Attentional Bias and Reactive Attacks in Video Game Player

Abstract

Video games are widely popular their impacts on player addiction are thus intensively investigated. Considering the importance of reward in addiction, this study investigated whether high penalty feedback has a promoting effect on the maintenance of the reward value of the game stimulation. In Experiment 1, the characteristics of attentional bias of game stimulation were tested using the dot-probe task paradigm. In Experiment 2, changes in the heart rate of game players and non-game players during the game were compared to investigate the physiological activation state of the game players. In Experiment 3, the impacts of different penalties on the aggressive behavior of game players were analyzed. Our results showed that long-term game players exhibited attentional bias toward the game stimuli, which was mainly reflected in terms of the orientation characteristics of attention; during a game, the player’s high physiological activation helped the game stimulus to maintain the reward value in the habitual level. High intensity penalty feedback can maintain the reactive attack state of game players, which helped to maintain the players in a state of high physiological activation during the game. From the perspective of “learning in games” in the Confucian culture, the approach and content of video games must be actively improved.