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The Effects of Video Games on Emotion and Cognition
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The Effects of Video Games on Emotion and Cognition

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 4239

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kira Bailey

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH 43015, USA
Interests: video games; internet gaming disorder; cognition; electroencephalography; addiction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Approximately 3.2 billion people play video games worldwide, and the industry is expected to continue growing. As the number of individuals engaged with this media increases, so do concerns about the impact on cognition, emotion, and mental wellness. As recently as 2018, the World Health Organization recognized a cluster of problematic behaviors related to video game playing and classified this as “gaming disorder” in the ICD-11. Similarly, the American Psychiatric Association added “internet gaming disorder” to the DSM-5 as a condition for further study. 

There is a growing body of evidence that playing video games, whether at a problematic level or not, is associated with changes in cognition and emotion. Not every change is negative—some evidence suggests certain video games may be beneficial for hand-eye coordination, visual-spatial cognition, and may even be used as a therapeutic intervention for individuals with ADHD and autism. The current state of the literature is a mix of positive and negative outcomes, so there is still much left for us to discover about the impact of video game exposure on various psychological factors. 

We are pleased to invite you to submit your original work to this special issue titled “The Effects of Video Games on Emotion and Cognition.” The Special Issue aims to grow and review our current knowledge of the relationship between video games and cognition, emotion, and mental wellness. 

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: video game effects on cognition and emotion, internet gaming disorder, interactions between gaming and depression, anxiety, and attention deficits, and the neural correlates of any of the above-mentioned topics. 

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Kira Bailey
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • video games
  • internet gaming disorder
  • cognition
  • emotion
  • addiction
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • ADHD

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 832 KiB  
Article
Two Sides of the Same Virtual Coin: Investigating Psychosocial Effects of Video Game Play, including Stress Relief Motivations as a Gateway to Problematic Video Game Usage
by George Farmer and Joanne Lloyd
Healthcare 2024, 12(7), 772; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12070772 - 2 Apr 2024
Viewed by 976
Abstract
Video gamers can play to negate the psychological impact of stress, which may become problematic when users over-rely on the stress relief potential of gaming. This study used a repeated measures experimental design to investigate the relationships between stress, video gaming, and problematic [...] Read more.
Video gamers can play to negate the psychological impact of stress, which may become problematic when users over-rely on the stress relief potential of gaming. This study used a repeated measures experimental design to investigate the relationships between stress, video gaming, and problematic video gaming behaviours in a convenience sample of 40 students at a UK university. The results indicated that positive affect increased and negative affect decreased, whilst a biological stress measure (instantaneous pulse rate) also decreased after a short video gaming session (t(36) = 4.82, p < 0.001, d = 0.79). The results also suggested that video gaming can act as a short-term buffer against the physiological impact of stress. Further research should focus on testing individuals who have been tested for gaming disorder, as opposed to the general population. Research could also utilise variations of the methodological framework used in this study to examine the intensity of a stress relief effect under different social situations. The study’s findings in relation to published works are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effects of Video Games on Emotion and Cognition)
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15 pages, 254 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Adolescents’ Participation in Video Games on Cognitive Function and Motor Control Skills
by Hyoyeon Ahn and Jongeun Won
Healthcare 2023, 11(20), 2740; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11202740 - 15 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2726
Abstract
There is still a lack of understanding of the productive areas of video game participation. Therefore, in order to observe positive effects and changes in game participation, this study examines the effects of game participation on the cognitive function and motor skills from [...] Read more.
There is still a lack of understanding of the productive areas of video game participation. Therefore, in order to observe positive effects and changes in game participation, this study examines the effects of game participation on the cognitive function and motor skills from 130 adolescents. To evaluate the participants’ test performance, a cognitive function and motor control skill test program consisting of 10 tests were used (Trail Making, Corsi block, Tower of London, shooting game tasks, etc.). Differences in test performances between groups were verified using one-way ANOVA and an independent t-test. The results were as follows: first, there was no difference between groups according to the frequency of game participation in every test performance. Second, the results of this study showed statistically significant differences between groups according to the play time of game participation in several test performances (Key-mapping: p = 0.40; score of Grid Shot: p = 0.01, 0.07; score of Sphere Track: p = 0.12, 0.21; accuracy of Sphere Track: p = 0.12, 0.16). Also, all the effects’ size results were confirmed as medium (Cohen’s f > 0.20 and <0.40). Third, high school students only showed statistically significant higher results in a Multi-tasking test performance than middle school students, and the results of the effect size were confirmed to be middle and large (Multi-tasking1: p = 0.00, Cohen’s d = 0.830; Multi-tasking2: p = 0.05, Cohen’s d = 0.501). The results of this study imply the need to regard game participation as a behavior that can contribute to adolescents’ cognitive psychological health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effects of Video Games on Emotion and Cognition)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Potential Mechanisms for Gaming Disorder–Depression Co-occurrence: A Narrative Literature Review
Authors: An-Pyng Sun
Affiliation: University of Nevada Las Vegas
Abstract: Because gaming disorder (GD) often co-occurs with depression, understanding their connecting mechanisms enables clinicians to better treat GD clients with depression. Previous longitudinal studies have shown that depression can predict GD and vice versa, suggesting both a bi-directional and circular relationship. Drawing on a narrative literature review that includes both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, this study establishes a framework to incorporate the “self-medication perspective” and the “negative consequences perspective” on GD–depression co-occurrence, as well as five sets of mechanisms involved. Specifically, it explores the effects of psychiatric disorders (e.g., ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, depression, anxiety), adverse life events and experiences (e.g., childhood maltreatment, bullying victimization, and dysfunctional family environment), and negative GD consequences (e.g., neuroadaptation and withdrawal, social isolation and unhealthy lifestyle, and compromised aspiration and lower self-esteem). The proposed framework both illustrates a bi-directional path and resolves the “chicken or the egg” issue concerning depression–GD co-occurrence, suggesting that GD may lead to depression via the mediation of GD’s negative consequences (e.g., withdrawal, social isolation, and compromised aspiration), and that depression may lead back to GD for self-medication. Limitations of this review and implications for practice and research are also discussed.

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