Category Archives: FA16-Project 5

FA16- Final Project: Project 5

 

 

Poster Final 200-2 

 

Introduction

Social anxiety is a topic that has been commonly looked into and researchers seek to find alternatives that could reduce this anxiety. This study will examine the behavior of kids who are socially anxious and those who aren’t. After they play social games with each other, the results will give an insight of whether these games have an impact on them.

There has been some research that has been done to study how games can affect the social skills of people. One of those researches includes a similar one that was done with the Kinect games and kids with autism (Ge, 2016). This experiment was to test how social development is when kids with autism are exposed to the Kinect games. Their results showed that those games did help the kids and their overall development with skills in communication and relationships with peers. Also, there were more general studies, such as one that studied the relationship between playing strategy video games and self- regulation (Gabbiadini, 2016). This study showed that there was a positive correlation when looking at the people that played these games and their self-regulation, which meant that it did affect positively in self-regulation for everyday tasks. Other studies are much different, but it still researches social anxiety and certain games. A research was conducted to study the relationship between socially anxious students and playing drinking games (Mulligan, 2016). This study took place in universities where they conducted commonly played drinking games. The results of this study shows that those who were socially anxious played these games normally, especially if they were drinking to cope, they participated. These studies all vary with context, having different conditions and stimulants but they all show how different games can affect the behavior of socially anxious individuals.

This study will attempt to do the same thing, to show a correlation between a game and the behavior of socially anxious individuals. Instead of using the context that were already used in previous research this study will attempt to be more in detailed with examining every behavior that’s presented through a game that includes a scavenger hunt and working closely with peers. Current theories can be challenged by using a more qualitative approach and observations, along with recording data and quantitative results on the scores of their surveys.

This study will fill those gaps by having every action be recorded and rewarding the subjects for every time they are social. By just getting scores before and after the game is performed may not be enough to determine how they behave, so every action is rewarded and taken into account. Knowing that one is being rewarded for being social could trigger the subjects to continually perform that action. Also, by watching every action performed conclusions could be made on how their behavior has changed, if it did. It is predicted that socially anxious adolescents can develop more social skills and confidence through playing social games with peers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methods

The amount of subjects that were used were 8 students. They were recruited by being picked out from a group based on the performance on a survey that was given out. Those with the lower grades meant that they were less social and those with higher grades claimed to be more social. Half of the subjects were those with low grades and the other half were those of the high grades. This was done to compare results and to see how effective the game is on those who need help being more social as oppose to those who are already socially active. The subjects that were more socially active before the game were usually younger and the ones that seemed to have social anxiety were mostly older.

To collect data, observations were made and recorded during the game. All the subjects gathered together before the game so that it was explained and everyone began by introducing themselves and talking to one another. Everything was observed and those who interacted more received more stars. The students were aware of the rules of the game and that if they talked more during the gathering they get more stars. Observations were also made during the times when they were on the scavenger hunt and were at each checkpoint. By the end of the game, the second and last gathering was observed also to see how much more comfortable each subject was with talking.

I compared those who were originally more social and those who weren’t to see how well they improved on speaking and interacting. Things were explained as a group at the beginning of the game and data was collected by observations and also assessments at the beginning and ending of the game.

 

 

Results

The outcome of the experiment showed that there were more interactions between all the kids by the end of it. At the beginning the more socially active ones did talk more, some were quiet and the socially anxious ones were also quiet. However, throughout the game when getting to know one another and having to interact with each other everyone seemed to become more comfortable and the conversations began to come more easily for them, instead of being forced. At the end of the game when everyone was gathered again, everyone spoke more and there was more of a group interaction where they spoke about the game and all gave their opinions on it.

The mean score on the survey for the subjects’ satisfaction of socializing more with the game was 83.75 (SD= 26.37). This data is collected from the evaluation given to each student after the game was finished. The evaluation was composed of questions that asked how well they think they improved with communicating and socializing after the game.

The mean for the students who were on the social end of the group was 77.5% of an improvement of socializing more. This means that they felt like they didn’t really improve in socializing, instead for the most part things felt the same. However, the mean for the more antisocial subjects was 90%, which means that they felt as if they improved and it reflected in their actions.

 

 


Figure 1: Before the game began, subjects took the survey to determine how social they were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2: This pie chart shows the correlation of how the anti social kids

felt like they improved more after the games than the ones who were already social.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3: The scoreboard was kept inside the room where everyone was gathered before the game and while the subjects were being observed, I prompted a helper to put a star next to the person that I felt deserved one. Each subject’s initials were marked on the left and the right had their stars.

 

 

 

 

Discussion

There is a correlation between playing social games and becoming more comfortable with others. The results show that those who were very anti-social and usually don’t like talking to others ended up becoming very comfortable, for the most part. Many of the subjects were basically forced to interact with each other for the game and when they realized they were having fun and no one was rude to each other they all felt comfortable and socialized more than they usually do.

This experiment solves a major issue within young adolescents and teenagers for socializing. At around this age many of them have insecurities and feel like they’ll be judged so they hold back on interaction because of this fear. By creating a non judgmental and friendly environment, everyone realized it was fine.

This experiment is similar to the common exposure therapy that’s practiced. By putting the subjects out there to do what they don’t want to (socializing) and realizing that they aren’t being judged, they felt better. A problem that could’ve occurred with this study is that the subjects could’ve been biased. Results were collected by both observation and questions given to the subjects, but they could have lied on the exam and just acted happy. Future experiments could test to see if they act the same when meeting up again for the game in a longer time period. So the game could take place and a month or two later they could be invited again to play with the same people and see how social they are. This could test to see if they really did feel comfortable or they need to break out of that shell again, and compare how well they adapt that time.

 

 

References

Gabbiadini, A., & Greitemeyer, T. (2016). Personality and Individual Differences. Uncovering the association between strategy video games and self-regulation: A correlational study, 129-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.07.041

Ge, Z., & Fan, L. (2016). Social Development for Children with Autism Using Kinect Gesture Games: A Case Study in Suzhou Industrial Park Renai School. Simulation and Serious Games for Education Gaming Media and Social Effects, 113-123. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0861-0_8

Mulligan, E. J., George, A. M., & Brown, P. M. (2016). Social anxiety and drinking game participation among university students: the moderating role of drinking to cope. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 42(6), 726-734. doi:10.1080/00952990.2016.1188934

 

FA16- Week 16: Project 5

My experiment shows that there is a correlation between playing social games and becoming more comfortable with others. The results show that those who were very anti-social and usually don’t like talking to others ended up becoming very comfortable, for the most part. Many of the subjects were basically forced to interact with each other for the game and when they realized they were having fun and no one was rude to each other they all felt comfortable and socialized more than they usually do. This is experiment is similar to the common exposure therapy that’s practiced. By putting the subjects out there to do what they don’t want to (socializing) and realizing that they aren’t being judged, they felt better.

FA16- Project 5: Week 14

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I used 8 subjects for this trial and they were recruited by filling out a survey that identifies how social one is and how antisocial one is. Those that were most social were chosen and those that were antisocial were chosen equally, to see if the game had an effective on both types of subjects. Most subjects that were antisocial tend to be females and the more social ones were males. Each subject was asked to socialize with the other and during the scavenger hunts perform activities with their partner which is switched up so they have to become comfortable with everyone. The mean for the students who were on the social end of the group was 77.5% of an improvement of socializing more, which means that they feel like they didn’t really improve in socializing, instead for the most part things felt the same. However the mean for the more antisocial subjects was 90%, which means that they felt as if they improved and it reflected in their actions

FA16: Project 5- Week 12

The game included 10 individuals and for every round of the scavenger hunt the individuals were switched around so those who weren’t social interacted with others who weren’t and others who were very social, to see how to react and how comfortable they become. Half of the subjects were very social and the other half were more anti social. When the subjects were introduced everyone was to themselves, even the social subjects. But once the game started and everyone was basically forced to get to know each other and talk the social ones seemed nonchalant and the anti-social ones seemed more determined to win (seems like they wanted to engage) but weren’t as relaxed. The more anti-social individuals were a lot more comfortable when they were paired with another anti-social individual, rather than someone who was very social.

FA16: Project 5- Week 11

For this week I used the same group of children for the same game and I noticed a difference in behavior. The children seemed a lot more comfortable and even those that had social anxiety and didn’t like socializing were talking to their other peers more than the first time they met.

The main objective of the game is to be more comfortable with socializing and realizing its okay to express yourself. Many kids with social anxiety may feel like they’ll be judged by others so they stay to themselves, this game breaks that idea from their thoughts. The game taught the students how to be more social with their peers, which can also help in the future

FA16- Week 10: Project 5

The amount of subjects that were used were 30 kids. They were all recruited by taking a survey and then being chosen from that. The survey a variety of questions that helped us determine how social they were. To collect data observations were made and recorded during the game. All the kids gathered together before the game so that it was explained and everyone began by introducing themselves and talking to one another. Everything was observed and those who interacted more received more stars. The students were aware of the rules of the game and that if they talked more during the gathering they get more stars. Observations were also made during the times when they were on the scavenger hunt and were at each checkpoint. By the end of the game, the second and last gathering was observed also to see how much more comfortable each subject was with talking. I compared those who were originally more social and those who weren’t to see how well they improved on speaking and interacting. Things were explained as a group at the beginning of the game and data was collected by observations and also assessments at the beginning and ending of the game. The outcome showed that the game did affect them and they became more social after playing a few rounds.

FA16- Project 5: Week 8

The game, Social stars, consisted of 30 subjects. They were recruited by picking out from a group of students based on the performance on a survey that was given out. Those with the lower grades meant that they were less social and those with higher grades claimed to be more social. Half of the subjects were those with low grades and the other half were those of the high grades. This was done to compare results and to see how effective the game is on those who need help being more social as oppose to those who are already socially active. The subjects that were more socially active before the game were usually younger and  the ones that seemed to have social anxiety were mostly older. I compared those who were originally more social and those who weren’t to see how well they improved on speaking and interacting. Things were explained as a group at the beginning of the game and data was collected by observations and also assessments at the beginning and ending of the game.

FA16- Project 5: Week 5

The population of interest are children, in middle school. The subjects aren’t as social and they are chosen based on a survey that was given to every student. The survey consists of questions that determine how socially active the student is, about amount of friends, activities they participate in, etc. The lowest 30 grades are chosen, indicating that they aren’t very social, and some may have social anxiety and the highest 30 grades are chosen to compare to those. The game is designed to allow other players to have a social life, interact with others and have this impact their real life. In the game, the more social you are and the more friends you have the more points you get to level up. Throughout the game there are also messages that explains to the players how its okay to become friends with others and gives tips on creating conversations. Essentially each player have to create friends and location can also be enabled to create friends around your area.

FA 16- Project 5: Week 4

The cognitive process that I’ll be studying will be the perception young teens/adolescents have when playing video games, specifically those that contain violence and drugs.

My study is socially relevant because there are many children that play videogames that contain violence, drugs and other bad influences and its important to understand how they perceive these things in the games and how it can affect their lives. It’s important to understand if there is a correlation between their perception of these games and thinking its acceptable in real life. This is socially relevant because there are a lot of children that play these games and it may impact their lives, based on their perceptions of it. Many parents don’t pay attention to the correlation but they encourage it because even though many are underage they allow their children to play rated r video games.

This study will address more of an approach of getting feedback from children about the games, how they perceive them and if it leads to them behaving a certain way/ imitating what they see in these games. Observations will also take place during the session of playing the game to see if their behavior changes also when playing.

FA16: Project 5- Week 3

The game that I played was called Smorball, who’s developer was Tiltfactor and can be found on http://smorballgame.org. The game teaches new words and also multitasking skills and fast typing. The dominant form of interaction is typing the words that were presented. Cognitive processes were most affected by the game design because of having to multitask and memorize the words.

There’s one player in the game and three lanes where there are different robots that interactive competitively with you. The objective of the game is to type the words presented quick enough to attack the robots that are headed in that same lane. The rules of the game are to type the words correctly, following their guidelines, according to which lane a robot will show up on to attack them. Points are gained during the game whenever you win and if you misspell a word or allow a robot to attack you lose points. You can use the points to buy different skills and things to better your chances of winning. The conflict is introduced in the beginning by having the “announcers” discuss what the game will be like and how to navigate around it. It’s maintained by fighting off the robots. The game ends by finishing all the championships and getting to the last one where it’s a lot harder.

The main characters are the people on your team that are attacking the robots. The challenges that are presented are typing quick enough and being accurate. Over time when seeing the same words, you tend to remember how they’re spelled (some words are very long and may cause you to misspell them). The game takes place as if there was actual matches for championships. The general premise of the story is to fight off the robots by typing in the right words that are presented.