NCT04551638

Brief Summary

New technologies are changing the way of approach for many concepts that used to be quite established in the past. The Internet, and especially online videogames where people can create a customizable character to serve as their avatar on a virtual environment, seems to have a great impact on the way people construe their identity. People may use online gaming as a means to experience an enhanced version of their self that matches more accurately the attributes and traits they often relate to their ideal self or even other alternative selves. With this project, the researchers aim to study the role that new technologies have on the way people build their identity nowadays. More specifically, the researchers intend to study how people use videogame avatars as a means to explore different alternative identities. The rebelieve that, it is possible for people to manifest entirely different versions of themselves through their online videogame characters. Sometimes, those alternative identities may even be a projection of what the player considers to be an ideal version of themselves. Other variables may increase or hinder that capacity to project the ideal self on a customizable "virtual self"; some are inherent to the person, such as cognitive complexity, their current level of psychological distress or their main motivation for playing, while others may be more related to the specific game they play, such as the degree of immersion experienced while playing. The researchers will use the repertory grid technique to explore online videogame players' personal construct systems and how an ideal version of themselves and their perceived self-image may help to understand their need to explore alternative identities through their videogame characters. They will also administrate other instruments to measure people's experienced immersion when playing the game, the aspects of it that are more appealing to them, and their degree of subjective psychological distress in order to assess how these variables, among others extracted from the repertory grid, may affect this identity exploration.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
202

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for all trials

Timeline
Completed

Started Feb 2021

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 9, 2020

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

September 16, 2020

Completed
5 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 15, 2021

Completed
1.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 31, 2022

Completed
1 month until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2023

Completed
Last Updated

May 17, 2023

Status Verified

May 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

1.9 years

First QC Date

September 9, 2020

Last Update Submit

May 15, 2023

Conditions

General Population

Keywords

Personal constructsImmersionIdeal selfActual selfVirtual selfAvatarVideogamesMMORPG

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

  • Repertory Grid: Self-Ideal Discrepancy

    Measured with the Repertory Grid Technique: It measures the distance between a person's ideal and actual self. A lower discrepancy indicates a greater self-esteem.

    1 week after Day 1

  • Repertory Grid: Self-Virtual Discrepancy

    Measured with the Repertory Grid Technique:The distance between the actual self and the virtual self. A lower discrepancy indicates a person's greater identification with their videogame character.

    1 week after Day 1

  • Repertory Grid: Virtual-Ideal Discrepancy

    Measured with the Repertory Grid Technique: The distance between the ideal self and virtual self. A lower discrepancy indicates a person's greater idealisation of their videogame character.

    1 week after Day 1

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Repertory Grid: Presence of implicative dilemmas

    1 week after Day 1

  • Repertory Grid: Presence of dilemmatic constructs

    1 week after Day 1

  • Repertory Grid: Interpersonal cognitive differentiation

    1 week after Day 1

  • PENS: Immersion

    Day 1.

  • PENS: Relatedness

    Day 1.

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (1)

Online Videogame Players

One cohort of healthy young adults players of online video games.

Other: Psychological assessment with the Repertory Grid Technique

Interventions

Psychological assessment with the Repertory Grid TechniqueOTHER

The RGT is a constructivist psychological tool to explore the structure and content of personal identity.

Also known as: RGT
Online Videogame Players

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
Sampling MethodNon-Probability Sample
Study Population

People who play on a regular basis an online videogame that allows the creation of a customizable character. For this study, we are focusing on players of the game "World of Warcraft". We are focusing on general population from around the world who will be contacted online.

You may qualify if:

  • Have an active World of Warcraft account.

You may not qualify if:

  • Play World of Warcraft or any other game professionally
  • Consume drugs while playing
  • Previous or current record of severe mental disorders
  • Any condition that renders a person unable to answer online or face-to-face surveys,

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

University of Barcelona

Barcelona, Catalonia, 08035, Spain

Location

Related Publications (16)

  • Bessiere K, Seay AF, Kiesler S. The ideal elf: identity exploration in World of Warcraft. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2007 Aug;10(4):530-5. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2007.9994.

    PMID: 17711361BACKGROUND

  • Evans C, Connell J, Barkham M, Margison F, McGrath G, Mellor-Clark J, Audin K. Towards a standardised brief outcome measure: psychometric properties and utility of the CORE-OM. Br J Psychiatry. 2002 Jan;180:51-60. doi: 10.1192/bjp.180.1.51.

    PMID: 11772852BACKGROUND

  • Feixas, G., Bach, L., & Laso, E. (2004). Factors affecting interpersonal construct differentiation when measured using the repertory grid.Journal of Construc- tivist Psychology,17, 297-311.

    BACKGROUND

  • Feixas, G. & Cornejo, J.M. (1996). Manual de la técnica de rejilla mediante el programa RECORD ver. 2.0 (2a ed.) Barcelona: Paidós.

    BACKGROUND

  • Fransella, F., Bell, R. & Bannister, D. (2004). A manual for repertory grid technique (2nd edition). Chichester: Wiley.

    BACKGROUND

  • Garcia-Gutierrez, A. & Feixas, G. (2018). GRIDCOR: A Repertory Grid Analysis Tool (Version 6.0) [Web application]. Retrieved from http://www.repertorygrid.net/en

    BACKGROUND

  • Gilbert, R., Thadani, V., Handy, C., Andrews, H., Sguigna, T., Sasso, A. & Payne, S. (2014). The psychological functions of avatars and alt(s): A qualitative study. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, pp. 1-8.

    BACKGROUND

  • Hu, C., Zhao, L. & Huang, J. (2015). Achieving self-congruency? Examining why individuals reconstruct their virtual identity in communities of interest established within social network platforms. Computers in Human Behavior, 50, pp. 465-475.

    BACKGROUND

  • Johnson, D., Gardner, M. J. & Perry, R. (2018). Validation of two game experience scales: The Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) and Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 118, pp.38-46.

    BACKGROUND

  • Kovářová, M., & Filip, M. (2015). Integrating the differentiated: A review of the personal construct approach to cognitive complexity. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 28(4), 342-366.

    BACKGROUND

  • Montesano A, Lopez-Gonzalez MA, Saul LA, Feixas G. A review of cognitive conflicts research: a meta-analytic study of prevalence and relation to symptoms. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2015 Dec 4;11:2997-3006. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S91861. eCollection 2015.

    PMID: 26675503BACKGROUND

  • Przybylski AK, Weinstein N, Murayama K, Lynch MF, Ryan RM. The ideal self at play: the appeal of video games that let you be all you can be. Psychol Sci. 2012 Jan 1;23(1):69-76. doi: 10.1177/0956797611418676. Epub 2011 Dec 14.

    PMID: 22173739BACKGROUND

  • Ribeiro, J. C. (2009). The increase of the experiences of the self through the practice of multiple virtual identities. PsychNology Journal, 7 (3), pp. 291-302.

    BACKGROUND

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    BACKGROUND

  • Stevens MJ. Prescott Lecky: pioneer in consistency theory and cognitive therapy. J Clin Psychol. 1992 Nov;48(6):807-11. doi: 10.1002/1097-4679(199211)48:63.0.co;2-c.

    PMID: 1452769BACKGROUND

  • Walker BM, Winter DA. The elaboration of personal construct psychology. Annu Rev Psychol. 2007;58:453-77. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085535.

    PMID: 16903803BACKGROUND

Related Links

Study Officials

  • Guillem Feixas Viaplana

    University of Barcelona

    STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Observational Model
COHORT
Time Perspective
CROSS SECTIONAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 9, 2020

First Posted

September 16, 2020

Study Start

February 15, 2021

Primary Completion

December 31, 2022

Study Completion

February 1, 2023

Last Updated

May 17, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-05

Locations

ES(1)