GAMIFY YOUR LIFE: GOAL ATTAINMENT USING VIDEO GAME MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS

Abstract

Over the past two decades, advancements in technology have paved the way for the rise of video games as the world’s most popular entertainment medium. Researchers have dedicated a great deal of time and energy exploring both positive and negative effects of video games on society, especially to vulnerable populations such as children and young adults. This paper investigated the associations of video game usage, basic needs satisfaction, and well-being, and how those mechanisms may be used to support goal attainment and relieve college maladjustment through two diary studies. Results were mixed; finding that though video game usage was positively associated with basic needs satisfaction and that basic needs satisfaction mediated the relationship between video game usage and well-being, there was no significant increase in goal attainment or college adjustment in the video game experiment compared to the control goal attainment task. Implications for future research are discussed.