David E. Most

Magical Flight and Monstrous Stress: Technologies of Absorption and Mental Wellness in Azeroth

Videogame players commonly report reaching deeply “immersive” states of consciousness, in some cases growing to feel like they actually are their characters and really in the game, with such fantastic characters and places potentially only loosely connected to offline selves and realities. In the current investigation, we use interview and survey data to examine the effects of such “dissociative” experiences on players of the popular online videogame, World of Warcraft (WoW). Of particular interest are ways in which WoW players’ emotional identification with in-game second selves can lead either to better mental well-being, through relaxation and satisfying positive stress, or, alternatively, to risky addiction-like experiences. Combining universalizing and context-dependent perspectives, we suggest that WoW and similar games can be thought of as new “technologies of absorption”—contemporary practices that can induce dissociative states in which players attribute dimensions of self and experience to in-game characters, with potential psychological benefit or harm. We present our research as an empirically grounded exploration of the mental health benefits and risks associated with dissociation in common everyday contexts. We believe that studies such as ours may enrich existing theories of the health dynamics of dissociation, relying, as they often do, on data drawn either from Western clinical contexts involving pathological disintegrated personality disorders or from non-Western ethnographic contexts involving spiritual trance.

Restorative Magical Adventure or Warcrack?: Motivated MMO Play and the Pleasures and Perils of Online Experience

Combining perspectives from the new science of happiness with discussions regarding “problematic” and “addictive” play in multiplayer online games, the authors examine how player motivations pattern both positive and negative gaming experiences. Specifically, using ethnographic interviews and a survey, the authors explore the utility of Yee’s three-factor motivational framework for explaining the positive or negative quality of experiences in the popular online game World of Warcraft (2004-2012). The authors find that playing to Achieve is strongly associated with distressful play, results that support findings from other studies. By contrast, Social and Immersion play lead more typically to positive gaming experiences, conclusions diverging from those frequently reported in the literature. Overall, the authors suggest that paying attention to the positive as well as negative dimensions of inhabiting these online worlds will provide both for more balanced portraits of gamers’ experiences and also potentially clarify pathways toward problematic and addictive play.

Emerging social strengths in young children with down syndrome

Many individuals with Down syndrome show relative strengths in social functioning throughout childhood, and they may “overuse” their social skills to compensate for other weaker domains of functioning (C. Kasari & S. Freeman, 2001; J. G. Wishart, 1996). To intervene in this area, it is important to document the emergence of this social strength, and characterize those specific skills that develop with such competence. In this study, we present data from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development comparing early developmental functioning in young children with Down syndrome (n = 23) and a mental age–matched comparison group of children with idiopathic developmental delays (n = 25) at 12 and 30 months. Results suggest that early orienting and engagement behaviors in young children with Down syndrome may emerge with greater competence than other areas of development (eg, emotion regulation, motor functioning). We also discuss the implications of this study regarding early intervention planning that targets the emerging phenotype in young children with Down syndrome.

Patterns of Doctoral Student Degree Completion: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Despite decades of interest in Ph.D. student outcomes, there have been few comprehensive studies of doctoral student completion. Compared to research on undergraduate students, longitudinal studies of doctoral student completion in multiple disciplines at multiple institutions are exceptionally rare. As a consequence, there is relatively scant evidence to support general assertions regarding estimates and the temporal dimensions of completion rates. This study estimated and compared completion rates over time for 5,323 Ph.D. students from five fields in 16 institutions by field, gender, ethnicity, and prior Masters degree at entry status using the longitudinal database of the AAU/AGS Project for Research on Doctoral Education. Comparisons of the results with conventional wisdom and prior studies are offered. The findings can potentially inform the development of interventions and policy directed toward achieving desirable completion rates.

Religious Ritual Is Good Medicine for Indigenous Indian Conservation Refugees: Implications for Global Mental Health

We tested whether religious ritual lessens or increases stress and anxiety among indigenous Sahariya conservation refugees recently displaced from a wildlife sanctuary in central India. Combining ethnography with structured survey and salivary analyte data (the stress hormone cortisol), we tracked di/stress over two 9-day periods before, during, and after Sahariya celebrations of the Hindu holidays of Holi and Navratri. Results show postritual improvement on all psychiatric and analyte data. The effects were larger for individuals who were wealthier and reported higher insecurity, suggesting that ritual healing might be impacted by infusions of cash and resources and also by the relative precariousness of the performance context. Likewise, health improvements were lower for individuals reporting higher anxiety and depression, implying that rites such as these are more likely to instill psychosomatic resilience in healthy individuals than to serve as a psychotherapeutic intervention for persons suffering more severely. Our results suggest that the local work of culture can serve as a potentially important source of health resilience in situations of high uncertainty, potentially preventing stress- and trauma-induced suffering, which should be taken into account by state and NGO organizations extending aid to the world’s poor in similar disaster and refugee contexts.