Fantasy Versus Reality: How Video Game and Book Genres Associate with Creative Thinking
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Linnaeus University Faculty of Health and life sciences Department of Psychology Master Thesis 5PS22E, 30 ECTS Spring 2019 Fantasy versus Reality: How video game and book genres associate with creative thinking Author: Biljana Stanisic Supervisor: Jens Agerström, prof. Examiner: Laszlo Harmat, Associate Senior Lecturer Abstract Video games have suffered a negative reputation regarding their influence on children and adolescents, in comparison to its “well-behaved” counterpart, books. Nevertheless, the world of video games is much more diverse than imaginable – from fantasy to reality – and it is possible that different types of video games have different effects on human cognition and behavior. To fill a gap in research, fantasy and non-fantasy genres were the focal point of the correlational study. In this study, we analyze how video game playing habits, video game genre preference, book reading habits and book reading preferences are correlated with creative thinking. Construal level theory explains the importance of psychological distances in enhancing creativity. Fantasy and fiction content, as well as role play, are theorized to be part of creativity due to generation of distance and abstract thinking. Creativity was measured by insight problems and a categorization task. Abstract thinking was also measured by the Behavioral Identification Form. The questionnaire was given out to 154 students during lunch hours at a university in Sweden, throughout the period of March 2019. The results indicated that preference in a genre, whether gaming or literature, did not indicate significant differences in creative thinking. However, the consumption and habit of playing role-play games showed a significant correlation to creativity in comparison to its “rival” – action games. Results showed the same effects for fiction literature versus non-fiction. Theoretical and practical implications for organizations and the workplace are discussed, as well as limitations of the study. Keywords video games; reading books; role-play games; fiction; abstraction; creativity in the workplace. Open Science Practices This master thesis earned the Open Data and the Open Materials badge for making the data and materials available at: https://osf.io/zcrj9, as well as the badge for preregistration: https://osf.io/tx4v6. A member of Open Science Scandinavia (Rickard Carlsson) has verified that the open science practices adhere to the defined standards. 2 Introduction “A book or movie can show us what it is like to be in a character’s shoes, but it is the video game that can put us into those shoes.” - Robert B. Marks, Ph.D., Whittier College (Software Association Entertainment, 2018, pg. 8). Video game players are often perceived as violent and aggressive (Rebetez & Betrancourt, 2007), anti-social (Smith, 2010), addicted (Ng & Wiemer-Hastings, 2005), and/or depressed (Lemona et al., 2011). Fortunately, a body of research in the last decade has resurged in light of investigating positive effects of video games (Adachi & Willoughby, 2013; Desai, Krishnan-Sarin, Cavallo & Potenza, 2010; Gong et al., 2015; Granic, Lobel & Engels, 2014; Przybylski & Weinstein, 2019; Squire, 2011;). The resurgence of positive research is a beneficial indicator as to how to perceive video game players in employment and even recruitment. One of the effects correlated with video games is creativity (Green & Kaufman, 2015), and as suggested by Sourmelis et al. (2017), there is a need for studying the role of RPGs (role playing games) in creativity, as there is also a known lack of research regarding video game genres’ individual effects. Role playing games are more fantasy in nature in comparison to action games, which have been the main target in research on violence in video game players (e.g. Greitemeyer, 2014), and based on the fiction versus non-fiction literature body of study, the study’s initial hypothesis is that fantasy themed video games (such as RPGs) are more creativity inducing than non-fantasy genres (such as action, shooters). The same rhetoric is used for the habit of reading books for leisure, as Djikic, Oatlex and Moldoveanu (2013) show that reading fiction leads to better procedures of general information processing, including creativity. The theoretical argument for the link between fantasy/fiction and creativity is based on Construal Level Theory (e.g., Trope & Liberman, 2010) and will be explained later in the introduction. According to Yee (2006), we find a cultural premise that there is a definite chasm between work and play. Video games suffer a reputation of non-serious nature, as a mere means of entertainment. Nonetheless, the amount of work done in video games and the effort put into gameplay is staggering, and the lines between work and play are getting blurred (Yee, 2006). Beck and Wade (2004) explain the importance of the new generation of video game players in the workplace, and the value they bring with their gaming experience. From passion about adding value to their work, confidence in their abilities and skills, competitiveness, loyalty to the 3 organization, multitasking – gamers in the workplace contribute more in the workplace than non- gamers in these aspects (Beck &Wade, 2004). Individual creativity in the workplace and organizations has been of central interest in the past two decades in research (Cummings & Oldham, 1997; Ford, 1996; Woodman, Sawyer & Griffin, 1993). As cited in Reiter-Palmon, Kennel and Kaufman (2018), to cope with frequent changes, economic pressures, and situational demands in the market caused by constant changes in technology, increased competition, and globalization, creativity and innovation are a necessary tool (Mumford et al., 2002; Shalley et al., 2004; Woodman et al., 1993). Research on creativity in its early stages has revolved around specific occupations such as Research and Development, as well as scientists (Reiter-Palmon et al., 2018), and current trends in research on creativity are revolving around occupations of every walk of life (Mumford et al., 1997; as cited in Reiter- Palmon et al., 2018). Researchers and academics have searched for the individual factors that inhibit or facilitate creativity, through a range of organizational setting, in order to enhance creativity in the workplace (Reiter-Palmon, Mitchel & Royston, in press). Managers in the workplace have to address rapid changes and uncertainty on a daily basis, for which IBM (2010) considers creative thinking to be one of the most important skills to possess. Indeed, the vast majority of individual creativity research is based on personality characteristics and their correlations, in comparison to a minority of creativity research dedicated to hobbies and interests as indicators of creativity. The goal of this study is to assess the relationship between having a preference for/ playing different videogame genres and creativity. Video games General agreement on defining what a video game is has always been confusing to consumers and creators of video games (Newman & Simons, 2004). The diversity in video gaming genres, consoles and formats has rendered scientists uncertain about how games such as Dance Dance Revolution, where the goal is to step on floor arrows to achieve the goal, and Candy Crush, with a goal to beat levels using candies to solve puzzles, share the same categorization. Wolf (2001) distinguishes a set of elements to define a video game, which are conflict, rules, use of some player ability and some kind of valuable outcome. Conflict is described as against an opponent or different circumstances, whereas rules determine what can be done and when can it be done, player ability is synonymous to skills, strategies and/or luck, and valued 4 outcome can come in the form of winning, achieving the high score or best time. If we were to define video games by today’s dictionary standards, Merriam-Webster defines a video game as “an electronic game in which players control images on a video screen” (Merriam Webster, 2019). Esposito (2005) simply defines a video game as “…a game which we play thanks to an audiovisual apparatus and which can be based on a story” (pg. 2). For research purpose and previously aforementioned diversity, variety and complexity of defining this item, the conceptualization provided by Esposito (2005) was used for the study. The video gaming industry today is one of the increasingly fastest growing industries regarding annual revenue – to compare 2007 annual gross income of over $9.5 billion (Entertainment Software Association, 2007), and latest global market report by Newzoo (2018) of $134.9 billion. Over a period of little over a decade, we witness the widespread consumption of games in video form, whether it was over a personal computer, gaming console or smartphone. According to Entertainment Software Association’s report from 2018, 64% of American households own a device used for playing games, and it is 70% of these that are older than 18. The “gamer generation” is already bigger than the boomer generation (Beck & Wade, 2004), and its impact on the workplace is undeniable. The gamer generation is defined as the “baby boom echo” and everyone born from the year 1975 is classified as part of it, since the main characteristic is growing up with games (Beck & Wade, 2004). Newman (2004) examines three reasons for researching video games: the size of the gaming industry, popularity of video games, as well as video games as an example of human-computer interaction. Research on video games has faced a steady increase (Rebetez & Betrancourt, 2007) alongside video games’ popularity among households. There are two directions research undertook regarding video games. First direction of research is aimed at effects on cognitive abilities, such as perception and visual attention, and on development, as well as personality, in particular aggressive and violent behavior (Rebetez & Betrancourt, 2007). The second direction research on video games takes is using multimedia, and content-based games as instructional material. However, the psychological research has not compared different types of games and its effects on cognitive abilities, personality and education (Rebetez & Betrancourt, 2007).