Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-154). Also available in electronic version.

The aim of this study is to determine whether or not ethical egoism is promoted during gameplay of three role-playing video games namely Mass Effect, Fable III and Fallout New Vegas. The rapid expansion of the video gaming industry as well as game studies as an academic field have made it necessary to understand what effects video games may have on society. This study shows that gamers come into contact with various ethico-moral dilemmas during gameplay and act in an egoistic manner in order to complete video games. Firstly, an explanation of game and gameplay are provided as well as an outline of two game studies methodologies, namely narratology and ludology. These two methodologies are then combined into a hybrid approach which is used to analyse the video games from both a narrative and gameplay point of view which allows for a more comprehensive analysis of each respective game. Thereafter, a discussion of B.F. Skinner's behaviourism is given in order to better understand gamer behaviour. Skinner's concepts of positive reinforcement, schedules of reinforcement and operant conditioning are then linked to video games to show behaviourism's influences on game design. Ethical egoism, as theorised by Thomas Hobbes and Jesse Kalin, provides the ethico-moral theory necessary for the analysis of the morality mechanic in each game. Ethico-moral dilemmas identified within each game are discussed with regards to the hybrid approach which details both narrative and gameplay consequences of in-game ethico-moral decision making. The study concludes that gamers are ethical egoists when engaged in gameplay, due to their desire to complete the video game. However, during gameplay, gamers are exposed to altruism which is often promoted through the narrative and the nature of in-game objectives. Suggestions for further studies are also given for example a more detailed analysis of gamer behaviour, a qualitative study of in-game ethico-moral actions as well as a study of games that are non-violent in nature.

No description available.

The impact of environmental influences on depression has been well established by research. In particular, it is known that receiving/perceiving adequate social support has a protective influence on depression. Less is known about the protective benefits of providing support to others, namely in the form of altruistic, empathetic, or prosocial behavior. While research has shown that having altruistic attitudes and engaging in altruistic behaviors has a positive impact on physical health and mental well-being, studies on the association between altruistic attitudes and/or behavior and depression are limited. The present study examined the relationship between altruism and depression, and hypotheses were tested that allow for explanation of why altruism may protect against depression. A sample of 303 participants was recruited from the University of North Texas and the surrounding community. Participants completed an online survey that examined their altruistic activities, details regarding these activities, their prosocial attitudes, and their current level of depression. Results did not support that level of involvement in altruistic activities is directly related to depression severity. However, outcomes from involvement in altruistic activities, including sense of overburden from participating in altruistic activities, level of social interaction with other helpers and those helped during altruistic activities, and sense of life satisfaction and purpose gained from participating in altruistic activities, were significantly related to depression severity. These results suggest that participating in altruistic activities that are not perceived as overburdening may lead to outcomes that could positively impact depression. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

No description available.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006.

Empathy induced altruism is considered as the motivation of human cooperation, one of the most prominent pro-social behaviours in society. To explore the empathy-cooperation link, this thesis presents a series of empirical studies designed to uncover how reliable this association is. Specifically, the introductory chapters present an evidence-based systematic review and discussion of current theories, which take a critical view of the methodological approaches and provide the context and theoretical motivations for the empirical work of the thesis. The empirical chapters present four studies conducted in the laboratory to evaluate empathy-cooperation association, as well as other potential mediating factors via Public Goods Game (PGG) reflecting collective action in society (total approx. 540 participants). Study 1 was a replication of a highly cited finding that has been often used to support theoretical claims regarding the positive empathy-cooperation link, which in the present case was not found when examined using the PGG set up. Study 2 further explored the empathy-cooperation link alongside the impact of personal values as an information signal to support cooperative behaviour, to this end, shared social values predicted cooperative behaviour above and beyond empathy. Study 3 examined the extent to which empathy could be used to support cooperation in heterogeneous group settings by manipulating the distribution of endowments and the origin of endowments; again empathy had a limited effect on levels of cooperation. Study 4 was a replication of Study 3, but using a 2-player PGG, leading to differences between the patterns of results from the previous experiment. The concluding section considers the implications of the findings for current theories that build on the empathy-cooperation link. Overall the experimental findings do not support the statement that empathy induction is an effective way of promoting cooperation in PGG when financial incentives are involved. This enriches the understanding of empathy-cooperation.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-68). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 & res_dat=xri:pqdiss & rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation & rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29586.

Scare is the number of the altruistic pupils’ behaviour investigations. Lithuanian researchers V.Aramaviciute, E.Martisauskiene, O.Tijuniene analyse altruism phenomenon mostly in the spiritual values’ context of the young people; at the same time other scientists tend to analyse the phenomenon in its theoretical level (C.Kalenda, V.Kasparaviciene, S.Lileikis, T.Nilstun, C.D.Batson, T.H.Murray et al). Pupils’ psychosocial adaptation is more interesting in the initial education stage (R.Zukauskiene, F.Ivanauskiene, E.Griniene, E.p.Zambaceviciene, K.Ignataviciene et al), in the case of the senior forms pupils peculiarities of their psychosocial desadaptation is more interesting (R.Zukauskiene, G.Valickas, A.Juodraitis et al). I failed to find some researches on the altruist behaviour of the senior forms pupils as well as on their psychosocial adaptation. Subject of the investigation: psychosocial adaptation of the senior forms pupils and expression of their altruist behaviour. Aim of investigation: to analyse peculiarities of psychosocial adaptation of the senior forms pupils, altruist behaviour expressions and links between them. Tasks of the investigation: 1) To find out character of psychosocial adaptation of the senior forms pupils in different situations; 2) To find altruist behaviour occurrences through social provocation and to perform comparative analysis of the altruist behaviour, learnt through different methods; 3) To find out how demographic factors (gender, age... [to full text]