How expected and experienced reward and relief contribute to gaming-related mental imagery and gaming frequency in daily life: Testing a dual pathway hypothesis

Abstract

Background and aimsResearch on the development of gaming disorder assumes that the quality of reinforcement learning as well as the content of use expectancies are initially rewarding in the early stages of the addictive behavior and becomes steadily more compensatory in the later stages. This assumed transition could be reflected in gaming-related mental imagery as well as the decision to play videogames in daily life.MethodsWe recruited 127 individuals who play videogames. Following a strict diagnostic procedure, individuals were either classified as showing casual or at-risk gaming patterns. The experience and expectancy of reward and relief were assessed in the laboratory, followed by a 14-day ambulatory assessment asking for gaming-related mental imagery intensity and playing frequency. Besides group differences, we tested a gratification and a compensation pathway in a structural equation model among groups separately.ResultsResults indicate that mental imagery and playing frequency as well as reinforcement processes and use expectancies are heightened among individuals showing at-risk gaming patterns as compared to casual gaming patterns. Gaming-related mental imagery was only predicted by compensation among individuals showing casual gaming patterns, and we found no significant predictions for daily gaming frequency in any of the models.Discussion and conclusionsThe results implicate that individuals with at-risk gaming patterns might hold stronger learned reinforcement contingencies. Daily usage seems unaffected by these contingencies, possibly indicative of habitualized behaviors. Additionally, the results provide some support for the consideration of imaginal desire thoughts as a specific coping mechanism in the context of gaming behaviors.

Investigating the cognitive and affective dynamics of social media addiction: Insights from peer contexts.

“…For example, an individual might initially turn to social media as a way to cope with rejection (increased fear-driven process) but may also find pleasure and a sense of popularity after using social media (increased reward-driven process). In this scenario, these two processes coexist, each manifesting salience at different times (Brandtner et al, 2023). However, it is also plausible that following rejection, an individual primarily turns to social media for compensation due to heightened negative affect (increased fear-driven process) and might forego the enjoyable aspects of social media use (decreased reward-driven process) due to low positive affect.…”