2 - Theories and models of IGD

Abstract

This chapter will present some relevant theories and models of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Although there has been debate on whether gaming should be considered a bona fide “addictive” disorder, conceptual models have tended to view gaming as a behavioral addiction consistent with the proposed IGD criteria and description. This chapter will describe and critically compare several prototypical models of IGD, including cognitive-behavioral, neurocognitive, and multidimensional models. An important feature of these models is the role of operant conditioning, referring to the immediate, intermittent, and secondary types of reinforcement that the individual receives from gaming experiences. The chapter will further document advances in clinical psychology and neuropsychology which have developed over the past decade and how these have led to innovations in modeling IGD from a biopsychosocial perspective. Of particular interest will be analysis of how our current understanding of the development and maintenance of IGD is based on Brand, Young, Laier, Wölfling, and Potenza’s (2016) biopsychosocial approach. It will be argued that, although some model factors and relationships warrant further study, current models provide useful perspectives to inform the task of understanding problematic gaming behavior and experiences.