Uncovering the association between strategy video games and self-regulation: A correlational study

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Highlights

  • We hypothesized that playing strategy video games is associated with self-regulation

  • A positive relationship between strategy games and self-regulation was found

  • Such a relation statistically held even when controlling for personality differences

Abstract

Despite their popularity, strategy video games have been poorly studied in social science. Because strategy video games require long gaming sessions and planning and management of resources for reaching long-term goals, we assumed that they would function as a virtual training center for self-regulation abilities in every-day life. Adopting the Strength Model of Self-control theoretical framework (Baumeister, Vohs, and Tice, 2007), in two cross-sectional studies we examined the extent to which playing strategy video games predicts self-regulation. In Study 1, we found a positive significant association between strategy video game play – controlling for the impact of other video game genres - and self-regulation. In Study 2, we deepened this relationship by controlling for the effects of some personality traits and individual preferences (i.e., age, gender, satisfaction with life, avoidance of temptations, need for cognition, risk taking, impulsiveness, Big 5, and overall frequency of exposure to video games). As in Study 1, playing strategy video games was positively associated with self-regulation. Moreover, this relation statistically held when controlling for the impact of individual and personality differences. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Introduction

Playing video games has become one of the most relevant leisure activity among people. Although studies show that violent video games increase aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (e.g., Anderson et al., 2010, Greitemeyer and Mügge, 2014) and discourage players from exercising self-control (Gabbiadini, Riva, Andrighetto, Volpato, and Bushman, 2014), a “light side” of playing video games exists. One recent literature review (Green and Bavelier, 2015) suggested that playing action video games is associated with enhancements in basic perceptual skills, in the ability to utilize selective attention, and in cognitive flexibility. Further, a meta-analysis (Greitemeyer and Mügge, 2014) revealed that exposure to video games in which the goal is to benefit other game characters (i.e., pro-social video games) can have a positive impact on behavior, in that helping is increased (Gentile et al., 2009, Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2010) and aggression is decreased (Greitemeyer, Agthe, Turner, and Gschwendtner, 2012). This is in line with the General Learning Model (GLM; Buckley and Anderson, 2006, Swing et al., 2008) in which any stimulus (including video games) is posited to have short-term and long-term effects through several learning mechanisms. Still, only recently researchers have begun to investigate the positive outcomes of video game play. Hence, as a negative relationship between exposure to violent video games and self-control has been already suggested (see Gabbiadini et al., 2014), it is equally plausible that the exposure to other types of video games that emphasize long-term goal achievement and planning skills can positively affect self-control.

Self-regulation is one of the most important traits in human psyche and it is one of the best predictor of success in life (Baumeister, Leith, Muraven, and Bratslavsky, 1998), influencing people's behavior and every-day emotional reactions; it is therefore extremely relevant to identify practices that can positively promote and increase self-regulation abilities.

Following the GLM rationale, the present research examines whether there is a link between individual self-regulation abilities - understood as the ability to act for reaching a long-term goal (see Zimmerman, 2000) - and the exposure to a very popular video game genre, namely strategy video games.

Strategy video games represent 37% of video games market (Entertainment Software Association, 2015) and emphasize skillful thinking and planning to succeed, which is achieved mostly through superior planning. In most strategy video games, the player is given a complete view of the game world. Strategic video games usually are not structured with levels or missions, but rather they develop and evolve over a long period of time. To be successful, players must cope with rapidly evolving game situations occurring while managing funds, resources, and information. Thus, most strategy games involve elements of tactical and strategic considerations in order to reach a long-term goal, as the conqueror of a virtual world or the management of a virtual city that usually requires a long dedication over the time. It is worth noting that previous research showed that if video games are practiced repeatedly, then several long-term effects could result (Gentile et al., 2009), including changes to cognitive constructs (e.g., beliefs), cognitive-emotional constructs (e.g., stereotypes), and affective traits (e.g., empathy). One recent study (Adachi and Willoughby, 2013) suggested that the more people reported playing strategic video games, the more improvements were evident in self-reported problem-solving skills. The same positive predictive association was not found for fast-paced games such as racing and fighting video games.

Because of their characteristics (i.e., long gaming sessions, planning, management of resources) strategy games are very different from action video games and, despite their popularity, they have been poorly studied in psychological research (see Adachi and Willoughby, 2013; for a neuroscience perspective, see Basak et al., 2008, Glass et al., 2013). The present work aims at reducing this gap, by preliminary exploring the relationship between exposure to strategy games and self-regulation, considered as one of the most important factors for individual well-being and success in life (Baumeister and Vohs, 2003).

Self-regulation has been defined in many ways, as willpower (Baumeister and Tierney, 2011), perseverance (Bandura, 1995), or self-control (Muraven, Baumeister, and Tice, 1999). Research consistently shows that self-regulation skills are necessary for emotional well-being (Baumeister and Vohs, 2003). Behaviorally, self-regulation is the ability to act for a long-term best interest (Storey, 2002). Emotionally, it represents the ability to control emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable (Thompson, 1994) and to delay spontaneous reactions when needed (Cole, Michel, and Teti, 1994).

But however psychologists define it, self-regulation is crucial for success (Baumeister and Vohs, 2003). In order to succeed in the modern world, people need the ability to regulate impulses and desires. Still, gaining that expertise requires everyday work and practice. The discipline to work or practice at something means that people have to give up things that might be fun right now in order to engage in actions that will be rewarding in the future. Compared to those who have low self-control, people with high self-control are more successful during performance of their tasks (Haghbin, Shaterian, Hosseinzadeh, and Griffiths, 2013). People with good control over their thought processes, emotions, and behaviors not only flourish in school and business, but are also healthier, wealthier, and more popular (Feldman et al., 1995, Tangney et al., 2004). What is more, they are less likely to go astray by getting arrested, becoming addicted to drugs, or experiencing unplanned pregnancies (Moffitt et al., 2011). In the famous Stanford Marshmallow experiment (Mischel, Ebbesen, and Raskoff Zeiss, 1972), researchers evaluated self-control abilities in four-year-old children. During the experiment children were offered a choice between one small reward provided immediately (i.e., one marshmallow) or two small rewards (i.e., two marshmallows) if they waited for a short period during which the experimenter left the room and then returned. Researchers examined the children again after graduating from high school and one further time after graduating from college and found that those who showed less self-control as a child (i.e., they chose an immediate reward) were more likely to develop problems with relationships, stress, and drug abuse later in life.

Recently, Baumeister et al. (2007) proposed that just as a muscle gets tired from exertion, acts of self-regulation cause self-control failures (i.e., ego depletion) even on unrelated tasks. Ego depletion is the view that high self-control requires energy and focus, and over an extended period of self-control demands, self-control can lessen. For example, exerting self-control in decision making has been shown to deplete one's ability to do so in the future (Vohs et al., 2008). Recent research supports the idea that there are ways for getting over ego depletion. The Strength Model of Self-control proposed by Baumeister and colleagues (Baumeister et al., 2007) predicts that, like a muscle, repeated practice and rest can improve self-control strength. Indeed, after performing regular exercises in self-regulation, as for example trying to improve their posture or using their non-dominant hand in every-day tasks for some weeks, people show less depletion after completing an unrelated self-regulatory task, as compared to people who did not engage in the self-control exercises (Muraven et al., 1999; for a review, see Baumeister, Gailliot, DeWall, and Oaten, 2006). Thus, exercising self-regulation can improve one's self-control even in very different spheres of life.

Achieving a goal in strategy video games involves a long dedication, which can sometimes last for months, taking time to gather information, evaluating various options, formulating a plan, and considering changing strategies and/or goals before proceeding further. Adopting the theoretical framework of the Strength Model of Self-control, we hypothesized a link between strategy game play and individual self-regulation skills. Indeed, the prolonged use of strategy video games in which goal achievement occurs through a constant game workout can function as a self-regulation training center for self-regulation in life.

Adopting the Strength Model of Self-control theoretical framework (Baumeister et al., 2007), we hypothesized that video strategy games can be considered as a self-control training ground. In two studies, we investigated the correlation between the use of strategy video games and individual self-regulation. In a first cross-sectional study, we investigated a possible association between strategy video game play – controlling for the impact of other video game genres - and self-regulation.

In a second correlational study, we deepened this relationship by controlling for the effects of some personality traits and individual differences in order to minimize potential confounding variables. Previous research provided evidence that self-regulation is positively associated with stable individual difference variables such as the avoidance of temptations (Ent et al., 2015, Hofmann et al., 2012) and the need for cognition (Bertrams and Dickhäuser, 2012) and it is also negatively related to impulsiveness (Shalev and Sulkowski, 2009) and risk taking (Magar, Phillips, and Hosie, 2008). Moreover, the ability to control one's emotions, behavior, and desires appears to be linked to some fundamental personality dispositions (Gramzow et al., 2004), and thus, the Big 5 might account for the proposed link between strategy game exposure and self-regulation. Indeed, recent research has shown that some of the Big 5 personality dimensions predict video game preferences (see Anderson et al., 2004, Chory and Goodboy, 2011, Greitemeyer, 2015, Wang et al., 2015) and video game addiction (Mehroof and Griffiths, 2010). Furthermore, self-regulation is related to different outcomes, such as a better life satisfaction (Eigste et al., 2006, Walter, 1966, Walter and Staub, 1965).

Section snippets

Study 1

Study 1 explores the idea that self-regulation is associated with strategy video game usage. In a cross-sectional study, participants indicated their amount of playing several video games genres and provided self-ratings of self-regulation. We predicted that self-regulation would be positively associated with amount of strategy video game exposure and that this relation would statistically hold when we control for the impact of other video game genres.

Study 2

Study 2 further explored whether the association between self-regulation and strategy video game exposure holds when controlling for individual and personality differences such as life satisfaction, avoidance of temptations, need for cognition, risk taking, impulsiveness, and the Big 5, as well as controlling for exposure to other video game genres and for the overall frequency of video game play.

General discussion

The current work is the first to address the relationship between strategy video game play and self-regulation. In two studies, we found support for the hypothesis that the frequency of strategy video game play was significantly associated with self-reported scores for the self-regulation measure.

The first study showed a statistically significant positive correlation between frequency of strategy video games play - compared to other types of games - and self-regulation scores. Study 2 confirmed

Acknowledgments

The authors declare that they have no competing interests or any business relationships with the manufacturers of the video games and products cited in the text.

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