The Psychology of Online Gaming.
In this episode, we explore the psychology of Personality, Archetypes and Self-Perception in online video game playing.
We chat about her research into Player Archetypes (the different roles players take on while gaming), how players may become disinhibited while they game, and how choosing a specific avatar can change a gamer’s perception of themselves.
Connect with the guests
Chelsea Gault
Chelsea is a full time Cyberpsychology PhD student at the University of Buckingham.
She works at Virtual Reality Experiences as a researcher, supporting the evaluation and development of a range of VR assessment and training modules. She also tests the use of VR for team building and group assessment – supported by empirical evaluation and research.
Is is also as a part-time hourly paid lecturer at the University of Huddersfield – lecturing in a variety of Psychology related subjects, – both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.
Connect on Social Media :
In today’s episode of Confessions of a CyberPsychologist, I chat with Chelsea Gault, who is a PhD research student focussing on the psychology of online gaming.
We specifically talk about:
01:01 What got Chelsea into the psychology of gaming and what she is focussing on looking at personality traits of gamers.
03:33 The world of eSports, what it is, why people participate and watch others play eSports and how to get into it.
09:31 If video games can affect a person’s reaction time.
11:14 What motivates people to play video games.
14:17 What impact ‘Player Archetype’ has on a person’s reaction time within a game (for more information on what player architype, read more here) , and identifying different types of gamer behaviour based on their unique personality traits.
20:31 How avatars chosen within a game can affect a players self-perception and how this affects their behaviour within the game (known as ‘The Proteus Effect).
22:26 Whether personality traits are linked to a players being more disinhibited within a video game.
26:13 Presenting her PhD initial work at the BPS CyberPsychology Conference and the insights gained so far.
31:18 The difference between gaming obsession and addiction, the positives of gaming
34:39 The point at which parents should become concerned about video game play and how to reduce the impact of ‘bad actors’ in online multiplayer games.
41:06 Advice for parents (and children) who are concerned about the online aspects of online gaming.
45:51 Our self-perception (i.e. how we see ourselves) in the online and offline world.
49:30 The correlation between violent video games and violent behaviour and the reporting thereof in the media.
