Gauging Engagement in Video Games: Does Game Violence Relate to Player Behavior? Report on a Study

Abstract

A study designed to define and measure the construct of ‘engagement’ with video games is reported, using a verbal questionnaire named the game engagement questionnaire (GEQ). The engagement construct is derived from an elaborate model of cognitive processes. Scale construction employed classical scaling techniques and the educationally oriented Rasch analytic procedures, and the authors assert that these procedures demonstrate that game engagement is quantifiable by the GEQ score. These analyses meet conventional psychometric standards, but they fail to clearly demonstrate construct unidimensionality. The theory behind the construct is complex and its relevance is not clear. Furthermore, restriction of attention to the violent aspects of games requires revalidation of the GEQ using non-violent (or less violent) games. The study restricted its attention to games with violent content, and showed that greater measured engagement in play of such games does manifest itself in higher scores on an existing aggression questionnaire (AQ). They infer that this association may be an indicator of the risk that deep engagement in violent video games could lead to actual aggressive behaviors on the part of players. This review acknowledges that GEQ is potentially useful for measuring some aspect of game engagement, but views the inferential linkage of engagement with aggressive behaviors based on questionable evidence concerning how game experiences are linked cognitively with emotional responses and behavioral changes outside of the game environment.