Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2017 Mining Creativity: Video Game Creativity Learning Effects Jorge Alberto Blanco-Herrera Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Instructional Media Design Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Blanco-Herrera, Jorge Alberto, "Mining Creativity: Video Game Creativity Learning Effects" (2017). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 15263. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15263 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mining creativity: Video game creativity learning effects by Jorge A. Blanco-Herrera A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Psychology Program of Study Committee: Douglas A. Gentile Major Professor Stephanie Madon Gary Phye The student author and the program of study committee are solely responsible for the content of this thesis. The Graduate College will ensure this thesis is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after the degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2017 Copyright © Jorge A. Blanco-Herrera, 2017. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 The Growth of Video Games in Society and Research ......................................................1 Minecraft ..............................................................................................................................3 Theories and Measures of Creativity ...................................................................................4 Trait Creativity ........................................................................................................5 Creative Process .......................................................................................................5 Divergent Thinking ......................................................................................5 Convergent Thinking ...................................................................................6 Creative Production ................................................................................................7 Video Game Effects as Learning Experiences.....................................................................7 CHAPTER 2: METHODS .............................................................................................................13 Power Analysis ..................................................................................................................13 Participants .........................................................................................................................13 Procedure ...........................................................................................................................13 Conditions ..........................................................................................................................13 Undirected Minecraft .............................................................................................13 Directed Minecraft .................................................................................................14 NASCAR ...............................................................................................................14 T.V. .......................................................................................................................14 Measures ............................................................................................................................15 Covariates ..............................................................................................................15 Trait Creativity (Independent Variable).................................................................15 Divergent Thinking ................................................................................................16 Convergent Thinking .............................................................................................17 Creative Production ...............................................................................................18 Previous Video Game Experience .........................................................................18 Procedure ...........................................................................................................................19 Hypotheses .........................................................................................................................19 Cross-sectional Hypotheses ...................................................................................19 Experimental Hypotheses ......................................................................................20 Exploratory Analysis .............................................................................................21 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS ...............................................................................................................22 Covariates and Manipulation Checks ................................................................................22 Boredom .................................................................................................................25 Engagement............................................................................................................25 Frustration ..............................................................................................................25 Manipulation Check 1: Creative Feeling ...............................................................26 Manipulation Check 2: Creative Effort..................................................................26 Correlations ........................................................................................................................26 iii Alternative Uses Task ....................................................................................................................28 Fluency ...................................................................................................................29 Flexibility ...............................................................................................................30 Originality ..............................................................................................................32 Remote Association Task ..................................................................................................33 Alien Drawing Task ...........................................................................................................34 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ....................................................................37 Discussion ..........................................................................................................................37 Limitations .........................................................................................................................41 Future Work .......................................................................................................................42 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................44 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................45 APPENDIX A. IRB APPROVAL .................................................................................................55 APPENDIX B, MATERIALS .......................................................................................................56 iv ABSTRACT Most psychological studies concerning the learning effects of video games have focused on action video games. These popular games emphasize quick-paced combat, narratives, player agency, and problem solving. Although many studies have focused on aggression or visual- spatial cognition effects from the quick-paced combat, the problem-solving aspects have been largely ignored. The present study seeks to expand the existing literature on video game effects by focusing on a rarely-tested outcome: creative production. As a game with few rules and a high amount of player freedom, Minecraft exemplifies a game that fosters players’ abilities for creative expression. This experimental study compares the effect of playing Minecraft on creativity measures compared to watching a TV show (passive control), a driving game (game control), and playing Minecraft with specific instructions (an instructional control). A within-subjects analysis (n=350) found a significant correlation between trait creativity and game play habits. Between-groups analyses showed that players randomly assigned to play Minecraft without instruction demonstrated significantly higher scores on post-game creativity measures compared to those who played Minecraft with instructions to “be creative,”, those who