Research Assistant: Social Psychology in Games and Digital Media

Introduction to the topic:

At the Games & Society Lab at Uppsala University, Research Mentor Dr. Joshua Juvrud uses psychological methods to understand better how different individuals (with different personalities, traits, and experiences) interact with various design mechanics related to digital media and games, and are in turn affected by experiences with digital media.

Project details:

Ongoing projects include topics related to AI generated content, streaming and online behavior, video games, and learning. Research questions and findings are therefore highly relevant for both developers of games and digital media, as well as psychologists, sociologists, and health scientists. As a Research Assistant, you have the opportunity to work with digital media or physical games (e.g., video games, escape rooms, board games, LARP) in an experimental context using research tools such as eye-tracking and psychophysiological measures to answer questions related to human behavior.

Research topics include:

Prosocial and antisocial behavior – We examine how children and adults view and then consequently interact with digital media (such as online games), the associated online communities, and how those experiences influence prosocial and antisocial behavior both within and outside of the media. We integrate state of the art psychology tests with design research in order to learn more about how people are affected by various digital media. This unique combination allows an individualistic approach and focus on how different users (with different personalities, traits, and experiences) are affected by various deign mechanisms. For instance, using eye tracking techniques further allows a new perspective by linking individual characteristics to the microstructure of attention and decision-making during the game and relates this to game mechanics and altruistic outcomes, and looks at long-term consequences for their moral compass and social actions throughout life.

Learning – In digital media, the information that influences attention and subsequent learning may include other sensory inputs, cognitive processes, emotion or emotional responses, or prior experiences and future expectations. Understanding these influences on attention may help us to, in turn, be able to predict, based on eye movements, in what ways the player is experiencing a game. By associating eye-gaze patterns with measures of player expertise, skill, and enjoyment, we can use eye-gaze to understand and predict player experiences. For example, how do skills developed as a musician affect learning and performance in a game. This research is informative for understanding not only learning a game and its mechanics, but also how that learning transfers to new games, new contexts, and even to learning situations outside of the game (such as motor ability). In physical media, such as board games, escape rooms, and city games, we study how these kinds of experiences differ from digital counterparts, as well as their utility for learning in educational contexts (such as the classroom)..

Social perception – Using eye-tracking methodology, we measure fixations, gaze direction, scanning patterns, and pupil dilation in order to understand individual differences in how people perceive various components of art and design in digital media, such as characters and environments. This is extremely informative for game design, but also for understanding how individuals are learning and responding to digital media. With this knowledge, we can improve media design (such as video games, apps, and online content) in order to assist in positive learning experiences for individuals.

Selected relevant publications:

• Juvrud, J, Meyers, L., & Nyström, P. (2023). People overlook subtractive changes differently depending on age, culture, and task. Nature Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51549-y
• Zhang, J. & Juvrud, J. (2023) Gender expression and gender identity in virtual reality: Avatars, role-adoption, and social interaction in VRChat. Frontiers in Virtual Reality. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-504082
• Juvrud, J., Ansgariusson, G., Selleby, P. & Johansson, M. (2021). Game or watch: The effect of interactivity on arousal and engagement in video game media. IEEE Transactions on Games. https://doi.org/10.1109/TG.2021.3073084

Faculty

Joshua Juvrud

Faculty

Ph.D. in Psychology (Uppsala University). As a research psychologist, his work has focused on the ways that novel techniques in research (eye-tracking, pupil dilation, virtual reality) can be used to assess how children and adults perceive and interpret people, emotions, and actions. Josh focuses this research in two fields. In developmental psychology at the Child and Babylab in Uppsala, he seeks to understand how children learn about their world and the social cognitive development of face perception and socialization processes such as gender, race, and ethnicity. In games research at the Games & Society Lab at the Department of Game Design in Visby, Gotland, his work examines the psychology of people, their actions, and emotions in game development, player engagement, learning, and immersion to understand better how different game players (with different personalities, traits, and experiences) interact with various game mechanisms and are, in turn, affected by game experiences. With DIS since 2020.

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