Linda K. Kaye

‘To tweet or not to tweet?’ A comparison of academics’ and students’ usage of Twitter in academic contexts

The emergence of social media as a new channel for communication and collaboration has led educators to hope that they may enhance the student experience and provide a pedagogical tool within Higher Education (HE). This paper explores academics’ and undergraduates’ usage of Twitter within a post-92 university. It argues that the observed disparity of usage between academics and undergraduates can be attributed to a number of factors. Namely, academics’ perceived use of the platform for enhancing reputation is an implied acknowledgement of the importance of research within HE and the increasingly public engagement agenda. Additionally, academics’ limited usage of Twitter to support practical-based issues may be explained by issues relating to accountability of information through non-official channels. Moreover, students made greater use of Twitter for the passive reception of information rather than participation in learning activities. The implications of these issues will be discussed in reference to the study findings.

Emojis: Insights, Affordances, and Possibilities for Psychological Science

We live in a digital society that provides a range of opportunities for virtual interaction. Consequently, emojis have become popular for clarifying online communication. This presents an exciting opportunity for psychologists, as these prolific online behaviours can be used to help reveal something unique about contemporary human behaviour.We live in a digital society that provides a range of opportunities for virtual interaction. Consequently, emojis have become popular for clarifying online communication. This presents an exciting opportunity for psychologists, as these prolific online behaviours can be used to help reveal something unique about contemporary human behaviour.

My virtual friend

As mobile phones have evolved into Smartphones, they have become more than simple communication tools; transforming into personal assistants, entertainment devices and information gateways. There is a need to understand how this rapid transformation and complexity of Smartphone uses have impacted on users relationship with their phones. This study presents a thematic analysis of three focus group discussions around attitudes and experiences of owning and using Smartphones. Themes that emerged included a bifurcation in attitudes to Smartphones as simultaneously materialistic objects, and ones which users express anthropomorphic and sentimental views about. Participant accounts reflected the evolution of Smartphones from functional communication devices, to informational and recreational tools. Participants discussed using Smartphones to alleviate boredom and that device usage had become habituated for some users. However, context determined Smartphone use with some participants using them to feel secure while away from familiar settings. Participant accounts provide rich insights into different Smartphones uses and infer numerous implications for understanding why some users develop strong psychological attachments to them. Findings also imply that users may not be attached to the device itself, but rather the affordances on offer. The implications of these findings, for example in the assessment of Smartphone addiction, are discussed. Qualitative account of young peoples attitudes and experiences of smartphone use.Smartphone described simultaneously in materialistic and anthropomorphic terms.Smartphones help users feel secure when away from their familiar, home setting.Sheds light on reasons why some people may become attached to their smartphones.

A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder: Let us err on the side of caution

We greatly appreciate the care and thought that is evident in the 10 commentaries that discuss our debate paper, the majority of which argued in favor of a formalized ICD-11 gaming disorder. We agree that there are some people whose play of video games is related to life problems. We believe that understanding this population and the nature and severity of the problems they experience should be a focus area for future research. However, moving from research construct to formal disorder requires a much stronger evidence base than we currently have. The burden of evidence and the clinical utility should be extremely high, because there is a genuine risk of abuse of diagnoses. We provide suggestions about the level of evidence that might be required: transparent and preregistered studies, a better demarcation of the subject area that includes a rationale for focusing on gaming particularly versus a more general behavioral addictions concept, the exploration of non-addiction approaches, and the unbiased exploration of clinical approaches that treat potentially underlying issues, such as depressive mood or social anxiety first. We acknowledge there could be benefits to formalizing gaming disorder, many of which were highlighted by colleagues in their commentaries, but we think they do not yet outweigh the wider societal and public health risks involved. Given the gravity of diagnostic classification and its wider societal impact, we urge our colleagues at the WHO to err on the side of caution for now and postpone the formalization.

The role of social identity and online social capital on psychosocial outcomes in MMO players

Previous literature has found inconsistent relationships between online gaming engagement and psychosocial outcomes. To add clarity to this discussion, we explored these relationships though a multidimensional lens of gaming engagement. That is, we examined the role of gamer identity and online social capital as mediators of online gaming engagement and psychosocial outcomes (i.e. self-esteem, loneliness, social competence). We addressed this in a sample of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMOs) players (N = 708), via an online questionnaire to establish cross-sectional associations. Findings revealed positive relationships between MMO engagement (measured by a multidimensional measure), gamer identity, and online social capital. Additionally, gamer identity related positively to self-esteem and social competence, and negatively with loneliness. Differential outcomes were also found between social capital and loneliness. Specifically, loneliness was negatively related to online bonding, but positively with online bridging capital, highlighting the importance of exploring the constitution of gaming communities to assess their role in promoting varying dimensions of social capital and the associated psychological correlates. Taken together, we evidence the psychosocial benefits of MMO engagement, specifically in relation to the social value of identifying and connecting with others in MMOs. Additionally, we highlight the complexities surrounding the concept and measurement of gaming engagement.

The impact of higher fees on psychology students’ reasons for attending university

Abstract The introduction of the new UK tuition fees resulted in concerns about the impact on higher education (HE) uptake, and raised questions regarding students’ motivations for attending university. The current study explored first-year undergraduate psychology students’ (N = 56) reasons for attending HE through a series of focus groups. These were undertaken both before (n = 21) and after (n = 35) the rise in fees, providing a pre–post comparison of potential changes. Results from the pre-fee rise sample showed that general reasons for attending HE reflected wider, contextual factors, drawing on socio-cultural influences. However, the post-fee rise data suggested that HE uptake was largely motivated more by career opportunities associated with degree-level education. Similarly, reasons for choosing psychology-based courses was related to vocational interest, suggesting strategic decision-making processes of students embarking on HE. The findings present new evidence of the role of financial investment in HE on general and course-specific motivation. Implications of the findings are discussed, with particular reference to the development of relevant employability initiatives within HE curricula.

The relationships between the structural video game characteristics, video game engagement and happiness among individuals who play video games

The present study investigated the relationships between the structural video game characteristics (e.g. social, presentation and punishment features), video game engagement components (e.g. flow, immersion and psychological absorption) and general happiness among an international sample of individuals who play video games. Online questionnaires were completed by 207 participants who simultaneously had their favourite or most played video game in mind while completing the questionnaires. The results indicated that flow was significantly predicted when individuals rated punishment (e.g. lose a life, restart a level) and presentation (e.g. audio and graphics) characteristics as present and important. A negative and weak relationship was found between general happiness and flow. It was concluded that the punishment and presentation features aid in the facilitation of a flow experience, as the punishment gaming aspects may contribute to the task difficulty and degree of effort required to achieve a flow state, when playing video games. Engaging video games research is evaluated in relation to theory and applications.A study is conducted using online questionnaires and correlational data analysis.Implications of results are provided for researchers and video game developers.

“Internet Addiction”: A conceptual minefield

With Internet connectivity and technological advancement increasing dramatically in recent years, “Internet addiction” (IA) is emerging as a global concern. However, the use of the term ‘addiction’ has been considered controversial, with debate surfacing as to whether IA merits classification as a psychiatric disorder as its own entity, or whether IA occurs in relation to specific online activities through manifestation of other underlying disorders. Additionally, the changing landscape of Internet mobility and the contextual variations Internet access can hold has further implications towards its conceptualisation and measurement. Without official recognition and agreement on the concept of IA, this can lead to difficulties in efficacy of diagnosis and treatment. This paper therefore provides a critical commentary on the numerous issues of the concept of “Internet addiction”, with implications for the efficacy of its measurement and diagnosticity.

Digital Traces of behaviour within addiction: Response to Griffiths (2017)

Griffiths’ (2017) response to the recent commentary piece by Ryding and Kaye (2017) on “Internet Addiction: A conceptual minefield” provided a useful critique and extension of some key issues. We take this opportunity to further build upon on one of these issues to provide some further insight into how the field of “internet addiction” (IA) or technological addictions more generally, may benefit from capitalising on behavioural data. As such, this response extends Griffiths’ (2007) points surrounding the efficacy of behavioural data previously used in studies on problematic gambling, to consider its merit for future research on IA or associated topics such as Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) or “Smartphone addiction”. Within this, we highlight the challenges associated with utilising behavioural data but provide some practical solutions which may support researchers and practitioners in this field. These recent developments could, in turn, advance our understanding and potentially validate such concepts by establishing behavioural correlates, conditions and contexts. Indeed, corroborating behavioural metrics alongside self-report measures presents a key opportunity if scholars and practitioners are to move the field forward.

The effect of flow and context on in-vivo positive mood in digital gaming.

Abstract Although research extols the positive effects of social gaming, the dynamic processes underlying these effects remain unclear. In a hitherto unused approach in this field, we utilised a Smartphone App to model the effect of in-vivo flow and gaming context on positive mood. We also explored individual-level factors including demographic gaming variables (average hours per week playing, gamer-type, preferred type of play) and Big-5 personality traits. Data was obtained from 41 gamers producing a total of 2796 data-points. Multi-level modelling revealed positive mood was associated with in-vivo reports of flow in gameplay, current context and individual-level variance in the number of hours typically spent engaged in playing per week. Specifically, in-vivo positive mood was higher for players when playing online with friends (relative to those playing solo). Higher reports of flow were, nonetheless, associated with decreases in positive mood. Finally, players who indicated playing less frequently experienced higher positive mood, relative to those who played more. These findings support and extend previous work which explores the emotional affordances of gaming and highlight the importance of obtaining situated measures of experiences. They demonstrate that positive mood in gaming is not static, but changeable depending on ones current gaming environment and flow.