The silver linings of lottery play: motivation and subjective well-being of British lottery participants

Although certain researchers have attributed widespread lottery play to irrational beliefs that people hold regarding the chances of winning the lottery, another explanation for the popularity of lottery gambling is that lottery players may experience positive emotions before the draw. Therefore, in this study, we examine the relationship between lottery participation and happiness. Using data from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 and utilizing propensity score matching methods, we find a small positive effect of lottery participation on happiness for individuals who engage in lottery play for recreational purposes

What kind of video gamer are you?

Producción CientíficaPurpose.- This paper attempts to understand the extent to which the effect of motivations on purchase intention varies for diverse segments of video gamers (depending on their personality). Design/Methodology.- Information was collected from 511 Spanish video game consumers. Structural equation modeling, clustering, and multi-group analysis were then conducted to compare results between segments of gamers. Findings.- Results show that hedonic, social and mainly addiction motivations lead to purchase intention of game-related products. Moreover, we identify a typology of gamer that gives rise to differences in motivations-purchase intention links: (1) Analysts include individuals who are essentially conscientious, prefer inventive or cognitive and simulation games and whose behavior is more influenced by hedonic and social motivations to play; (2) Socializers comprise individuals who are mainly extrovert and emotionally stable gamers and who prefer sports and strategy games. The motivations to play that affect their purchase intentions are mainly social; and (3) Sentinels include individuals that are unmindful and introvert, prefer inventive, cognitive, sports and simulation games, and whose social motivations drive their purchase intentions. Originality.- There are 2,200 million video gamers around the world, although it is assumed that this vast market is not homogeneous, which has implications for consumer motivations and purchase intention. However, the currently available classifications that address this challenge are rather limited. In this sense, the present paper provides valuable insights into understanding how personality offers a useful variable to segment consumers in the video game industry and how it moderates the effect of motivations on purchase behavior.Ministerio de Economía y Competetitividad (proyecto ECO2017-82107-R)Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA112P17

Blaming Halo: The Effects of Violent Video Games and What Should Be Done about Them

In the wake of such incidents as the Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado, shootings, much scrutiny has been applied to the topic of violent video games, because there appears to be a link between school shooters and video games that contain gratuitous violence. This paper examines the alleged link between video game violence and real-world violence. Copious amounts of research have been dedicated to this topic. Although many researchers conclude that violent video games lead to increases in aggression, a causal link between violent video games and real-life acts of violence remains unseen. This paper explores the origins of this controversy and then seeks to find a solution to the problem of children playing video games that they should not. Additionally, this paper strives to dispel certain erroneous beliefs that many people have about violent video games