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Locus of control and involvement in videogaming
Lloyd, Joanne Frost, Sally Kuliesius, Ignas
Lloyd, Joanne
Frost, Sally
Kuliesius, Ignas
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2019-02-13
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Abstract
Abstract An external locus of control (feeling low personal control over one’s life) has been linked with excessive/addictive behaviours, including problematic videogaming. The current study sought to determine whether this is driven by the opportunity for greater control over one’s environment within a videogame. Participants (n = 252, 59% males) completed a traditional locus of control scale, alongside a modified version assessing in-game feelings of control. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that feeling less under the control of powerful others in-game than in the real world was a significant predictor of gaming frequency (standardised β = .31, p < .0005), while feeling comparatively more internal control in-game than in real life significantly predicted problematic gaming (standardised β = .17, p = .02). This demonstrates that locus of control in-game can diverge from that experienced in the real world, and the degree of divergence could be a risk factor for frequent and/or problematic gaming in some individuals.
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Lloyd, J. et al. (2019) ‘Locus of control and involvement in videogaming’, New Media & Society. doi: 10.1177/1461444819828308.
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Journal article
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en
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1461-4448
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States