Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om och hur svenska tv-spelare från olika Facebook-forum har upplevt Game Transfer Phenomena. GTP är ett fenomen där tv-spelens värld påverkar tv-spelarna efter att de slutat spela. Utifrån psykologen Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortaris teori och skala om hur vi kan påverkas har jag beskrivit hur detta fenomen ser ut och och undersökt om tv-spelares upplevelser kan ha  överensstämt med Ortiz de Gortaris begrepp. I denna studie siktade jag även på att undersöka hur spelarnas starkaste GTP-upplevelse kan ha sett ut. Jag skickade ut en enkätundersökning och fick svar från 241 respondenter. Det visade sig att majoriteten av spelarna som deltog i undersökningen hade upplevt detta fenomen. De främsta fenomenen spelarna hade upplevt var att: visualisera bilder från tv-spelen i huvudet eller se bilder från spelet när man blundat när man inte spelar; upplevt att man hört musiken från ett spel; velat eller känt en impuls att göra något i verkliga livet efter att ha sett något som påminner en om tv-spelet; fortfarande har haft samma tankar som när man spelar ett spel efter att man har slutat spela; och har sjungit, ropat eller sagt något ur ett datorspel i verkliga livet utan att ha haft för avsikt att göra det. Datan visade också att de starkaste upplevelserna som spelarna upplevt hade kopplingar till spelet och dess innehåll på många punkter. De spelserier som respondenterna hade haft starkast upplevelse från var World of Warcraft, Zelda och Tetris. Majoriteten av respondenterna svarade att genren RPG (Rollspel), hade givit dem den starkaste upplevelsen.  Därefter följt av den mer specifika genren MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Även Action-äventy, Förstapersonsskjutare, och pussel var vanliga genrer. Majoriteten av spelarna hade sin starkaste upplevelse på en tv-spelskonsol, följt av dator. De flesta styrde spelet med handkontroll, tangentbord eller mus. Spel med 3D-grafik var den kategori som påverkade spelarna starkast enligt respondenterna. Tredje- och förstapersonsperspektiv var ungefär lika vanliga. Spelet hade mycket interaktivitet, och innehöll stressfulla moment ibland eller ofta. Det var vanligt att det ofta eller hela tiden förekom upprepande moment. Spelet dominerades oftast av mycket narrativ, och var ofta immersivt, men ansågs inte vara särskilt känslosamt. / The purpose of this thesis was to examine if and how Swedish video gamers from various Facebook forums had experienced Game Transfer Phenomena. This is a  phenomenon where the video game world affects the video game players after they have stopped playing. With the psychologist Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortaris theory and scale of how we might be affected, I have described what this phenomena may look like and examined if gamers experiences have aligned with Ortiz de Gortaris concept. In this study I also aimed to discover how the gamers strongest experience might have looked like. I sent out a survey form to various video game groups on Facebook and got answers from 241 respondents. The data showed that the majority of the gamers that participated in the survey had experienced this phenomena. The foremost phenomenas the gamers had experienced was to: visualize pictures from the video game in the head or seeing pictures from the game with the eyes closed, when not playing; experiencing hearing the music from a video game; wanting or feeling an impulse to do something in real life after seeing something that reminds the person of the video game; still having the same thoughts as when the person was playing the video game, after stopped playing; and have sung, shouted or said something from a video game, in real life, without having an intent to do so. The data also showed that the strongest experiences that the gamers had experienced had connections to the game and its content in many parts. The video game series that the gamers had their strongest experience from were World Of Warcraft, Zelda and Tetris. The majority of the respondents answered that the genre RPG (Role Playing Game) had given them the strongest experience. Followed by the more specific genre MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing game). Action-adventure, First-Person Shooter and puzzle were common genres. The majority of the gamers had their strongest experience on a video game console, followed by a computer. Most gamers used to steer with a controller, keyboard or mouse. Games with 3D graphics was the category that affected the gamers the most according to the respondents. Third- and first-person perspective in the games was approximately equally common. The game had a lot of interactivity and had parts that were stressful sometimes or often. It was common that repeating parts occurred often or all the time. The game was usually dominated with a lot of narration and was often immersive, but was not considered having many emotional elements.

Storicamente, lo studio delle Nuove Tecnologie ha visto l’evoluzione di diverse discipline interessate alla valutazione delle stesse, in termini di sicurezza, usabilità, esperienza globale (dall’Ergonomia fino alla User Experience, passando per la cyberpsicologia). Tali discipline hanno identificato nei “bisogni degli utenti” la guida fondamentale di valutazione e design. Tuttavia, è mancata una contestualizzazione teorica del concetto di bisogno dell’utente. A tal proposito, questa tesi propone un modello teorico (PIM) basato sulla relazione tra tecnologie e intenzioni degli utenti. Queste ultime, sulla base della letteratura psicologica e filosofica, sono viste come l’antecedente mentale delle azioni, strutturate gerarchicamente. Sulla base del modello, vengono presentati tre esperimenti incentrati sull’interazione con le tecnologie e le intenzioni al livello motorio, prossimale e distale. I risultati del primo esperimento indicano che l’utilizzo di tecnologie interattive può modificare il contenuto rappresentazionale delle intenzioni motorie. Il secondo esperimento mostra che la presenza di intenzioni prossimali in utenti orienta la loro percezione di opportunità d’azione e la valutazione della tecnologia. Il terzo esperimento dimostra che la presenza di intenzioni distali negli utenti influenza la valutazione di usabilità di una tecnologia e le emozioni ad essa legate. La conclusione della tesi approfondisce l’importanza dell’analisi delle intenzioni nella valutazione delle tecnologie. / Historically, the study of New Technologies has seen the evolution of the various disciplines involved in technology evaluation, in terms of safety, usability, and the overall experience (from ergonomics to User Experience, and cyberpsychology). These disciplines have identified the "user needs" as the fundamental guideline for evaluation and design. However, a theoretical contextualization of the concept of user needs is still missing. This dissertation proposes a theoretical model (PIM) based on the relationship between technology and user intentions. Based on the psychological and philosophical literature, it defines intentions as the hierarchically-structured mental antecedents of actions. Starting from the model, three experiments are presented focusing on the interaction with the technologies and motor, proximal and distal intentions. The results of the first experiment indicate that the use of interactive technologies can modify the representational content of motor intentions. The second experiment shows that the presence of proximal intentions in users drives their perception of affordances in the technologies and their final evaluation. The third experiment shows that users’ distal intentions influence the evaluation of usability in the technology and the experience of usage-related emotions. The conclusion explores the importance of intention analysis in technology evaluation.

This study centres on the psychological effects new digital media, like the internet and cellphones, have on adolescents. Although the internet has enormous benefits, it also poses a host of risks that can make adolescents vulnerable to victimisation and/or developing associated psychosocial problems. Characterisations of adolescents’ social relationships in the internet medium, as well as the investigation of the continuity between digital media literacy and online social behaviours, carry high relevance for developmental psychology. It is during the adolescent period that peer interactions arguably hold the greatest importance for individuals’ social and behavioural functioning. Using a logic model for evaluation, the researcher conducted an exploratory research study on digital media use among adolescent learners aged 13 to 15 years to determine whether schools could guide them to think critically for themselves about the entire realm of these new media. The data were gathered from school principals, teachers, parents and learners from three secondary schools in Gauteng Province, which were purposely selected to represent different socio-economic circumstances. A total of 230 people (n=230) participated in the research. Mixed research methods were employed in this study. The quantitative research methods supported the qualitative research methods. The literature review suggested that current media literacy education, which forms part of the Life Orientation curriculum, does not enable learners to think critically or make informed choices about their behaviour in the digital world – because it incorporates neither ethics nor responsibility. One of the main aims of the study therefore was to investigate the importance of expanding existing media literacy education, namely by incorporating two additional learning categories in the curriculum: Digital Safety and Security, and Digital Citizenship. These additional learning categories were introduced in the form of lessons by the teachers participating in the study. A think aloud strategy was used whereby learners verbalise what they were doing and learning while engaging in the digital media literacy lesson activities. The learners’ verbalisations were used to ascertain what learning was occurring in the classroom. The experimental group demonstrated an increase in critical thinking from pre- to post-evaluation. This research therefore proposes that the signature element of intervention strategies for inappropriate online behaviour be to create a “culture of critical thinking”. This implies greatly reducing the risks cyberspace pose, and at the same time enhancing adolescents’ abilities to use it in ways that create and deepen healthy relationships – in the digital as well as the real world. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study centres on the psychological effects new digital media, like the internet and cellphones, have on adolescents. Although the internet has enormous benefits, it also poses a host of risks that can make adolescents vulnerable to victimisation and/or developing associated psychosocial problems. Characterisations of adolescents’ social relationships in the internet medium, as well as the investigation of the continuity between digital media literacy and online social behaviours, carry high relevance for developmental psychology. It is during the adolescent period that peer interactions arguably hold the greatest importance for individuals’ social and behavioural functioning. Using a logic model for evaluation, the researcher conducted an exploratory research study on digital media use among adolescent learners aged 13 to 15 years to determine whether schools could guide them to think critically for themselves about the entire realm of these new media. The data were gathered from school principals, teachers, parents and learners from three secondary schools in Gauteng Province, which were purposely selected to represent different socio-economic circumstances. A total of 230 people (n=230) participated in the research. Mixed research methods were employed in this study. The quantitative research methods supported the qualitative research methods. The literature review suggested that current media literacy education, which forms part of the Life Orientation curriculum, does not enable learners to think critically or make informed choices about their behaviour in the digital world – because it incorporates neither ethics nor responsibility. One of the main aims of the study therefore was to investigate the importance of expanding existing media literacy education, namely by incorporating two additional learning categories in the curriculum: Digital Safety and Security, and Digital Citizenship. These additional learning categories were introduced in the form of lessons by the teachers participating in the study. A think aloud strategy was used whereby learners verbalise what they were doing and learning while engaging in the digital media literacy lesson activities. The learners’ verbalisations were used to ascertain what learning was occurring in the classroom. The experimental group demonstrated an increase in critical thinking from pre- to post-evaluation. This research therefore proposes that the signature element of intervention strategies for inappropriate online behaviour be to create a “culture of critical thinking”. This implies greatly reducing the risks cyberspace pose, and at the same time enhancing adolescents’ abilities to use it in ways that create and deepen healthy relationships – in the digital as well as the real world. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)