Abstract
AbstractBackground and aimsThe present study investigated processing bias for game-related cues in problematic mobile gamers (PMGs) under or above the threshold of conscious awareness.MethodsIn Experiment 1, all participants (20 PMGs and 23 casual players (CPs)) finished a masked visual probe task during a brief (17ms) masked exposure condition. In Experiment 2, an unmasked visual probe task was conducted by an additional forty participants (20 PMGs and 20 CPs) at two exposure durations (200 and 500ms).ResultsResults showed that PMGs, but not CPs, had an attentional bias for game-related cues which had been presented with two exposure durations (17 and 200ms).Discussion and conclusionIn conclusion, the present study provides evidence that bias in PMGs could be observed both preconsciously and consciously. The results are discussed with reference to incentive sensitization theory and automatic action schema theory.
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