Background

The research was based on the web browser game [Here: https://www.necessarygames.com/my-games/freedom-bridge ] which explores the complexities of the Korean border and empathy in a simplistic game. The research remakes the game alters versions of the game, to test how user's remeber the information presented at the conclusion of the game. Here we can explore how different variables within the environment can effect knowledge retention. 

Proposal

The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Students Playing Short and Intense Video Games 

Playing video games can have powerful effects on students. In particular, video games have been shown to elicit feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Hemenover & Bowman, 2018; Tamborini et al., 2010). Video games, as a whole, have also been shown to have both positive effects (Vorderer et al., 2003; Franceschini et al., 2022) and negative effects (Meier, 2012; Mahood & Hanus, 2017) on emotions. Cognitive processes, such as learning, memory (Phelps, 2004; Um et al., 2012), attention (Vuilleumier, 2005), and reasoning (Jung et al., 2014) have all been shown to be guided and motivated by emotions—defined in the context of motivating actions and behaviors along with the ability to regulate attention selectivity. Additionally, emotionally arousing stimuli can lead to enhanced long-term retention (Tyng et al., 2017). Freedom Bridge (Magnuson, 2011) is a short, emotionally intense video game, that utilizes ambiguity to spark curiosity within the game. The player is a black square within a rough pixilated two-dimensional world with the only possible way to progress is by moving towards the right passing through unavoidable walls barbed wire, making the player bleed and slow with every additional barbed wire wall passed through. Finally, the player reaches a bridge traversing over a river while still bleeding out. Once halfway, the player is suddenly shot in the center and the game ends, displaying a screen of text with a short sentence describing how the game is based on the bridge between North Korea and South Korea. The game, Freedom Bridge, utilizes immersive game environments and changes in autonomy—the feeling that a person has control over their own actions—which we hypothesize will lead to a strong emotional reaction. Autonomy is critical for intentional learning (Ng et al., 2016). In this research-in-progress, we plan to examine the cognitive and affective effects of playing Freedom Bridge on emotions and learning. 

Electroencephalograms  

Electroencephalograms (EEGs) primarily measure alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and theta brainwaves using the electrodes on an EEG cap. These waves come from the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex, as it is the closest to the surface where the electrodes are measuring the signals (Teplan, 2002). Alpha brainwaves are associated with the mind being in a relaxed state and are considered the bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind. Simply closing one’s eyes increases alpha activity, while thoughts and calculations disrupt it (Teplan, 2002; Amrani et al., 2021). Beta waves are associated with a waking state. Beta activity increases when a person uses logical or analytical reasoning skills and indicates active problem solving (Teplan, 2002; Amrani et al., 2021). Gamma waves are produced when intensely thinking, processing information and memories, and learning; however, gamma waves are difficult to measure accurately (Jackson & Bolger, 2014). Delta waves are the slowest waves and occur when in deep sleep, during comas, or in deep meditation. Lastly, theta waves are present during sleep, daydreaming, or when someone accomplishes automatic tasks or tasks based on intuition (Koudelková & Strmiska, 2018). Overall, each wave measured by EEG suggests different emotions and mental functions that require other tools to interpret. Furthermore, EEGs can be used to interpret emotions dimensionally across three subconstructs: valence, arousal, and dominance (VAD) through interpretation of brain waves (Reuderink et al., 2013). Valence describes the amount of pleasure the participant is experiencing, arousal represents engagement, and dominance shows how in control the participant feels. We plan to use the dimensional model to examine the immediate effects of video games on emotions.  

Theoretical Framework 

The theoretical foundation that guided this study can be explained by Goal-Orientation Theory and Self-Determination Theory. Goal-Orientation Theory contains two clusters: (1) entity mindset, in which an individual perceives their intelligence and abilities as static and unchanging and thereby avoids the possibility of low performance or experiencing difficulties so as to not lower their self-concept, and (2) incremental mindset, where intelligence/abilities are seen as changeable and learned. In this latter case, the individual seeks challenges to grow (Cook & Artino, 2016; Kaplan & Maehr, 2007). Additionally, Goal-Orientation Theory posits that an individual’s mindset affects their “cognitive or emotional tendency toward events, which in turn will trigger behavioral responses” (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). The incremental mindset has exhibited relation to positive coping, persistence, effort (Elliot et al., 1999; Elliot & Dweck, 2005), positive emotions, retention of information, as well as predicting continued motivation (Höpfl & Linstead, 1997). Self-Determination Theory assesses motivation in three groupings: amotivation (apathy, inaction), intrinsic motivation (entirely internal motivation), and extrinsic motivation (motivation by external factors/pressures).   

Research Questions 

What are the short- and long-term cognitive and affective effects of brief exposure to emotionally intense video games?  

Methodology 

We plan to use a true experimental design to answer the research question. Our participants will include undergraduate students (n = 80) who will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. All students will take a pretest and posttest measuring cognitive and affective measures and will wear an EEG cap to detect brain activity before, during, and after their activities. The only difference between the two groups is that the experimental group will play an emotionally intense video game as their activity while the control group will read a block of informational text pertaining to the history of the bridge between North Korea and South Korea that is represented in Freedom Bridge. Participants will additionally participate in a posttest that measures retention from a portion of explanation from the game. We will utilize an EEG machine and process the EEG data by inputting raw data signals from the EEG machine itself into the open-source tool EEGLAB (Delorme & Makeig, 2004) in MATLAB, all in order to obtain quantitative, non-subjective data that is a direct representation of cognitive function.  

The pretest and posttest will consist of a cognitive and affective survey. Students will also receive the same follow-up survey at the end of the semester. The affective portion of this survey has questions from the Academic Motivation Scale (Vallerand et al., 1992), as well as questions measuring the constructs of emotional state, empathy, emotional reactivity, and stress. The questions on this survey will all be Likert scale questions with “1” indicating a negative response and “5” indicating a positive response for each construct. Analysis of these results will include ensuring similarity on the pretest and then comparing the posttest results for the experimental and control groups using analysis of variance or analysis of covariance depending on the baseline scores. 

We expect to observe the changes in a player's emotion when affected by autonomy. Alongside repetitive use of game elements, we then note the retention of information about the bridge and a player’s motivation after playing Freedom Bridge. This experiment challenges whether an intense, emotional video game can have a positive impact on motivation to learn and retention of information.

Conference

During, the 2023 SERA (Southwest Educational Research Association) conference can be found here: https://sera-edresearch.org/2023Program.pdf
which occurred during the F3.2 Paper Session.

Credits

• Mentors: Michael Rugh, Samuel Falade

• Authors: Chris Zuniga, Sean Tran, Luana Rodrigues do Sacramento, Katherine Kristofek, Daniel Chai, Dana Billman

• Aggie Research Program (ARP) - Texas A&M University - College Station

Resources

Amrani, G., Adadi, A., Berrada, M., Souirti, Z., & Boujraf, S. (2021). EEG signal analysis using deep learning: A systematic literature review. 2021 Fifth International Conference on Intelligent Computing in Data Sciences, 2021, 1–8 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICDS53782.2021.9626707 

Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R., Jr. (2016). Motivation to learn: an overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997–1014. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13074  

Delorme, A., & Makeig, S. (2004). EEGLAB: an open source toolbox for analysis of single-trial EEG dynamics including independent component analysis. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 134(1), 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2003.10.009  

Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256  

Elliot, A. J., & Dweck, C. S. (2005). Competence and motivation: Competence as the core of achievement motivation. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 3–12). Guilford Publications. 

Elliot, A. J., McGregor, H. A., & Gable, S. (1999). Achievement goals, study strategies, and exam performance: A mediational analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(3), 549–563. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.3.549 

Franceschini, S., Bertoni, S., Lulli, M., Pievani, T., & Facoetti, A. (2022). Short-term effects of video-games on cognitive enhancement: The role of positive emotions. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 6(1), 29-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-021-00220-9 

Hemenover, S. H., & Bowman, N. D. (2018). Video games, emotion, and emotion regulation: Expanding the scope. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2018.1442239 

Höpfl, H., & Linstead, S. (1997). Introduction: Learning to feel and feeling to learn: Emotion and learning in organizations. Management Learning, 28(1), 5–12.    

Jackson, A. F., & Bolger, D. J. (2014). The neurophysiological bases of EEG and EEG measurement: A review for the rest of us. Psychophysiology, 51(11), 1061–1071. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12283 

Jung, N., Wranke, C., Hamburger, K., & Knauff, M. (2014). How emotions affect logical reasoning: evidence from experiments with mood-manipulated participants, spider phobics, and people with exam anxiety. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 570. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00570  

Kaplan, A., & Maehr, M. L. (2007). The contributions and prospects of goal orientation theory. Educational Psychology Review, 19(2), 141–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9012-5   

Kiemer, K., Gröschner, A., Pehmer, A. K., & Seidel, T. (2015). Effects of a classroom discourse intervention on teachers' practice and students' motivation to learn mathematics and science. Learning and Instruction, 35, 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2014.10.003 

Koudelková, Z., & Strmiska, M. (2018). Introduction to the identification of brain waves based on their frequency. MATEC Web of Conferences, 210, Article 05012. 
https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201821005012  

Lin, M. H., & Chen, H. G. (2017). A study of the effects of digital learning on learning motivation and learning outcome. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(7), 3553–3564. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00744a 

Magnuson, J. (2011). Freedom bridge [Video game]. Necessary Games. https://www.necessarygames.com/my-games/freedom-bridge  

Meier, S. (2012). Interesting decisions. In Game Developers Conference (Vol. 12).  

Mahood, C., & Hanus, M. (2017). Role-playing video games and emotion: How transportation into the narrative mediates the relationship between immoral actions and feelings of guilt. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), 61–73.  

Ng, B. L., Liu, W. C., & Wang, J. C. (2016). Student motivation and learning in mathematics and science: A cluster analysis. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14(7), 1359–1376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-015-9654-1 

Phelps, E. A. (2004). Human emotion and memory: Interactions of the amygdala and hippocampal complex. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 14(2), 198–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2004.03.015 

Reuderink, B., Mühl, C., & Mühl, M. (2013). Valence, arousal and dominance in the EEG during game play. International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, 6(1), 45–62.  

Tamborini, R., Bowman, N. D., Eden, A., Grizzard, M., & Organ, A. (2010). Defining media enjoyment as the satisfaction of intrinsic needs. Journal of Communication, 60(4), 758–777. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01513.x 

Teplan, M. (2002). Fundamentals of EEG measurement. Measurement Science Review, 2(2), 1–11.   

Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M. N., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The influences of emotion on learning and memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454 

Um, E., Plass, J. L., Hayward, E. O., & Homer, B. D. (2012). Emotional design in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026609 

Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Vallieres, E. F. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52(4), 1003–1017. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164492052004025  

Vorderer, P., Hartmann, T., & Klimmt, C. (2003, May). Explaining the enjoyment of playing video games: the role of competition. In Proceedings of the second international conference on Entertainment computing (pp. 1–9).  

Vuilleumier, P. (2005). How brains beware: Neural mechanisms of emotional attention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(12), 585–594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.10.011 

Reference for this proposal 

Zuniga, C. J., Tran, S. V., Rodrigues do Sacramento, L., Kristofek, K. A. L., Chai, D., Billman, D., & Rugh, M. S. (2023, February 15–17). The physiological and psychological effects of students playing short and intense video games [Paper presentation]. Paper submitted to the 46th Southwest Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, United States.