Jennifer Klatt

Entertaining Media Use and the Satisfaction of Recovery Needs: Recovery Outcomes Associated With the Use of Interactive and Noninteractive Entertaining Media

Recent research has linked the enjoyment of entertaining media to the satisfaction of intrinsic human needs (Tamborini, Bowman, Eden, Grizzard, & Organ, 2010; Tamborini, Grizzard, et al., in press). The present investigation addressed the satisfaction of recovery needs through the use of interactive and noninteractive entertaining media stimuli and the resulting recovery outcomes. In an experiment (N = 160), participants were first exposed to a working task to elicit the need for recovery and then randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: 1) a video game, 2) a video recording of a game, 3) an animated video clip, or 4) the control condition. The results demonstrate that interactive and noninteractive media stimuli elicit different patterns of recovery experience. Furthermore, recovery experience was significantly related to enjoyment as well as subjective (energetic arousal) and objective (cognitive performance) recovery outcomes. Enjoyment mediated the relationship between recovery experience and energetic arousal. The results demonstrate that the effects of need satisfaction associated with the use of entertaining media go beyond enjoyment and may affect recovery and psychological well being. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for research on the recovery effects of entertaining media and for current needs-based approaches to media enjoyment.

Subjective and behavioral presence measurement and interactivity in the collaborative augmented reality game TimeWarp

Presence is usually assessed via a variety of subjective and objective measures. However, constraints often result in subjective measurements using questionnaires as a key method of data collection. In this paper we present a study of 44 participants of a collaborative augmented reality game known as TimeWarp which used both subjective and objective behavioral measures. Behavior as coded from video recordings of one scene of the game and self-reports about feelings of presence were compared. Our findings indicate that pointing behavior and verbal responses to the virtual content are correlated negatively to sense of presence. We further investigated the influence of subjectively perceived interactivity on perceived presence. We found that the interaction possibilities perceived by the participants predicted their experience of social presence with the virtual characters in the game. Furthermore, playing together with another person did not result in decreased social presence of the virtual characters. Implications for presence research are discussed.

Negotiations in the context of AIDS prevention: an agent-based model using theory of mind

For the purpose of an AIDS prevention game, a model was developed that focuses on training safe sex negotiations. Non-player characters in the game are socially intelligent agents that are equipped with a Theory of Mind that allows them to reason about the mental processes and behavior of others. The underlying model for the negotiation about safe sex between player and agent was implemented in multi-agent simulation software. It consists of two agents who have different goals of either safe or unsafe sex, actions to achieve these goals, and the wish to come to an agreement. The model was evaluated for the agentagent conversation to test the basic functioning.

Makeup your mind: The impact of styling on perceived competence and warmth of female leaders

ABSTRACT Women are still underrepresented at the highest management levels. The think-manager-think-male phenomenon suggests that leadership is associated with male rather than female attributes. Although styling has been shown to influence the evaluation of women’s leadership abilities, the relevant specific features have been left remarkably unaddressed. In a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 (skirt/pants, with/without jewelry, loose hair/braid, with/without makeup) between-subjects design, 354 participants evaluated a woman in a photograph. Women with makeup, pants, or with jewelry were rated as more competent than women without makeup, with skirts, or without jewelry. A combination of loose hair and no makeup was perceived as warmest, and women with loose hair were more likely to be hired than those with braids. In sum, even subtle changes in styling have a strong impact on how women’s leadership abilities are evaluated.