The Psychology of Games: Game-based Learning and Social Justice
Fall 2025 | Professor Erica Kleinknecht | PSY3/480 Advanced Topics + Capstone
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One of our greatest powers as learners is our ability to simulate, role play, and otherwise imagine different experiences – indeed, different worlds – in our minds, as precursors to action. […] Games, unlike books, have the capacity to “talk back” when we interact with them. […] [Thereby establishing] conversations and new forms of learning. – Gee & Gee, 2017, p. 2-3
Playful learning opportunities are imperative in childhood, but playful learning can occur at any age. If play and games are for learning cultural competencies, then games can be leveraged to promote desired social-cultural changes. Serious games are games designed with such a purpose in mind. Games offer players opportunities to immerse themselves in a simulation space where new ideas are introduced and new behaviors can be practiced. Students enrolled in this unique course spent the Fall 2025 semester taking a deep dive into the scholarly literature and acting on what they learned. While learning about serious games students created them, too.
Student chose a social issue and designed an actual, playable game that invites players into an immersive experience where they can practice more desirable attitudes or behaviors around the issue. The games are both fun and informative! At our end of semester game-jam, a player remarked as he left that he "felt like a better person for having played our games". We can't imagine a better outcome than that. Take a look at our game promo sites and contact me (contact info below) if you are interested in playing one of them, too!
-- Erica Kleinknecht, Ph.D.
December 9th, 2025
Follow the links below to learn more about each serious game project.
Want to see a peek behind the scenes?
Click here for some snapshots of the students learning journey, where they experienced a transformation:
from game players to game designers!
This project is in keeping with Pacific University’s mission that students learn to THINK, CARE, CREATE and PURSUE JUSTICE in our world
This site is an example of an Authentic Learning Project Based Course. This project was linked to an upper-division undergraduate Psychology course. Should you have any questions about this work specifically or about Authentic Teaching and Learning generally, please contact
Professor Erica Kleinknecht, Ph.D. | eko @ pacific u dot edu |
Want to see more examples of authentic learning in undergraduate psychology courses? Click here.
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