute to the team. 5ccording to a survey by Loan 3an+ Cooney
Center, teachers report that their students becomebetter collaborators after using digital games in
the classroom. 8anagement 8anagementsimulation games such as Iollercoaster Tycoon and Moo tycoon
teach the player to ma&emanagement decisions and manage the effective use of finite resources. 'ther
games such as 5ge of mpires and Civili+ation even simulate managing the course of a civili+ation.
#imulation,real world s&ills. The most well"&nown simulations are flight simulators, which attempt to
mimicthe reality of flying a plane. 5ll of the controls, including airspeed, wing angles, altimeter, and soon,
are displayed for the player, as well as a visual representation of the world, and are updatedin real time.

Computer Game Addiction

Because there is no official diagnosis of computer game addiction, there is obviously no universally agreed
upon list of symptoms. Psychologists and other mental health professionals initially adapted the
diagnostic criteria for gambling addiction and used this as a rough assessment tool for computer game
addiction. This classification approach is rarely used today and for better or for worse, it is essentially
up to the individual researcher or clinician to define the symptoms of computer addiction. Still, there are
some signs and behaviors that are almost always included in definitions of computer addiction, such
as significant interference with school, work, or relationships. Often avoiding other commitments in order
to keep playing, frequently turning down social invitations in favor of gaming, Using most or all of one’s
free time for gaming, regularly playing late into the night and which results in poor sleep habits, loss of
interest in previously enjoyed activities, Regular gaming “binges” of 8 hours or more nonstop.
Csíkszentmihályi, M. 1975. Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, (Jossey-Bass: San Francisco).

Csíkszentmihályi, M. 1991. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, (HarperPerennial: New York,
N.Y.).

Daniel Luke King, P. H. D. 2012. "Clinical Interventions for Technology-Based Problems: Excessive Internet
and Video Game Use," Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy (26:1) 2012, pp 43-56.

Elliott, L., Golub, A., Ream, G., and Dunlap, E. 2012. "Video Game Genre as a Predictor of Problem Use,"
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking (15:3), pp 155-161.

Furió, D., González-Gancedo, S., Juan, M. C., Seguí, I., and Rando, N. 2013. "Evaluation of Learning
Outcomes Using an Educational Iphone Game Vs. Traditional Game," Computers & Education (64)
2013/05//, pp 1- 23.

Haagsma, M. C., Caplan, S. E., Peters, O., and Pieterse, M. E. 2013. "A Cognitive-Behavioral Model of
Problematic Online Gaming in Adolescents Aged 12–22 Years," Computers in Human Behavior (29:1), pp
202-209.

Hellström, C., Nilsson, K. W., Leppert, J., and Åslund, C. 2012. "Influences of Motives to Play and Time
Spent Gaming on the Negative Consequences of Adolescent Online Computer Gaming," Computers in
Human Behavior (28:4), pp 1379-1387.

Ip, B., Jacobs, G., and Watkins, A. 2008. "Gaming Frequency and Academic Performance," Australasian
Journal of Educational Technology (24:4), pp 355-373.