Point of Contact: Dr. Hyerim Cho at hyerimcho@missouri.edu
Project summary: Video games have a unique interactive format characteristic; due to this nature, previous studies focused on the escapist motivations of video games as a relatively passive way of consuming entertainment media. However, the current project hypothesizes that video game players use video games as tools to actively cope with everyday emotional struggles, ranging from mild stress to more severe conditions, such as PTSD. This research project aims to identify which elements of video games influence their decisions on choosing a game to regulate their emotions and make suggestions for video game recommendation and reference services to enhance users’ search experiences and satisfy their affective needs.