Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans
Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans
Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans
February 26, 2024
Summary
Gamers who chose to be good Samaritans while playing through a zombie apocalypse were more likely to be prosocial post-game, according to new QUT research.
The aim of the research was to determine the impact in-game rewards for helping have on post-game prosocial behaviour.
To do this, researchers from QUT's Schools of Computer Science and Psychology and Counselling designed and developed a video game similar to a short action adventure genre game.
The researchers created a down-on-his-luck character named Bruce who was thirsty and desperately needed help and required players to decide whether to use coins they earned during the game to buy him a bottle of water.
"Games are a powerful medium for change, so much so that they spawned an entire industry around gamification and serious games that help motivate and educate people to improve themselves," Mr Kammermann said.
The results of the gaming experiment revealed 55 participants aided Bruce knowing there was no reward for their help while 59 were surprised with a reward and 61 helped knowing they were promised a reward.
"Our findings support that being prosocial toward video game characters, regardless of if you're rewarded for it not, is associated with an increased likelihood that people continue to help others after the gameplay in this case by donating to a charity."
Reference
Video Game Rewards Study Reveals Gamer Good Samaritans. (2024, February 26). Mirage News. https://www.miragenews.com/video-game-rewards-study-reveals-gamer-good-1180897/