VIDEO GAMES AS A TRAINING OF TOLERANCE TO UNCERTAINTY IN YOUTH

Abstract

The aim of our study was to identify the influence of video games on the tolerance expression of the individual. We used Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale (IAS), V. Boyko's Diagnostics of Communicative Disposition, V. Boyko's Diagnostics of Communicative Tolerance and psychological interviews. The study included two stages. At first stage, we applied Budner's IAS and V. Boyko's Diagnostics of Communicative Tolerance to three groups of respondents: persons who do not play video games (36 respondents), players in strategy games (25 respondents) and players in Real Life Role Play games (RPG) (33 respondents). We surveyed 94 respondents aged 19-27 years, 63 male and 31 female. In the second phase of the study, we used a biographical method and interviewed 16 respondents on the impact of body swap games. Video games with a gender role changing of the player will promote the development of communicative tolerance and tolerance for uncertainty. The differences in the total rate of communicative intolerance we founded to be the lowest in the group of body swap players, but players in strategy games were also more communicatively tolerant than those who had no experience with video games at all. The uncertainty tolerance study found no significant differences in tolerance to the undecidability, we found differences according to the Kruskal-Wallis criterion for three unrelated samples and the significance of differences according to the criteria of complexity and novelty (by p ≤ 0.05). Players in strategy games have the highest tolerance for complexity and novelty, and non-players have the lowest. Men have more causes for gaming (9) than women (6) do. Male players more value the content of a game, and for female players are more important to communicate with other players and the opportunity to try on different skins of the characters.