Think Aloud during fMRI: Neuronal Correlates of Subjective Experience in Video Games

Abstract

Experience of computer games can be assessed indirectly by measuring physiological responses and relating the pattern to assumed emotional states or directly by introspection of the player. We combine both approaches by measuring brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during Think Aloud (TA). TA assesses subjects’ thoughts and feelings during the game play. The comments and playing behavior were recorded while the brain scans were performed, content of game and TA was analyzed, and related to the brain activation. The fMRI data illustrated that brain activation can be matched to behavioral and experiential content. One category (focus) was associated with increased visual activity and its displeasurable experience with preparatory motor activity. We argue that the combination of subjective introspective with neurophysiological data can 1) reveal meaningful neural mechanisms and 2) validate the introspective method.