ABSTRACT 1

Chee Siang Ang, Panayiotis Zaphiris, Shumaila Mahmood, A model of cognitive loads in

massively multiplayer online role playing games, Interacting with Computers, Volume 19, Issue

2, 2007, Pages 167-179, Being one of the most commercially successful entertainment software

applications, massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) continue to expand

in term of the revenue they generate as well as the involvement of users who congregate in their

virtual space and form communities around them to support each other. Unlike conventional

offline computer games, or networked games with limited numbers of players, MMORPGs are

not merely software applications as they are usually seen as a space with complicated dynamics

of social interactions. Hence, it is believed that playing these games might cause cognitive

overload problems among the players as they have to constantly interact with the game world as

well as with other users. We conducted an exploratory study using qualitative methods to explore

cognitive overloads in Maple Story, a typical MMORPG. Our results reveal that several types of

cognitive overloads emerge during the game playing. While some of these overloads pose

serious problems even to expert players, players seem to develop strategies to overcome them. It

is found that some forms of cognitive load are actually desirable in order to make the game

challenging. We have also created a set of recommendations that can help game developers

handle cognitive load problems in MMORPGs.

 ABSTRACT 2

King, Daniel & Delfabbro, Paul & Griffiths, Mark. (2010). Recent innovations in video

game addiction research and theory. Global Media Journal: Australian Edition. 4. 1-13. In 1989,

Margaret Shotton published her pioneering study of psychological dependency on computer

technology. Since then, the empirical research literature on technology-based addictions,

particularly addiction to the Internet and online video games, has grown dramatically in both the

Western and Eastern contexts. Expansion of this research area reflects a dramatic growth in the

popularity of new interactive digital technologies, as well as mounting concern among health

professionals that some vulnerable individuals may experience harm if these technologies are

used excessively. It is therefore timely to reflect critically on several key research questions

within the psychological field of video game addiction, as well as the broader question of

whether contemporary anxieties about high levels of computer technology use are justified. In

this paper, we provide an overview of recent innovations in video game addiction research and

highlight the benefit of these contributions to the field. These innovations include: changes in the

conceptual definition of video game addiction, greater recognition of the diversity of the video

game playing population and the psycho-structural characteristics of video games, various

methodological advances and refinements, and a broader understanding of the psychosocial

correlates of problem video game playing. Finally, we suggest a number of future research

directions that may advance the current state of the knowledge in this area.
 ABSTRACT 3

Wan CS, Chiou WB. Psychological motives and online games addiction: a test of flow

theory and humanistic needs theory for Taiwanese adolescents. Cyberpsychol Behav.

2006;9(3):317-324. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.317. Obviously, the negative impact of online games

has received much attention as well as having become a popular research topic. This research

explored, from flow theory and humanistic needs theory, the psychological motivations of

Taiwanese adolescents who are addicted to online games. The purpose of Study 1 was to

investigate the relationship between players' flow state and their online games addiction. The

results indicated that flow state was negatively correlated with addictive inclination and it was

not a significant predictor for players' subsequent additive inclination. Findings also revealed that

the addicts' flow state was significantly lower than the nonaddicts. Thus, flow state might not be

the key psychological mechanism of players' addiction. In Study 2, the results showed that the

psychological needs of players of online games were close to the two-factor theory which depicts

satisfaction and dissatisfaction dimensions. Addicted players' need-gratification was similar to

the feature of dissatisfactory factor. That is, the absence of playing online games is more likely to

generate sense of dissatisfaction; the addicts' compulsive use of online games seems to stem from

the relief of dissatisfaction rather than the pursuit of satisfaction. In contrast, online games tend

to provide the nonaddicts with a sense of satisfaction rather than a sense of dissatisfaction.
 FORMULATE A RESEARCH TOPIC

ABSTRACT 1

Hence, it is believed that playing these games might cause cognitive overload problems

among the players as they have to constantly interact with the game world as well as with other

users.

ABSTRACT 2

mounting concern among health professionals that some vulnerable individuals may

experience harm if these technologies are used excessively.

ABSTRACT 3

flow theory and humanistic needs theory, the psychological motivations of Taiwanese

adolescents who are addicted to online games

RESEARCH TOPIC (FORMULATED):

“What are the impacts of online gaming addiction to a student?”