How Do You Blow off Steam - The Impact of Therapeutic Catharsis Seeking, Self-Construal, and Social Capital in Gaming Context
This study will examine how the therapeutic factors
(therapeutic catharsis-seeking and game-efficacy of the game player)
and self-construal factors (independent and interdependent
self-construal of the game player) as well as social capital factors
(bonding and bridging social capital of the game player) affect
aggression in the game. Results show that both therapeutic
catharsis-seeking and game self-efficacy are particularly important to
the players since they cause the game players’ aggressive tendencies to
be greatly diminished. Independent self-construal reduces the level of
the players’ aggression. Interestingly enough, the bonding social
capital enhances the level of the players’ aggression, while individuals
with bridging social capital did not show any significant effects. The
results and implications will be discussed herein.
[1] D. Charsky, “From edutainment to serious games: A change in the use of
game characteristics”, Games and Culture, vol. 5, no. 2, 2010, pp.
177-198.
[2] M. D. Dickey, “Game design and learning: A conjectural analysis of how
massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) foster
intrinsic motivation”, Education, Technology, Research and
Development, vol. 55, 2007, pp. 253-273
[3] C. C. Klimmt, Serious games and social change: Why they (should) work,
In: U. Ritterfeld, M Cody, & P. Vorderer (Eds). Serious games,
mechanisms and effects. New York: Routledge, 2009.
[4] C. J. Ferguson, C. K. Olson, “Friends, fun, frustration and fantasy: Child
motivations for video game play”, Motivation and Emotion, vol. 37, no. 1,
2013, pp. 154-164.
[5] C. J. Ferguson, C. K. Olson, L. A. Kutner, and D. E. Warner, “Violent
video games, catharsis seeking, bullying, and delinquency: A multivariate
analysis of effects”, Crime and Delinquency, 2010, pp. 1-21.
[6] C. N. DeWall, C. A. Anderson, “The General Aggression Model”,
American Psychological Association, 2011, pp.15-33.
[7] T. Susi, M. Johannesson, and P. Backlund, Serious games-An overview.
Technical Report, University of Skovde, Sweden, 2007.
http://www.his.se/PageFiles/10481/HS-IKI-TR-07-001.pdf
[8] K. Lorenz, On aggression, London, Methuen & Co. Ltd 1963.
[9] J. Breuer, S. Freud, Studien zur Hysterie (Studies on hysteria), Germany:
Deuticke, 1895.
[10] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M. S. Park, “Do playing games and game
self-efficacy decrease user aggression?”, in Proc. 2nd International
Conference on SmartMediaAppication (SMA), Thailand December
10-13, 2014.
[11] H.R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M.S. Park, “Exploring Aggression in Gaming
Context: The Role of Therapeutic Catharsis Seeking, Game Self-Efficacy,
and Big 5 Personality”, Excellent paper award, in Proc. Paper Presented at
the International Research Conference on Science, Management and
Engineering (IRCSME), Dubai, UAE, January 28-29, 2015.
[12] S. Guimond, A. Chatard, D. Martinot, R.J. Crisp, and S. Redersdorff,
“Social comparison, self-stereotyping, and gender differences in
self-construals”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 90,
no. 2, 2006, pp. 221-242.
[13] H. R. Markus, S. Kitayama, “Culture and the self: Implications for
cognition, emotion, motivation”, Psychological Review, vol. 98, 1991, pp.
224-253.
[14] M.B. Brewer, W. Gardner, “Who is this “we”? Levels of collective
identity and self-representations”, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol. 71, 1996, pp. 83-93.
[15] D. Zillman, The psychology of the appeal of portrayals of violence. In J.
Goldstein (Ed.), Why we watch: The attractions of violent entertainment,
New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 179–211.
[16] C. K. Olson, L. A. Kutner, D. E. Warner, J. B. Almerigi, L. Baer, A. M.
Nicholi, and E. V. Beresin, “Factors correlated with violent video game
use by adolescent boys and girls”, Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 41,
2007, pp. 77-83.
[17] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M. S. Park, “The Role of Social Capital and
Self-efficacy on Gaming Addiction,”, in Proc. 2nd International
Conference on Smart Media Appication (SMA), Thailand December
10-13, 2014.
[18] C. J. Ferguson, M. Coulson, and J. Barnett, “A meta-analysis of
pathological gaming prevalence and comorbidity with mental health,
academic and social problems”, Journal of psychiatric research, vol. 45,
no. 12, 2011, pp. 1573-1578.
[19] S. Trepte, L. Reinecke, and K. Juechems, “The social side of gaming:
How playing online computer games creates online and offline social
support”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 28, no. 3, 2012, pp.
832-839.
[20] Z. J. Zhong, “The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Games) play on gamers’ online and offline social
capital”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 27, no. 6, 2011, pp.
2352-2363.
[21] S. Feshbach, “The catharsis hypothesis, aggressive drive, and the
reduction of aggression”, Aggressive Behavior, vol. 10, 1984, pp. 91-101.
[22] D. A. Gentile, “Catharsis and media violence: A conceptual analysis”,
Societies, vol. 3, 2013, pp. 491-510.
[23] R. G. Geen, M. B. Quanty, “The catharsis of aggression: An evaluation of
a hypothesis”, Advances in experimental social psychology, 1977, vol.
10, pp. 1-37.
[24] D. J. Miller, E. Neal, D. W. Leonard, O. H. Mowrer, and S.R. Robert,
Frustration and aggression, New Haven, CT, US: Yale University Press,
1939.
[25] J. Colwell, “Needs met through computer game play among adolescents”,
Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 43, 2007, pp. 2072-2082.
[26] T. Greitemeyer, S. Osswald, “Prosocial video games reduce aggressive
cognitions”, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 45, 2009,
pp. 896-900.
[27] M. A. Lieberman, I. D. Yalom, and M. B. Miles, Encounter groups: First
facts. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
[28] M.P. Nichols, J.S. Efran, “Catharsis in psychotherapy: A new
perspective”, Psychotherapy, vol. 22, no. 1, 1985, pp. 46-58.
[29] C. Haen, Vanquishing monsters: Dramatherapy for treating childhood
trauma in the group setting. New York: Guilford Press, 2008.
[30] R. A. Chefetz, “Abreaction: Baby or bathwater? Dissociation”, Progress
in the Dissociative Disorders, vol. 10, no. 4, 1997, pp. 203-213.
[31] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, “A Study on the Serious Games Design Framework
via Potential Outcomes: Focused on Construal Level Interventions”,
International Journal of Contents, vol.10, no.4, 2014, pp.53-62.
[32] T. M. Singelis, “The measurement of independent and interdependent
self-construals”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 20, no.
5, 1994, pp. 580-591.
[33] R. B. Van Baaren, W. W. Maddux, T. L. Chartrand, C. de Bouter, and A.
van Knippenberg, “It takes two to mimic: Behavioural consequences of
self-construals”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 84,
2003, pp. 1093-110.
[34] S.S Iyengar, M.R. Lepper, “When choice is demotivating: Can one desire
too much of a good thing?”, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol. 79, 2000, pp. 995-1006.
[35] D. Williams, “On and off the Net: Scales for social capital in an online
era”, Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, Vol. 11, no. 2,
2006, pp. 593-628.
[36] R.D. Putnam, Bowling Alone, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
[37] H. Cole, M.D. Griffiths, “Social interactions in massively multiplayer
online role-playing gamers’, CyberPsychology and Behavior, vol. 10, no.
4, 2007, pp. 575-583.
[38] E. Collins, J. Freeman, “Do problematic and non-problematic video game
players differ in extraversion, trait empathy, social capital and prosocial
tendencies?”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 29, no. 5, 2013, pp.
1933-1940.
[39] A.H. Buss, M. Perry, “The aggression questionnaire”, Journal of personal
and social psychology, vol. 63, no. 3, 1992, pp. 452-459.
[40] E.J. Jeong, D.H. Kim, “Social Activities, Self-Efficacy, Game Attitudes,
and Game Addiction”, CyberPsychology, Behavior and, Social
Networking, vol. 14, no. 4, 2011, pp. 213-221.
[41] D. Pavlas, K. Heyne, W. Bedwell, E. Lazzara, and E. Salas, “Game-based
learning: the impact of flow state and videogame self-efficacy”, In
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual
Meeting, SAGE Publications, 2010, pp. 2398-2402. [42] K.A. Orvis, D.B. Horn, and J. Belanich, Task difficulty and prior
videogame experience: Their role in performance and motivation in
instructional videogames, Technical Report. United States Army
Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 2007.
[43] G. Gregory, J. K. Timothy, S.M. Gittleman, L. Jerry, H.E. Heerey, and L.
S. Kristin, “The Therapeutic Realizations Scale—Revised (TRS-R):
Psychometric Characteristics and Relationship to Treatment Process and
Outcome”, Journal of clinical psychology, vol. 56, no. 9, 2000, pp.
1207-1220
[44] M. S. Theodore, “The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent
Self-Construals”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1994.
[45] K. Andrew, P. Richard, M. Ryan, and C. R. Scott, “A Motivational Model
of Video Game Engagement”, Review of General Psychology, vol. 14, no.
2, 2010, pp. 154-166.
[46] A. Assor, G. Roth, and E.L. Deci, “The emotional costs of parents’
conditional regard: A self-determination theory analysis”, Journal of
Personality, vol. 72, 2004, pp. 47-89.
[47] W.C. Pedersen, C. Gonzales, and N. Miller, “The moderating effect of
trivial triggering provocation on displaced aggression”, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 78, 2000, pp. 913-927.
[48] H. Markus, P. Nurius, “Possible selves”, American psychologist, vol. 41,
1986, pp. 958.
[49] S.C. Rigby, A.K. Przybylski, “Virtual worlds and the learner hero: How
today’s video games can inform tomorrow’s digital learning
environments”, Theory and Research in Education, vol. 7, 2009, pp.
214-223.
[50] G.C. Williams, M.F. Lynch, and R.E. Glasgow, “Computer-assisted
intervention improves patient-centered diabetes care by increasing
autonomy support”, Health Psychology, vol. 26, 2007, pp. 728-734.
[51] W. Wirth, S. Bocking, T. Hartmann, C. Klimmt, H. Schramm, and P.
Vorderer, “Presence as a process: Towards a unified theoretical model of
formation of spatial presence experiences.”, Media Psychology, vol. 9,
2007, pp. 493-525.
[52] F. Biocca, “The Cyborg's Dilemma: Progressive Embodiment in Virtual
Environments,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 3,
no. 2, 1997
[53] P. Jones, Drama as therapy theatre as living. London: Routledge,
Psychology Press, 1996.
[1] D. Charsky, “From edutainment to serious games: A change in the use of
game characteristics”, Games and Culture, vol. 5, no. 2, 2010, pp.
177-198.
[2] M. D. Dickey, “Game design and learning: A conjectural analysis of how
massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) foster
intrinsic motivation”, Education, Technology, Research and
Development, vol. 55, 2007, pp. 253-273
[3] C. C. Klimmt, Serious games and social change: Why they (should) work,
In: U. Ritterfeld, M Cody, & P. Vorderer (Eds). Serious games,
mechanisms and effects. New York: Routledge, 2009.
[4] C. J. Ferguson, C. K. Olson, “Friends, fun, frustration and fantasy: Child
motivations for video game play”, Motivation and Emotion, vol. 37, no. 1,
2013, pp. 154-164.
[5] C. J. Ferguson, C. K. Olson, L. A. Kutner, and D. E. Warner, “Violent
video games, catharsis seeking, bullying, and delinquency: A multivariate
analysis of effects”, Crime and Delinquency, 2010, pp. 1-21.
[6] C. N. DeWall, C. A. Anderson, “The General Aggression Model”,
American Psychological Association, 2011, pp.15-33.
[7] T. Susi, M. Johannesson, and P. Backlund, Serious games-An overview.
Technical Report, University of Skovde, Sweden, 2007.
http://www.his.se/PageFiles/10481/HS-IKI-TR-07-001.pdf
[8] K. Lorenz, On aggression, London, Methuen & Co. Ltd 1963.
[9] J. Breuer, S. Freud, Studien zur Hysterie (Studies on hysteria), Germany:
Deuticke, 1895.
[10] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M. S. Park, “Do playing games and game
self-efficacy decrease user aggression?”, in Proc. 2nd International
Conference on SmartMediaAppication (SMA), Thailand December
10-13, 2014.
[11] H.R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M.S. Park, “Exploring Aggression in Gaming
Context: The Role of Therapeutic Catharsis Seeking, Game Self-Efficacy,
and Big 5 Personality”, Excellent paper award, in Proc. Paper Presented at
the International Research Conference on Science, Management and
Engineering (IRCSME), Dubai, UAE, January 28-29, 2015.
[12] S. Guimond, A. Chatard, D. Martinot, R.J. Crisp, and S. Redersdorff,
“Social comparison, self-stereotyping, and gender differences in
self-construals”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 90,
no. 2, 2006, pp. 221-242.
[13] H. R. Markus, S. Kitayama, “Culture and the self: Implications for
cognition, emotion, motivation”, Psychological Review, vol. 98, 1991, pp.
224-253.
[14] M.B. Brewer, W. Gardner, “Who is this “we”? Levels of collective
identity and self-representations”, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol. 71, 1996, pp. 83-93.
[15] D. Zillman, The psychology of the appeal of portrayals of violence. In J.
Goldstein (Ed.), Why we watch: The attractions of violent entertainment,
New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 179–211.
[16] C. K. Olson, L. A. Kutner, D. E. Warner, J. B. Almerigi, L. Baer, A. M.
Nicholi, and E. V. Beresin, “Factors correlated with violent video game
use by adolescent boys and girls”, Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 41,
2007, pp. 77-83.
[17] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, and M. S. Park, “The Role of Social Capital and
Self-efficacy on Gaming Addiction,”, in Proc. 2nd International
Conference on Smart Media Appication (SMA), Thailand December
10-13, 2014.
[18] C. J. Ferguson, M. Coulson, and J. Barnett, “A meta-analysis of
pathological gaming prevalence and comorbidity with mental health,
academic and social problems”, Journal of psychiatric research, vol. 45,
no. 12, 2011, pp. 1573-1578.
[19] S. Trepte, L. Reinecke, and K. Juechems, “The social side of gaming:
How playing online computer games creates online and offline social
support”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 28, no. 3, 2012, pp.
832-839.
[20] Z. J. Zhong, “The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer
Online Role-Playing Games) play on gamers’ online and offline social
capital”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 27, no. 6, 2011, pp.
2352-2363.
[21] S. Feshbach, “The catharsis hypothesis, aggressive drive, and the
reduction of aggression”, Aggressive Behavior, vol. 10, 1984, pp. 91-101.
[22] D. A. Gentile, “Catharsis and media violence: A conceptual analysis”,
Societies, vol. 3, 2013, pp. 491-510.
[23] R. G. Geen, M. B. Quanty, “The catharsis of aggression: An evaluation of
a hypothesis”, Advances in experimental social psychology, 1977, vol.
10, pp. 1-37.
[24] D. J. Miller, E. Neal, D. W. Leonard, O. H. Mowrer, and S.R. Robert,
Frustration and aggression, New Haven, CT, US: Yale University Press,
1939.
[25] J. Colwell, “Needs met through computer game play among adolescents”,
Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 43, 2007, pp. 2072-2082.
[26] T. Greitemeyer, S. Osswald, “Prosocial video games reduce aggressive
cognitions”, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 45, 2009,
pp. 896-900.
[27] M. A. Lieberman, I. D. Yalom, and M. B. Miles, Encounter groups: First
facts. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
[28] M.P. Nichols, J.S. Efran, “Catharsis in psychotherapy: A new
perspective”, Psychotherapy, vol. 22, no. 1, 1985, pp. 46-58.
[29] C. Haen, Vanquishing monsters: Dramatherapy for treating childhood
trauma in the group setting. New York: Guilford Press, 2008.
[30] R. A. Chefetz, “Abreaction: Baby or bathwater? Dissociation”, Progress
in the Dissociative Disorders, vol. 10, no. 4, 1997, pp. 203-213.
[31] H. R. Lee, E. J. Jeong, “A Study on the Serious Games Design Framework
via Potential Outcomes: Focused on Construal Level Interventions”,
International Journal of Contents, vol.10, no.4, 2014, pp.53-62.
[32] T. M. Singelis, “The measurement of independent and interdependent
self-construals”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 20, no.
5, 1994, pp. 580-591.
[33] R. B. Van Baaren, W. W. Maddux, T. L. Chartrand, C. de Bouter, and A.
van Knippenberg, “It takes two to mimic: Behavioural consequences of
self-construals”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 84,
2003, pp. 1093-110.
[34] S.S Iyengar, M.R. Lepper, “When choice is demotivating: Can one desire
too much of a good thing?”, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol. 79, 2000, pp. 995-1006.
[35] D. Williams, “On and off the Net: Scales for social capital in an online
era”, Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, Vol. 11, no. 2,
2006, pp. 593-628.
[36] R.D. Putnam, Bowling Alone, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
[37] H. Cole, M.D. Griffiths, “Social interactions in massively multiplayer
online role-playing gamers’, CyberPsychology and Behavior, vol. 10, no.
4, 2007, pp. 575-583.
[38] E. Collins, J. Freeman, “Do problematic and non-problematic video game
players differ in extraversion, trait empathy, social capital and prosocial
tendencies?”, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 29, no. 5, 2013, pp.
1933-1940.
[39] A.H. Buss, M. Perry, “The aggression questionnaire”, Journal of personal
and social psychology, vol. 63, no. 3, 1992, pp. 452-459.
[40] E.J. Jeong, D.H. Kim, “Social Activities, Self-Efficacy, Game Attitudes,
and Game Addiction”, CyberPsychology, Behavior and, Social
Networking, vol. 14, no. 4, 2011, pp. 213-221.
[41] D. Pavlas, K. Heyne, W. Bedwell, E. Lazzara, and E. Salas, “Game-based
learning: the impact of flow state and videogame self-efficacy”, In
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual
Meeting, SAGE Publications, 2010, pp. 2398-2402. [42] K.A. Orvis, D.B. Horn, and J. Belanich, Task difficulty and prior
videogame experience: Their role in performance and motivation in
instructional videogames, Technical Report. United States Army
Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 2007.
[43] G. Gregory, J. K. Timothy, S.M. Gittleman, L. Jerry, H.E. Heerey, and L.
S. Kristin, “The Therapeutic Realizations Scale—Revised (TRS-R):
Psychometric Characteristics and Relationship to Treatment Process and
Outcome”, Journal of clinical psychology, vol. 56, no. 9, 2000, pp.
1207-1220
[44] M. S. Theodore, “The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent
Self-Construals”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1994.
[45] K. Andrew, P. Richard, M. Ryan, and C. R. Scott, “A Motivational Model
of Video Game Engagement”, Review of General Psychology, vol. 14, no.
2, 2010, pp. 154-166.
[46] A. Assor, G. Roth, and E.L. Deci, “The emotional costs of parents’
conditional regard: A self-determination theory analysis”, Journal of
Personality, vol. 72, 2004, pp. 47-89.
[47] W.C. Pedersen, C. Gonzales, and N. Miller, “The moderating effect of
trivial triggering provocation on displaced aggression”, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 78, 2000, pp. 913-927.
[48] H. Markus, P. Nurius, “Possible selves”, American psychologist, vol. 41,
1986, pp. 958.
[49] S.C. Rigby, A.K. Przybylski, “Virtual worlds and the learner hero: How
today’s video games can inform tomorrow’s digital learning
environments”, Theory and Research in Education, vol. 7, 2009, pp.
214-223.
[50] G.C. Williams, M.F. Lynch, and R.E. Glasgow, “Computer-assisted
intervention improves patient-centered diabetes care by increasing
autonomy support”, Health Psychology, vol. 26, 2007, pp. 728-734.
[51] W. Wirth, S. Bocking, T. Hartmann, C. Klimmt, H. Schramm, and P.
Vorderer, “Presence as a process: Towards a unified theoretical model of
formation of spatial presence experiences.”, Media Psychology, vol. 9,
2007, pp. 493-525.
[52] F. Biocca, “The Cyborg's Dilemma: Progressive Embodiment in Virtual
Environments,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 3,
no. 2, 1997
[53] P. Jones, Drama as therapy theatre as living. London: Routledge,
Psychology Press, 1996.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:70240", author = "Hye Rim Lee and Eui Jun Jeong and Joo Woo Kim", title = "How Do You Blow off Steam - The Impact of Therapeutic Catharsis Seeking, Self-Construal, and Social Capital in Gaming Context", abstract = "This study will examine how the therapeutic factors
(therapeutic catharsis-seeking and game-efficacy of the game player)
and self-construal factors (independent and interdependent
self-construal of the game player) as well as social capital factors
(bonding and bridging social capital of the game player) affect
aggression in the game. Results show that both therapeutic
catharsis-seeking and game self-efficacy are particularly important to
the players since they cause the game players’ aggressive tendencies to
be greatly diminished. Independent self-construal reduces the level of
the players’ aggression. Interestingly enough, the bonding social
capital enhances the level of the players’ aggression, while individuals
with bridging social capital did not show any significant effects. The
results and implications will be discussed herein.", keywords = "Aggression catharsis, therapeutic catharsis seeking,
game self-efficacy, self-construal, social capital.", volume = "9", number = "7", pages = "2306-7", }
