Player motivations: A psychological perspective – Barbaros Bostan
Strong focus on RPG’s (role-playing games).
On motivations of the player, placing several motivation theories an a map….
Video games can be classified as escapist experiences where active participation and immersion play a central role.
It is expected that this comparison should give readers insight into the following facts: the correspondence between psychological needs and other theoretical frameworks and motivational studies; the close relationship between goaldirected behavior and human needs; and the applicability of Murray’s [1938]study to the motivations of computer game players.
The specificity of the goal determines its clarity and comprehensibility. If goals are vague or unspeci?ed, people will be less motivated to act because axhieving them is not predictable [Klein 1989]. Another important element is commitment or concentration, which represents a person’s willingness to achieve a goal. The amount of effort a person invests in trying to achieve a goal also affects his or her probability of achieving it. Self-con?denceand self-esteem are other personal factors effective in triggering motivated actions. In fact, the ability to concentrate on a task, the importance of having clear goals, and the signi?cance of achievable tasks are also important components of a ?ow framework [Csikszentmihalyi 1990]. Flow experiences require high levels of skill and result in a sense of effortless action, and computer gaming is one of them [Sweetser and Wyeth 2005].
Needs represent states of desequilibrium (lack of something) in an organism and orient the prganism certain goals that will reduce needs
Barbaros Bostan made a different framework to represent Murray’s 27 motivations/needs to match to gaming theories;
1- Materialistic Needs:
- Acquisition (nAcq): To gain possessions; to grasp or steal things; to bargain and gamble.
- Construction (nCons): To organize and build; to combine or con?gure objects.
- Order (nOrd): To arrange, organize, put away, upgrade objects.
- Retention (nRet): To retain possession of things; to refuse to give or lend; to hoard
2- Power Needs
- Aggression (nAgg): To attack or injure; to murder; to belittle, harm or maliciously ridicule a person.
- Blameavoidance (nBlam): To avoid blame or punishment; to inhibit narcistic and asocial impulses in order not to be rebuked by others.
- Counteraction (nCnt): To overcome defeat or failure by restriving and retaliating (for pride’s or honor’s sake to avoid humiliation); to maintain self-respect and pride on a high level.
- Defendance (nDfd): To defend oneself against blame or criticism; to conceal or justify one’s failure; to offer extenuations, explanations, and excuses.
- Deference (nDef ): To admire and support a superior; to praise or honor; to yield eagerly to the in?uence of an ally.
- Dominance (nDom): To in?uence or control one’s human environment; to persuade, prohibit, dictate; to lead and direct.
3- Affiliation Needs
- Abasement (nAba): To surrender; to comply and accept punishment; to apologise, confess, and atone.
- Af?liation (nAff): To form friendships and associations; To greet, join, and live with others; to co-operate and converse sociably with others; to love; to join groups.
- Nurturance (nNur): To nourish, aid, or protect a helpless person. To express sympathy. To mother a child.
- Rejection (nRej): To abandon, ignore or exlude; to remain aloof and indifferent;to be discriminating and critical in the choice of friends.
- Succorance (nSuc): To seek aid, protection, or sympathy; to plead for mercy; to be dependent.
4- Achievement Needs
- Achievement (nAch): To overcome obstacles; to exercise power; to strive to do something dif?cult as well and as quickly as possible.
- Autonomy (nAuto): To resist in?uence or coercion; to defy an authority or seek freedom or independence.
- Harmavoidance (nHarm): To avoid pain, physical injury, illness and death;to escape from a dangeours situation; to take precautionary measures.
- Infavoidance (nInf): To avoid failure, shame, humiliation, ridicule; to refrain from attempting to do something that is beyond one’s powers.
- Recognition (nRec): To excite praise and commendation; to demand respect; to boast and exhibit one’s accomplishments; to seek distinction, social prestige, honors or high of?ce.
- Exhibition (nExh): To atract attention to one’s person; to excite, stir, shock, and thrill others.
5- Information Needs
- Cognizance (nCog): To explore, ask questions, satisfy curiosity; to look, listen, and examine; to read and seek knowledge.
- Exposition (nExp): To point to and demonstrate; to relate facts; to give information, explain, interpret, and lecture.
- Understanding (nUnd): To analyze experience; to abstract; to discriminate among concepts; to de?ne relations; to synthesize ideas and arrive at generalizations that are comprehensive and veri?able.
6- Sensual Needs
- Play (nPlay): To relax, amuse oneself, seek diversion and entertainment; to play games; to laugh, joke, and be merry.
- Sentience (nSen): To seek and enjoy sensuous impressions; to perceive and comment upon the sensuous quality of objects.
- Sex (nSex): To form and further an erotic relationship; to have sexual intercourse.