New course explores effects of video games on the mind

by Isabela Placencia

Dr. Jessica Matyas (Photo by Isabela Placencia)

A new Psychology of Video Games honors course at Rochester Christian University is exploring psychological concepts from problem-solving to morality through the lens of video games.

Dr. Jessica Matyas, chair of the Department of Psychology and associate professor of psychology, teaches the Psychology of Video Games course. Matyas said she has played video games since she was young but had not seen the connection between video games and psychology until she was in college. Matyas said she saw a friend’s addiction to video games while playing “Final Fantasy” as “he kept compulsively stealing a pelt from a wolf,” despite there being no reward.

Typically, video games give players opportunities to obtain items, aka “loot." These items may be traded for gold. However, some items are more valuable than others with some being worthless. In Matyas’ friend’s case, he repeatedly stole a worthless item to satisfy his compulsions, making stealing his addiction.

“Even now, when playing a game, I go “Oh, I see what the developers did there,” Matyas said. When playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Matyas said she noticed the trolley problem, a philosophical thought experiment psychologists use to study morality. Phillipa Foot, a philosopher of ethics, created the trolley problem in 1967 to discuss the ethics of sacrificing the life of one person to saving many individuals.

Thus, when planning this new course, Matyas said she had about seven pages of notes gleaned from her experiences playing different games.

An accessible honors course

Although this is an honors course, Matyas said she wanted it accessible to those unfamiliar with psychology. “I like to write things in what's called common language, which means you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy science,” she said.

Matyas accomplishes common language through lesson presentations filled with memes that reference gaming culture. In Matyas’ lessons about problem-solving, she refers to Fallout: New Vegas stat penalties for low-intelligence characters to explain crystallized and fluid intelligence. In Fallout New Vegas, an intelligence score of three or lower results in “caveman talk” dialogue options in the form of grunting and incomplete sentences.

The Fallout franchise requires players to decide on stats that will impact gameplay, including strength, perception, endurance, intelligence, agility and luck. These stats are known as S.P.E.C.I.A.L. As a reference to Fallout and Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas penalizes the player for low intelligence.

Therapeutic benefits of video games

Besides using video games as a learning medium, Matyas also wanted to showcase the therapeutic benefits of video games.

For instance, Matyas said video game language can help people with depression accomplish “tedious tasks” by telling themselves they are performing “fetch quests,” which is when a video game tasks a character to collect certain items for them.

The low energy that may accompany depression can turn small tasks into monumental ones. Essentially, people struggling to fulfill their obligations can reframe their mindsets by labeling them as fetch quests. The change can make these chores more exciting and lighten the day.

Matyas said she wanted to show the positive side of video games since the field of psychology often blames video games for violence. “ You can’t blame video games. Science is too complex to whittle down hard questions to yes or no answers,” she said.

Sociocultural topics

The Psychology of Video Games course also touches upon sociocultural topics relevant to the gaming industry. Specifically, Matyas’ Diversity, Gender and Representation lecture emphasizes the importance of accurate representation. The lecture indicates that “representation of one’s self in public figures” fosters a sense of self-worth.

Matyas’ said talking about representation in video games can be “somewhat uncomfortable.” Her lessons highlight that even characters who are examples of positive representation have their shortcomings. Her lecture points to Final Fantasy's first playable black character, Barret Wallace of Final Fantasy 7, which came out in 1987.

Matyas said games often utilize black characters as “the comic relief,” but Wallace strays away from that trope as he is a capable fighter and displays “excellent morality.” Unfortunately, Matyas said Wallace has some stereotyping of Black men, such as his vernacular and short temper.

Regarding gender, Matyas said store aisles were the origin of why the gaming industry advertised toward men more than women. “Toy shops told Nintendo to pick a side for the Nintendo entertainment system,” Matyas said, as toy aisles were divided by gender—blue for boys and pink for girls. Nintendo picked blue even though its system was intended for everyone.

Media influence

Altogether, Matyas said her goal is to give her students “a little more perspective on how much media influences us,” as she believes “people struggle with theory of mind, which refers to the understanding that people think differently than us,” Matyas said.

She said modern games are “getting better at depicting people’s differences since characters act very human,” because they have their own fully formed beliefs and personalities. “Players have to think about how they will respond to these diverse characters,” Matyas said. Additionally, improvements to gaming hardware enabled developers to implement diverse physical features: hair, skin tone, blemishes and eye color.

Influence of video games

Jericho Crawford, a senior sports management major, said the course made him reflect on the influence of video games.

“I’m already starting to notice how games influence me and how my mind influences how I play,” Crawford said. “I also appreciate that games help me boost my critical thinking skills by allowing me to make decisions.”

Overall, the Psychology of Video Games course is geared toward people who enjoy playing video games and want to connect it with their minds' inner workings. Matyas said she hopes to offer the Psychology of Video Games course again in future semesters.