Return to search

A study of empathetic play in serious games

<p> This work explores some key questions associated with designing games to foster empathy. First, how can design practice build on the understandings of empathy that have been developed in a variety of disciplines? Although empathy has been thoroughly studied in many fields, the lack of standardized nomenclature makes it difficult to apply knowledge from one to the next. Here, I present a theoretical framework that helps organize and explain research on empathy across disciplines. I also use the framework to propose heuristic best practices for designing games to foster empathy. </p><p> Second, what does &ldquo;empathetic play&rdquo; look and feel like, and how does it impact the player? In the research presented here, 81 participants played the game Layoff. Some were prompted to play &ldquo;empathetically,&rdquo; while others received no prompting. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that the experience of empathetic play is distinct from that of entertainment-focused play, and that empathetic play produces distinct attitudinal and behavioral consequences. Specific findings include the following: </p><p> 2. Empathetic players approached in-game decisions as moral dilemmas, while entertainment-focused players were much less likely to engage with the game on moral terms. </p><p> 3. Empathetic players were much more likely to experience emotional states that have been associated with empathy in prior research, i.e., empathetic concern and personal distress. </p><p> 4. Empathetic players were more likely to associate their own histories with people represented in the game. </p><p> 5. Once the game was over, players who had been prompted to engage empathetically donated more of their remuneration to a charity serving victims of economic hardship. </p><p> Overall, these results suggest that (a) players will not reliably adopt an empathetic (as opposed to entertainment-focused) posture without some form of prompting, and that (b) empathetic engagement inside of a game can encourage altruistic behavior in the world outside the game.</p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10129582
Date25 August 2016
CreatorsBelman, Jonathan
PublisherNew York University
Source SetsProQuest.com
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typethesis

Page generated in 0.0019 seconds