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Does Players’ Prosocial Behavior in Computer Game Predict Their Well-Being in Real Life?

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Games and Learning Alliance (GALA 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14475))

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Abstract

This study investigates the correlation between players’ prosocial behavior in computer games and their well-being in real life. Participants were invited to engage in a simple computer game where their task was to assist others in enhancing their mobility to reach the goal. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether the characteristics of this supportive behavior in the game could predict the participants’ well-being in real life. Participants’ prosociality was evaluated from two perspectives: a subjective evaluation of their prosocial behavior in daily life, as measured by the Altruistic Personality Scale (APS), and the number of assists provided in the game. While controlling for key demographic variables, the study examined the effect of participants’ prosociality on their level of well-being. The results revealed that players who exhibited more prosocial behavior in the game also reported higher levels of well-being outside the game context.

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Acknowledgement

The experimental environment was developed by Mr. Yuki Fujita as part of his graduation study. The author expresses gratitude to Mr. Fujita and Dr. Mayu Yamakawa, both of whom made beneficial contributions to the earlier phase of this research project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nagoya University, Nagoya, 4648601, Japan

    Kazuhisa Miwa

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  1. Kazuhisa Miwa
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Correspondence to Kazuhisa Miwa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Pierpaolo Dondio

  2. Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Mariana Rocha

  3. University of Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Attracta Brennan

  4. Berlin School of Economics and Law, Berlin, Germany

    Avo Schönbohm

  5. CAPTRS, Austin, TX, USA

    Francesca de Rosa

  6. Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Antti Koskinen

  7. University of Genova, Genoa, Italy

    Francesco Bellotti

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Miwa, K. (2024). Does Players’ Prosocial Behavior in Computer Game Predict Their Well-Being in Real Life?. In: Dondio, P., et al. Games and Learning Alliance. GALA 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14475. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49065-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49065-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49064-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49065-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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