Videogame Rewards and Prosocial Behaviour

Abstract

1 CONTEXT AND MOTIVATION Prosocial behaviours are actions that can have a positive impact on others. The potential increase in prosocial self-concept from these acts is related to positive wellbeing outcomes [6]. Playing prosocial videogames can increase prosocial behaviour in real life. Research has shown that players who help Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in videogames perceive themselves as having performed prosocial acts [2, 8] and that in-game prosocial behaviour can transfer into real-world prosocial behaviour [2–4, 10]. The mechanisms behind this transfer is less well known, but rewards have been shown to have an impact [4]. Rewards are a common element in modern videogame design and can change the way people reason about their prosocial behaviours. Receiving a reward for prosocial behaviour can reduce moral and value-based reasoning, diminishing the likelihood of follow-up prosocial behaviour [4, 7]. If a reward is perceived as controlling, this can undermine autonomy, and reduce intrinsic motivation [1]. Rewards with authoritarian language or that emphasise extrinsic factors (e.g., “I expected you to perform up to my standards, here is your a reward.") can be perceived as controlling. If a reward is perceived as informational this can support competence and intrinsic motivation [1]. Informational rewards provide ‘effectance relevant’ information (e.g., “Good. You did very well on this game. You were right on almost all the puzzles"). It is possible that informational rewards could positively impact follow-up