When Playing Together Feels Different: Effects of Task Types and Social Contexts on Physiological Arousal in Multiplayer Online Gaming Contexts

Abstract

This study examines how task types (violent vs. nonviolent) and social contexts (solo vs. collaborative) affect physiological arousal in multiplayer online gaming. Our results show that social contexts modify the effects of violent game tasks on arousal. When compared with solo play, collaborative play led to a significant decrease in arousal in response to violent tasks, while leading to a slight increase for nonviolent tasks. The findings point to the importance of understanding how social contexts of game playing shape psychological experiences in multiplayer online games.