GAMS1105 Game Psychology (5 cr)

Learning the psychology of play and games through historical and contemporary research. Reading, interpreting, and applying key theories and less known approaches; employing the above to one’s personal play experiences. Shared learning reporting via discussions and presentations. Possibility for collective research.

On completion of this course the student

● knows the basics of play and games psychology

● learns to interpret one’s own play experiences and culture psychologically

● understands psychological studies and acquires a basis for their own research

● Piaget, Play, Dreams, and Imitation (1951), chapter “Explanation of Play”

● Winnicott, Playing and Reality (1971), chapters 3-4

● Konjin et al. “I Wish I Were a Warrior: The Role of Wishful Identification in the Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Adolescent Boys” (2007)

● Ewoldsen et al. “Effect of Playing Violent Video Games Cooperatively or Competitively on Subsequent Cooperative Behavior” (2010)

● Hatterer, “The Addictive Process” (1982)

● Turkle, Life on the Screen (1995), chapters 1 and 7.

● Brown et al. “Gender and Video Game Performance” (1997)

● Mendenhall et al. “Exploring Video Games from an Evolutionary Psychological Perspective” (2010)

● Orben & Przybylski, “Screens, Teens, and Psychological Well-Being: Evidence From Three Time-Use-Diary Studies” (2019)

● Himmelstein et al. “An Exploration of Mental Skills Among Competitive League of Legend Players” (2017)