How do people justify toxic behavior in games and how can games support those subjected to it?

When a game wants to communicate certain values, how does it do it?

One thing I’ve wondered is why people love difficult games (Dark Souls) or easy games (Cookie Clicker). Here, I’ll explore one theory that helps explain why we find ANY kind of game engaging.

Have you ever become attached to a place in a video game? A virtual environment that you’ve obviously never visited in the flesh but which you start to think of it like a real place?

What does it mean to be “passionate about” a hobby like video games? When is that a good thing and when is it a bad thing?

In this episode, I’ll explore some research on whether or not video games can make you smarter or help you develop certain cognitive skills.

What is nostalgia, how does nostalgia for games differ from nostalgia for different kinds of experiences, and what does it mean for our well-being?

What do research and theory say about how our avatars in video games and virtual reality may shape our behaviors –and how they don’t?

I talk with an expert on ADHD in children. We’ll talk about the challenges video games present and some strategies for dealing with problems.

How do games use the psychology of in-game purchases and virtual currency to affect your purchasing decisions?

How can Dungeons & Dragons teach all of us skills and let us practice important skills?

What makes us forget about the screen between us and a game world so that we start to feel like we’re actually there?

What’s the psychology behind role-playing in Dungeons & Dragons or video games?

What can the psychology of loot drops tell us about the evolution of the Diablo series?

Can playing a lot of games lead us to become better at explaining why a given character or behavior is moral or immoral?

Why are we motivated to keep playing games, sometimes even doing the same thing over and over again?

How some therapists are using games like Dungeons & Dragons for therapy and how it’s different (and the same) from the game you play.

In this episode, I talk about some of the psychology behind sales, especially digital sales that have no physical items or storefronts involved.

Could we develop a training regime for esports teams? My guest expert and I discuss the state of research on esports psychology.

I share a lecture I recently gave on the psychology behind video games and nostalgia, that bittersweet remembrance of times past.

What kinds of transformative experiences can watching Critical Role or actually playing Dungeons & Dragons create?

Why are fans so ready to get in fights over their preferred game properties or gaming consoles?

Could a commercial VR game you’re playing be used for therapy? What to know about VR therapy.

What’s the psychology behind when and why people cheat and what can we apply from that research to cheating in video games?

Twitch is changing how we think about parasocial relationships. Is it only one-sided when there’s audience interaction?

My guest and I discuss how physicians can specialize in caring for the mental and physical health of professional gamers.

Memes are a lot more sophisticated and complicated than you might assume. This episode unpacks the idea of memes and how we use them.

Ever seen or heard something from a video game while you weren’t playing? We talk about these “game transfer phenomena” and their implications.

My guest expert and I talk about the psychology behind geek fandom conventions, how people behave at cons, and how Covid has changed them.

How can psychologists help esports athletes improve, stay healthy, and thrive?

When games have a message, do players respond?

I have a full house of guests this episode, talking about a new book about psychology and Final Fantasy.

What does the research say about how video games can help us be more positive and happy?

How game designers avoid –or deliberately use– the psychological phenomenon of loss aversion

What does research say about why people troll in video games?

Why do people donate to Twitch streamers? What kinds of relationships do streamers and viewers have?

My guest expert and I talk about supporting those who play and work in gaming communities.

I and my guest expert, a psychology Ph.D. and researcher at Riot Games, talk about using psychology to make better games.

How one guild leveraged a basic understanding of economics to dominate other MMO players.

How do the mental models of League of Legends experts differ from other players? And what does it matter?

How one non-profit is using RPGs to teach skills, help people, and enhance therapy.

How do level designers look to psychology for helping players can navigate, move through, and make sense of their virtual worlds?

Guest experts discuss their “adversarial collaboration” to measure (or not) the effects of sexualized avatars.

Are friendships and other relationships formed in online games substitutes for offline relationships? Are they better?

Psychology of Games Summer Book Club concludes with Nir Eyal, author of newly released Indistractible.

Psychology of Games Summer Book Club begins with an interview with Dr. Pete Etchells, author of the newly released Lost in a Good Game.

My guests and I discuss how moral choices in games differ from other media and some of our favorite and most compelling choices from games.