Kyle Madsen
The Differential Effects of Agency on Fear Induction Using a Horror Themed Video Game
What if we could fool the brain into believing that you were personally in danger? A real bear attack would be a frightening experience, but how could we make you feel those same emotions without the actual risk of putting you in a cage with a bear? Video games give a sense of agency in a virtual environment. It was found that the more control and choice given to a subject, the more they feel a sense of presence, and that their actions have consequences.
Kyle Madsen, a recent graduate from BYU-Hawaii wanted to answer the question of whether subjects who play a horror-themed video game would experience greater fear response than those who merely watch a screen-captured recording of the same video game being played.
What made you want to study the experience of fear and agency?
"I found research studying the idea of agency and how that might work in a virtual environment or video game. The more control and choice is given to the subject, the more they feel a sense of presence, and that their actions have consequences. Because playing video games is a hobby of mine, I was naturally drawn to the idea of using them in my research project. So I just started devouring game literature. What I found was an abundance of research on the topic of aggression. Particularly, I found studies that compared playing as an aggressive character versus watching an aggressive character in a film. While aggression research is important, I wanted to do something different. So I developed a similar method, but with fear as the dependent variable."
Kyle gathered 53 undergraduate participants to help him with his study. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups; one playing the horror-themed video game, and the other watching a recording of the horror-themed video game. In order to record the fear response, Kyle measured electrodermal activity (EDA), respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), and self-reported fear.
Using change scores, one-tailed independent t-tests revealed that the participants in the play condition had greater increases in EDA, RR, and HR than participants in the watch group. However, self-reported fear did not significantly differ between groups. These results suggest that agency plays a role in the elicitation of physiological fear response, despite no measurable difference in experiential fear.
What did you enjoy most about your experiment?
"Running participants was by far the most rewarding part of the study. Simply put, it was fun. Sure, it was a lot of work. But it was on topics I found interesting, and which were used to answer a question I genuinely wanted to learn. I didn't have a sense of hard work because it was engaging. As a research assistant who's worked on multiple types of projects, both survey and experimental, I can say with confidence that the ones that require running an experiment are the most enjoyable. There was one subject, who became so frightened at a moment, that he fell out of his chair and caused some electrodes to detach. We had a good laugh about it together afterward. A close second or equivalent to this was having my paper accepted for publication a few months later. I enjoy writing, so the process of drafting and editing was enjoyable too. Plus, it's a good feeling to look up the paper on google scholar."
Kyle later commented about the importance of video game research in our day. He stated, "Electronics are a part of our lives and are involved in our day-to-day activities. It is important to understand the effects of our interaction with this technology on our physiological and psychological well being." Kyle has plans to move on to graduate school in the clinical field. "I am still interested in psychophysiology, so I'm hoping to go into a field where psychophysiology tools are used to better the lives of others."
Kyle expresses his gratitude for the friendships and exceptional education he has received here at BYU-Hawaii over the past three years. His experience was beyond his expectations. "I set specific goals to improve my habits and priorities, and I am proud to say I have reached those goals." His mission experience was mentioned to have given him a greater mentality to help reach his desired goals here at BYUH. In his last few comments he stated,
"We all have the capacity to improve. I believe that now more than ever. Not only did I reach my goals, but my education here allowed me to stretch higher. Because of BYUH, I've presented research on a local and national level. Because of BYUH and the Psychology department, I had the opportunity to be a research assistant for the last two years. Because of BYUH, I have traveled with fellow students to conferences to get connected to future education and career opportunities. Because of BYUH, I published a research paper in a peer-reviewed academic journal. I am thankful for both the Psychology and English department faculty. They have an immense love for teaching, for research, and for their students. It's not difficult to see that. If I had a choice to go back in time, I would not change a thing. In fact, I would more adamantly choose this exact same route, knowing what it would entail. I'm mostly thankful to God for making this possible for me."
You can see Kyle's study in more detail, including statistical test results, by viewing his project poster here.
