Video Game Structure Preferences,
Flow, and Dreams
Jayne Gackenbach, PhD,
professor at Grant MacEwan College, Canada, is a Past President of
the International Association for the Study of Dreams. In the last
10 years she has developed an expertise on the psychology of the
Internet after over 20 years of research and professional activity
in the areas of dreams.
Steve Reiter is a student
in computer science at the University of Alberta and was
responsible for the design of the online game used in the current
study.
Abstract
In a series of research and
scholarship begun in 1998 Gackenbach and colleagues (Gackenbach &
Preston, 1998; Gackenbach, 1999; 2005a; 2005b; in preparation;
Gillespie & Gackenbach, in press; Gackenbach, Guthrie, & Karpen,
1998; Gackenbach & Karpen, in preparation; Preston, 1998/in
preparation; Preston & Nery, 2004) have discussed the theoretical
basis and some empirical evidence for expanded consciousness
experiences occurring among frequent video game players. This
study further explores this relationship. A survey is being
administered online through Gackenbach's website (http://spiritwatch.ca/video/game/study/fall/202005/consentform.htm)
asking participants’ video game playing history and dream
experiences as before as well as asking for information from two
questionnaires measuring video game structure preferences and flow
experiences while playing. Finally participants are asked to play
a brief video game to measure their skill. Participants will
likely be largely students and others who visit various psychology
experiments online sites where the research was listed. Based on
previous such data collection, it would be expected that twice as
many men than women would participate, 60% will be 25 years of age
or younger, and about 60% will have some college education.
It is
hypothesized that as in the past frequent video game play will be
associated with high lucid dreaming and control dreaming as well
as with higher video game flow experiences. Video game structural
preferences will be explored to try to further refine what it is
about gaming that results in these dream experiences. Finally
video game skill will further refine the dimensions of video game
play that are relevant for these experiences to emerge. Controls
for video game play will be in terms of degree of apparent motion
experienced while controls for dream frequency reports will be
typical dream recall.
References
Gackenbach, J.I. (1999, July).
Video game play and the development of consciousness as measured
by some dream experiences. Paper presented at the annual meeting
of the Association for the Study of Dreams, Santa Cruz, CA.
Gackenbach, J.I. (2005a, June).
Video Game Play and Dreams: A Replication & Extension. Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the International Association
for the Study of Dreams, Berkeley, CA.
Gackenbach, J.I. (2005b). Video
Game Play and Lucid Dreams: Implications for the Development of
Consciousness. Unpublished manuscript under editoral
consideration.
Gackenbach, J.I. (in
preparation). Transpersonal implications of telepresence resulting
from being online. Manuscript accepted for inclusion in a special
issue of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication Special
Issue on Religion on the Internet.
Gackenbach, J.I., Guthrie, Greg,
& Karpen, Jim (1998). The coevolution of technology and
consciousness. From J.I. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the
Internet. San Diego: Academic Press.
Gackenbach, J.I. & Karpen, Jim
(in preparation). Revisiting the coevolution of technology and
consciousness. From J.I. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the
Internet (2nd edition). San Diego: Academic Press.
