Development and usability of an online CBT program for symptoms of moderate depression,anxiety, and stress in post-secondary students

Internet-based intervention programs can improve mental health outcomes, and may offer a novel medium for reducing emotional distress in post-secondary students. This paper describes the development and usability testing of a new cognitive behavioral therapy-based program, “Feeling Better” designed to reduce symptoms of emotional distress in post-secondary students. An iterative qualitative usability testing approach was used to assess the program’s usability (i.e., ease of navigation, clarity, efficiency and acceptability). Three cycles of participant feedback and feedback from counselling centre staff was coded and used to iteratively modify the interface. Changes were both structural (e.g., shortening sections) and stylistic (e.g., aesthetic features), remodeling “Feeling Better” into a user-friendly platform ready to be used and its effects evaluated in further studies.     

An examination of psychoticism and motion capture controls as moderators of the effects of violent video games

The current study examined the potential moderating effects of motion capture technology and participants’ own level of psychoticism on their hostility and aggressive thoughts after playing violent video games. A total of 118 participants (68 females, 50 males) first completed a measure of psychoticism and then played either a violent video game or a non-violent video game using either a traditional controller or motion capture controls. Immediately after the video game play period, participants’ current level of hostility and aggressive cognitions were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that the use of motion capture controls did not increase the negative effects of violent video games. However, participants with elevated levels of psychoticism were much more affected by violent video games than other participants. Such findings suggest that only some individuals are adversely affected by violent video games and that those who are affected have preexisting dispositions which make them susceptible to such violent media.     

Combined cognitive behavioral therapy and bupropion for the treatment of problematic on-line game play in adolescents with major depressive disorder

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in combination with bupropion for treatment of problematic on-line game play in adolescents with co-morbid major depressive disorder. Sixty-five depressed adolescents with excessive on-line game play were randomly assigned to a CBT group (CBT-Med group (N = 32)) or a clinical control group (Med group (N = 33)). Measures of severity of internet use, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, life satisfaction and school adaptation were assessed at baseline, after the 8 week intervention, and at the end of a 4 week follow-up post-treatment period. Young Internet Addiction Scale scores in the CBT-Med group were reduced compared to those of the Med group, but there was no significant difference in the change of depression scores between two groups. The mean anxiety scores in the CBT-Med group did not change while those in the Med group were increased. The mean life satisfaction scores in the CBT-Med group were increased compared to those of the Med group. CBT in combination with bupropion may be effective for the treatment of depressed adolescents with on-line game addiction, particularly in reducing on-line game play and anxiety, as well as in improving life satisfaction.     

Strategies for designing effective psychotherapeutic gaming interventions for children and adolescents

A range of face-to-face therapies and interventions for children and adolescents with mental health problems have been developed over the years and include cognitive-behavioral therapy, play therapy and applied behavior analysis. The popularity of computer games has grown exponentially in the last decade and has been widely accepted by children, adolescents and adults alike. Mental health professionals have therefore been exploring the use of these games to complement traditional treatment methods. To date however, there has been little known concrete evidence of the effectiveness of computer games for the treatment of children and adolescents with mental health conditions. Key to the success of such games is that at the outset, they must be well-designed. This paper reviews extant relevant computer gaming literature to propose a set of guidelines and strategies for the design of psychotherapeutic games targeted at children and adolescents. The issues raised concern both the game player as well as the game itself. As part of this review, limitations of existing work and areas of future research are also discussed.     

Video game playing in the general adult population of Germany: Can higher gaming time of males be explained by gender specific genre preferences?

BackgroundPrior studies observed involvement with video games to vary between different sociodemographic strata with considerable higher gaming time in males compared to females. However, empirical evidence explaining the gender gap in gaming time is still scarce. The present study aims to evaluate if the higher gaming time can be attributed to gender specific game genre preferences.MethodsA nationwide representative survey comprising 3073 participants aged 16–93 years (M = 49.1; SD = 18.2) was conducted. Video game use and genre preferences were assessed via a written questionnaire. OLS regression and subsequent mediation analyses were used to determine significant predictors of gaming time and to evaluate the contribution of genre preferences.ResultsHigher age, high education and employment predicted lower gaming time whereas male gender and the preference of certain game genres predicted higher gaming time. Mediation analyses revealed that the higher gaming time of males is fully mediated by the higher preference of role-playing and shooter games among this gender group.ConclusionThe higher gaming time of men is fully accounted for by the male specific preference for certain game genres. Future research should address the functional connection between genre preferences and gaming behavior in further detail.     

Video analysis in cognitive ergonomics: a methodological perspective

The object of this paper is to discuss the methodological issues associated with using video analysis in the evaluation of Human-Computer Interaction. It is proposed that the mapping between low-level observed events and the high-level goals of the usability evaluation ultimately determines the success of this research technique. The paper firstly addresses the advantages of using video as a data-capture medium in the context of usability evaluations, and secondly, evaluates the use of alternative data capture devices. The process of conducting video analysis is then described. The methodological issues that arise in employing this technique are presented in a format consistent with the execution of any empirical investigation: research design, scoring, data analysis and interpretation of results. The reader is alerted to certain methodological problems associated with the use of video analysis as a means of data collection. The conclusion is drawn that video analysis provides a very powerful data source for the study of human performance in cognitive ergonomics and usability evaluations provided that human factors practitioners attend to the methodological requirements imposed by this technique.     

An examination of two mental workload measurement approaches to understanding multimedia learning

This study reports on an examination of two measures of mental workload: the NASA-TLX and Paas’ Subjective Cognitive Load (SCL) measure. The goal was to assess the relative efficacy of the measures in the design and research of multimedia learning environments. Benchmarks based on the literature as to the goals for mental workload measurement in learning research are established. A multifaceted study was conducted which manipulated various aspects of mental workload in order to study the utility of these two measures in detecting changes in load and their relationship to learning outcomes. The results indicate that the weighted version of the NASA-TLX provided little additional value over the unweighted version of the measure. While both the NASA-TLX and SCL measures were sensitive to changes in both intrinsic and extraneous load, the study revealed differences in the measures based on levels of each of these load factors. The study also concludes that a better understanding of the third factor, germane load, will be needed to both expand the theoretical framework about mental workload in instructional settings and further understand the utility of these two measures.     

Towards effective video annotation: An approach to automatically link notes with video content

The characteristics of annotations, such as highlighting, context-based notes, and organization are difficult to translate from the traditional paper-based medium to the digital format. An added challenge is how to facilitate annotations on a digital video in a collaborative distance learning environment. To explore issues in video annotation, we developed a tool called Interactive Shared Education Environment (ISEE). ISEE automatically generates hyperlinked timestamps, which we called Smartlinks, to associate the notes with their video contents. A usability study with 59 participants, following up by a small-scale eye-tracking study, was conducted to explore users’ video note-taking behaviors and to examine the effect of the new Smartlink design. Our results showed that participants with Smartlink took fewer notes, focused less on video controls and more on video content than those without Smartlink. We believe the main benefit of Smartlink is that it may offload non-learning related cognitive loads and allow users to take better notes. Findings from this study on users’ video annotation behaviors shed light on the future design of video annotation systems in both individual and collaborative environments.     

Will the experience of playing a violent role in a video game influence people’s judgments of violent crimes?

The present study investigates the impact of the experience of role playing a violent character in a video game on attitudes towards violent crimes and criminals. People who played the violent game were found to be more acceptable of crimes and criminals compared to people who did not play the violent game. More importantly, interaction effects were found such that people were more acceptable of crimes and criminals outside the game if the criminals were matched with the role they played in the game and the criminal actions were similar to the activities they perpetrated during the game. The results indicate that people’s virtual experience through role-playing games can influence their attitudes and judgments of similar real-life crimes, especially if the crimes are similar to what they conducted while playing games. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Theory and experiment in cognitive science

Margaret Boden's Mind as Machine: A History of Cognitive Science is a masterfully broad and informative history of computational theories of mental operations. However, its relative neglect of research in psychology and neuroscience yields a somewhat misleading picture of cognitive science, which ideally combines theory and experiment.     

Video task analysis in high performance teams

A task-specific video recording effort at a trauma centre was studied. Task analysis methodology and an expert review of videos was used to access cognitive aspects of work and performance. Data collection included questionnaires and video reviews that used a template approach to task analysis and audio recordings of the experts think aloud performance assessment. Among 48 video records of airway management, performance deficiencies were identified including communication failures, omission of preparatory and confirmatory checks and lack of patient vital signs monitoring that lessened the margin of patient safety and caused a life-threatening critical incident. The analysis of aggregate data from multiple such videos of airway management allowed detection of the performance problems and development of an equipment design change and a task/communication training algorithm. The performance improvement and the lessons learned from using video as data in a medical domain are described. Targeted video task analysis with expert review may be generalisable to other medical procedures and non-medical domains.     

Individual differences in response to cognitive training: Using a multi-modal,attentionally demanding game-based intervention for older adults

The effectiveness of a game-based cognitive training intervention on multiple abilities was assessed in a sample of 39 older adults aged 60–77. The intervention task was chosen based on a cognitive task analysis designed to determine the attentional and multi-modal demands of the game. Improvements on a measure of attention were found for the intervention group compared to controls. Furthermore, for the intervention group only, initial ability scores predicted improvements on both tests of attention and spatial orientation. These results suggest cognitive training may be more effective for those initially lower in ability.     

Evaluating learners’ motivational and cognitive processing in an online game-based learning environment

This paper describes the process and results of an evaluation on an online game-based learning environment (GBLE) by focusing on learners’ motivational processing and cognitive processing. The goal is to explore how online GBLE might initiate and support learners’ goal-setting activities and impact learners’ cognitive loads. The study surveyed 144 undergraduate students after their autonomous participation in the online game available at the Nobel Prize Foundation website teaching the Heckscher-Ohlin Theory on international trade. Grounded in the integrative theory of motivation, volition, and performance (MVP), the evaluation indicated that participants felt significantly confident in learning the subject. The perceived satisfaction, however, was lower than the rest of motivational components possibly due to heavy cognitive processing. The finding of cognitive load reported that learners perceived a significantly higher level of intrinsic load than the germane load due to the novelty of the subject matter. Data analysis further indicated a significant canonical correlation between learners’ motivational and cognitive processing. This particular finding could inform future research to investigate specific motivational processing components’ effects on learners’ cognitive load levels in online GBLEs.     

(A)Social reputation: Exploring the relationship between online video game involvement and social competence

Affordable and accessible Internet has changed the way video games are played, allowing individuals to connect worldwide in shared gaming spaces. On the surface participation within these environments may seem socially beneficial, as these highly social, playful spaces allow players to connect, interact with, and learn from others. However, there is a growing concern that increased participation within online gaming environments comes with a wide variety of social consequences, contributing to numerous losses in ‘offline’ sociability. While considerable research has examined these claims, consistent relationships between social competence and online video game involvement have yet to be established. The current work (N = 515) aimed to examine the extent to which online video game involvement may support, or undermine, the development and maintenance of traditional social skills. The results indicate that there are unique relationships between social skills and video game involvement within online gaming populations. However, among online video game players, these links were not as negative or broad as hypothesized. The results of this assessment dispute the anecdotal attribution of a global level of social ineptitude amongst online video game players and provide insight into the potential effects of online video game play on skill development and maintenance.     

Player–Avatar Identification in video gaming: Concept and measurement

This paper aims to develop an instrument to measure Player–Avatar Identification (PAI) in video game playing. Survey studies were conducted with over 1000 students in Singapore primary and secondary schools. The results of the studies demonstrated that PAI can be conceptualized and reliably measured in terms of four-factors – feelings during play, absorption during play, positive attitudes toward the game avatar and importance of the avatar to one’s self identity. The four-factor model showed acceptable model data fit and satisfactory reliability and validity. The construct validity was supported by the relationship between PAI and identity style. The result suggested that students with diffused identity style reported significant higher scores on absorption and importance to identity. The usefulness of the concept and the scale was discussed in relation to behavioral and developmental implications.     

Understanding social interactions in complex work: a video ethnography

Rail network control is a function which depends upon the expertise of controllers for successful performance, and this expertise is situated in social skills and interactions as much as technical knowledge. A work analysis framework has been established which gets around some of the difficulties found in using cognitive work analysis, and allows structured investigation at the environment, domain, activity, scenario and expertise levels. Within this major research programme a video ethnography study was carried out to explore the work and work systems of the rail controllers in more detail, with specific reference to social interactions. Discussion centres around the strategies, communications, social relationships, learning and development and inter-team differences that were identified in the video ethnography.