Poster #56 - Prosocial behavior of children in digital games and real-world behavior: Personality, gender, and altruism

• In Event: Poster Session 16

Abstract

The usage of video games in Sweden and globally has been increasing over recent years, and more children are playing video games than ever before (Swedish Media Council, 2019). Many studies have explored the negative effects of video games on children's behavior. However, there is a gap in the existing literature on the positive effects video games may have on children's behavior. With this current study, we aimed to add to the existing research on children's positive behaviors, specifically prosocial behaviors, in digital contexts. We measured 9-year-old children’s (N=60) personality traits, prior experiences, parental attitudes, and a measure of non-binary gender, and then examined sharing behavior in a custom designed digital game, The Ludum Platform (child characteristics related behavior in digital games). During multiple intervals in the digital game, children were given the opportunity to donate their coins to an anonymous struggling player, with the risk of not earning enough coins to win a prize (stickers). We then related child personal characteristics and behavior in a digital game to prosocial behavior in an altruistic behavior task outside of the game (behavior in game related to real-world behavior). In this task, children are told there are not enough prizes (stickers) for the next child visiting the lab. They are then given the opportunity to anonymously donate their own prize stickers to the next child. We hypothesized that sharing behavior in a digital context would be related to real-world sharing. We predicted that the amount of resources a child shared in both digital and real-world contexts would be higher in children who exhibited high levels of benevolence and extraversion. We also predicted that children who identify more with boys would share less resources. As a result, this project assesses the interaction between the individual predispositions in children, children’s behavior during digital play, and consequences for real-world behavior as a result of playing games – the social psychology of gaming. This project makes a significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the effects that games have on developing children. We have created a custom game that is specially designed for conducting research and targeting specific cognitive and behavioral mechanisms in psychology, including prosocial behavior. We also examine both digital games and real-world behavior to examine whether sharing in digital play relate to non-digital sharing behaviors. With these findings, we may better understand how games may be a critical avenue for understanding positive behavioral outcomes, such as increased prosocial interactions, and whether digital behavior is related to real-world behavior.

Authors

• Joshua Juvrud, Uppsala universitet
  Presenting Author

• Kahl Hellmer, Uppsala universitet

• Flora Blandl

• Michelle Sumida, San Diego State University

• Kate Whipple