Nuyens et al. 2016. Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas Gamers: Preliminary Results on Experimental and Self-Report Measures


Nuyens, Filip, Jory Deleuze, Pierre Maurage, Mark D. Griffiths, Daria J. Kuss, and Joël Billieux.             “Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Gamers: Preliminary Results on                          Experimental and Self-Report Measures.” Journal of Behavioral Addictions 5, no. 2                     (2016): 351–56. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.5.2016.028.

Keywords: Internet gaming disorder - Internet addiction - Multiplayer online battle arena - Videogame addiction - impulsivity - delay discounting

This study was on a sample of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) players attempting to find a connection between MOBA playing and impulsivity. The subjects with the most impulsivity were connected to the most frequent playtime, not necessarily just their mere involvement with LoL. The conclusions of the study was that there was a strong connection between MOBA playing and addictive, impulsive behavior. The subjects were unable to delay gratification, showing that they are highly susceptible to becoming addicted to the games and possible other vices.
Thirty MOBA gamers aged 18-24 were surveyed based on multiple scales measuring impulsivity and problematic behavior. These gamers were selected based on their ability to speak french and having a high level in League of Legends. This was done to ensure that the gamers were highly involved in MOBA playing. The gamers were also given a task to measure their impulsivity by testing their ability to delay rewards. Most of the subjects failed to delay gratification.
This study shows that, although violent video games may not cause violent behaviors, perhaps video games still do have a negative effect. This could be dependent on the type of video games, and as this study found, MOBA players have more impulsive and addictive behavior. I will use this study as a starting point to analyse the positive or negative effects that MOBAs can have, as well as possibly other genres of video games.

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