Procedural Arguments of Persuasive Games: An Elaboration Likelihood Perspective

• In Event: Game Effects, Out in the Open, From Persuasion to Emotion

Abstract

RESEARCH PAPER. Studies into the effects of persuasive games – games designed to change players’ attitudes – have not yet yielded insight into the psychological processes involved in persuasion through procedural rhetoric. As a type of non-verbal argument embedded in game systems, it is an open question whether procedural rhetoric leads players to elaborate on a message in the same way as traditionally delivered arguments do. The current study tested 241 participants in a 2 (rhetoric strength) by 2 (level of distraction) experimental setting, with game stimuli generated through analytical game design. Results indicate that procedural rhetoric strength meaningfully adds to persuasive effects. Participants in high-distraction conditions were not driven to process the games’ message differently. After this, we outline the empirical process required to further investigate effects of procedural rhetoric on elaboration, and conclude how the current study contributes to conceptions of arguments borne out through gameplay.

Authors

• Ruud Jacobs, U of Twente

• Stefan Werning, Utrecht U

• Jeroen Jansz, Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture / Erasmus U Rotterdam

• Julia Kneer, Erasmus U Rotterdam