Exploring replay value: Shifts and continuities in user experiences between first and second exposure to an interactive story

While replay value is a common term in interactive entertainment, psychological research on its meaning in terms of user experiences is sparse. An exploratory experiment using the interactive drama "Façade" was conducted (n=50) to examine shifts and continuities in entertainment-related user experiences between first and second exposure to the same system. A questionnaire with brief scales measuring various user-experience dimensions (interaction-related facets such as usability, flow, and presence, as well as narrative-related facets such as suspense and curiosity) was administered after the first and the second round of exposure. Findings suggest that replay produces gains in action-related experience components such as presence and effectance, whereas narrative-related experiences such as curiosity and suspense remain stable across exposures. Implications for theorizing on interactive entertainment experiences are discussed. © 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Appraisal of emotions in media use

Over the past 20 years, research on meta-emotion and related concepts such as meta-mood and need for affect has become fruitful and prominent across a variety of disciplines, including media psychology. This paper reviews the literature on meta-emotion and considers problems regarding the definition and operationalization of this construct. We propose a process model of meta-emotion and emotion regulation to integrate and extend existing work. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotion, we understand meta-emotion as a process that monitors and appraises emotions and recruits affective responses toward them, which results in a motivation to maintain and approach emotions, or to control and avoid them. This meta-emotion process plays an important role in media users' selection or rejection of specific media offerings and their invitation to experience emotion. We discuss how this framework may integrate previously unrelated findings on the role of emotions in guiding selective media use and conclude with directions for further research

Playing in or out of character: User role differences in the experience of Interactive Storytelling

Interactive storytelling (IS) is a promising new entertainment technology synthesizing preauthored narrative with dynamic user interaction. Existing IS prototypes employ different modes to involve users in a story, ranging from individual avatar control to comprehensive control over the virtual environment. The current experiment tested whether different player modes (exerting local vs. global influence) yield different user experiences (e.g., senses of immersion vs. control). A within-subject design involved 34 participants playing the cinematic IS drama "Emo Emma

Appreciation of entertainment

The purpose of this article is to examine the experience of appreciation to media entertainment as a unique audience response that can be differentiated from enjoyment. To those ends, the first section provides a conceptualization of appreciation in which we outline how we are using the term and how it is distinct from questions of emotional valence. The second section discusses the types of entertainment portrayals and depictions that we believe are most likely to elicit feelings of appreciation. Here, we suggest that appreciation is most evident for meaningful portrayals that focus on human virtue and that inspire audiences to contemplate questions concerning life’s purpose. In the final section we consider the affective and cognitive components of appreciation, arguing that mixed-affective responses (rather than bi-polar conceptualizations of affective valence) better capture the experience of appreciation and its accompanying feelings states such as inspiration, awe, and tenderness

The Racing-Game Effect: Why Do Video Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Inclinations?

The present studies investigated why video racing games increase players’ risk-taking inclinations. Four studies reveal that playing video racing games increases risk taking in a subsequent simulated road traffic situation, as well as risk-promoting cognitions and emotions, blood pressure,sensation seeking, and attitudes toward reckless driving. Study 1 ruled out the role of experimental demand in creating such effects. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the effect of playing video racing games on risk taking was partially mediated by changes in selfperceptions as a reckless driver. These effects were evident only when the individual played racing games that reward traffic violations rather than racing games that do not reward traffic violations (Study 3) and when the individual was an active player of such games rather than a passive observer (Study 4). In sum, the results underline the potential negative impact of racing games on traffic safety

Perspektiven für eine ideologiekritische Konzeption von Wissenspsychologie

Als gemeinsamer Ausgangs- und Bezugspunkt der in dem Band "Textanalyse als Kognitionskritik? Möglichkeiten und Grenzen" von Vorderer und Groeben (1987) zusammengestellten Arbeiten dienten die drei Begriffe Text- bzw. Inhaltsanalyse, Ideologiekritik und Kognition bzw. Wissen. In jedem dieser Beiträge wurden inhaltsanalytische Methoden zur ideologiekritischen Beschreibung spezifischer (in irgendeiner Form ideologischer) Kognitionen oder Wissensinhalte eingesetzt bzw. vorgestellt. Zum Abschluss dieses Bandes sollen deshalb noch einmal diese drei Begriffe (und die damit gemeinten Konzepte) aufgegriffen werden, um sie auch für eine ideologiekritische Ausrichtung der Wissenspsychologie nutzbar zu machen. Dafür leitet der Autor drei Aspekte aus den genannten Konzepten ab, die er als konstitutiv für eine derartige Wissenspsychologie ansetzt: (1) den sich aus dem Untersuchungsgegenstand von Textanalysen ergebenden Inhaltsaspekt, d.h. die Frage nach dem Gegenstand einer derartigen Wissenspsychologie; (2) die in Zusammenhang mit diesem Gegenstand (Wissen, Kognitionen) stehende Frage nach dessen Bedingtheit und Folgen, d.h. dem Genese- und Wirkungsaspekt, (3) den aus der Intention von Ideologiekritik resultierenden Bewertungsaspekt, d.h. die Möglichkeit präskriptiver Aussagen über derartige Kognitionen oder Wissensinhalte. Eine in dieser Art an den Aspekten Inhalt, Genese und Wirkung sowie Bewertung orientierte Wissenspsychologie stellt der Autor kontrastiv der derzeit aktuellen Konzeption von Wissenspsychologie gegenüber, die er als formalistisch, funktionalistisch und deskriptivistisch kritisiert. Die Argumentation setzt dabei zunächst an einer Skizzierung aktueller wissenspsychologischer Forschungsschwerpunkte an. Dabei werden insbesondere die fehlenden Konzeptualisierungen externer (antezedenter und sukzedenter) Faktoren von Wissen angesprochen. Im Anschluss daran werden die Grenzen dieser Vorbildfunktion expliziert, in deren Folge eine ideologiekritische Konzeption von Wissenspsychologie skizziert wird. Die konstatierte Überlegenheit der vorgeschlagenen Wissenspsychologie wird abschließend anhand des Anwendungsbeispiels "Rezeption und Wirkung literarischer Texte" demonstriert, womit gleichzeitig die Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Text- bzw. Inhaltsanalysen in dieser Domäne verdeutlicht werden. (ICD2

The experience of Interactive Storytelling: Comparing „Fahrenheit“ with „Facade“.

At the intersection of multimedia, artificial intelligence, and gaming technology, new visions of future entertainment media arise that approximate the "Holodeck" ® idea of interactive storytelling. We report exploratory experiments on the user experience in a 'classic', foundational application of interactive storytelling, "Façade" (Mateas & Stern, 2002), and compare results with an identical experiment carried out with users of the adventure game "Fahrenheit". A total of N = 148 participants used one of the systems interactively or watched a pre-recorded video sequence of the application without interactive involvement. Using a broad range of entertainment-related measures, the experience of Interactive Storytelling was found to depend strongly on interactivity (mostly in "Façade") and to differ substantially across the systems, with "Façade" achieving a stronger connection between interactive use and the resulting profile of entertainment experiences. © 2011 Springer-Verlag

Characterizing mood management as need satisfaction: The effects of intrinsic needs on selective exposure and mood repair

This study attempted to (a) extend traditional mood management theory research by investigating the influence of the intrinsic needs for competence and autonomy on selective exposure to video games and (b) test the influence of satisfying these needs on resultant mood repair. An experiment varied satisfaction of competence and autonomy needs using false feedback. Subjects then selected media that varied in level of user demand. Measures of need satisfaction were taken before and after media selection. Results demonstrated that (a) thwarted intrinsic needs significantly predict the choice of video games with different levels of user demand and (b) the satisfaction of these needs predicts enjoyment. Findings indicate that mood management can result from mood repair through need satisfaction. © 2012 International Communication Association

A process model of the formation of spatial presence experiences

In order to bridge interdisciplinary differences in Presence research and to establish connections between Presence and “older” concepts of psychology and communication, a theoretical model of the formation of Spatial Presence is proposed. It is applicable to the exposure to different media and intended to unify the existing efforts to develop a theory of Presence. The model includes assumptions about attention allocation, mental models, and involvement, and considers the role of media factors and user characteristics as well, thus incorporating much previous work. It is argued that a commonly accepted model of Spatial Presence is the only solution to secure further progress within the international, interdisciplinary and multiple-paradigm community of Presence research