Journal
JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS
Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 32-40Publisher
AKADEMIAI KIADO ZRT
DOI: 10.1556/2006.5.2016.012
Keywords
attentional bias; Internet Gaming Disorder; MMORPG; addiction Stroop; visual probe
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background and aims: Internet Gaming Disorder is included in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edition) as a disorder that merits further research. The diagnostic criteria are based on those for Substance Use Disorder and Gambling Disorder. Excessive gamblers and persons with Substance Use Disorder show attentional biases towards stimuli related to their addictions. We investigated whether excessive Internet gamers show a similar attentional bias, by using two established experimental paradigms. Methods: We measured reaction times of excessive Internet gamers and non-gamers (N = 51, 23.7 +/- 2.7 years) by using an addiction Stroop with computer-related and neutral words, as well as a visual probe with computer-related and neutral pictures. Mixed design analyses of variance with the between-subjects factor group (gamer/non-gamer) and the within-subjects factor stimulus type (computer-related/neutral) were calculated for the reaction times as well as for valence and familiarity ratings of the stimulus material. Results: In the addiction Stroop, an interaction for group x word type was found: Only gamers showed longer reaction times to computer-related words compared to neutral words, thus exhibiting an attentional bias. In the visual probe, no differences in reaction time between computer-related and neutral pictures were found in either group, but the gamers were faster overall. Conclusions: An attentional bias towards computer-related stimuli was found in excessive Internet gamers, by using an addiction Stroop but not by using a visual probe. A possible explanation for the discrepancy could lie in the fact that the visual probe may have been too easy for the gamers.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available