How do videogame players identify their actions? Integrating Action Identification Theory and videogame play via the Behavior Identification Form - Gamer

Abstract

How does a videogame player identify the actions of their character in a videogame, and do those identifications have meaningful implications or effects on cognition? The principles of Action Identification Theory (Vallacher & Wegner, 1985) were utilized in the present research to understand how players identify their actions when playing a violent videogame. A new measure, the Behavior Identification Form – Gamer, was created and tested for reliability and validity across three studies. The BIF-G demonstrated acceptable reliability along with convergent and incremental validity from the original Behavioral Identification Form. Results indicated that those who played videogames more, as well as those who, played more diverse types of videogames, thought of their game actions more abstractly than those who played less or played fewer types. In addition, those who thought of their game actions more abstractly performed better while playing games compared to those who viewed actions more concretely. The implications of these results are applied to the current debate regarding violent videogame play's impact on aggressive thoughts and actions. The utility of viewing this relationship through the lens of Action Identification Theory is also discussed.