Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Children’s Motives to Start, Continue, and Stop Playing Video Games: Confronting Popular Theories with Real-World Observations

  • Technology Addiction (J Billieux, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Addiction Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The current study reviews popular theoretical perspectives that cover motives for video gaming and confronts them with findings from interviews with children.

Recent Findings

Psychological and behavioral engagements with games have been explained using a number of theoretical approaches, which can be crudely categorized into three major groups: (1) active choice, such as Uses and Gratifications Theory; (2) social cognitive learning, such as Social Cognitive Theory; and (3) basic psychological needs, such a Self-Determination Theory.

Summary

Considerable overlap was found between theories and many theoretical aspects were confirmed in the interviews. However, the interviews reveal that current models insufficiently account for the dynamic nature of gaming over time (e.g., in-game asset ownership, notification systems, or in-game timers) and the crucial role of game-external context (e.g., parental regulation, weather conditions, game accessibility). Accounting for these dynamics in future work would help us to better understand and contribute to balanced, non-problematic video gaming behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. Hamari J, Koivisto J, Sarsa H. Does gamification work a literature review of empirical studies on gamification. Proceedings of the 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, USA, 6-9 Jan. 2014: 3025–3034. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6758978/.

  2. Baranowski T, Abdelsamad D, Baranowski J, O’Connor TM, Thompson D, Barnett A, et al. Impact of an active video game on healthy children’s physical activity. Pediatrics. 2012;129:e636–42.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. McCallum S. Gamification and serious games for personalized health. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012;177:85–96.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Granic I, Lobel A, Engels RCME. The benefits of playing video games. Am Psychol. 2014;69:66–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Nikken P, Schols M. How and why parents guide the media use of young children. J Child Fam Stud. 2015;24:3423–35.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Benrazavi R, Teimouri M, Griffiths MD. Utility of parental mediation model on youth’s problematic online gaming. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2015;13:712–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Baranowski T, Blumberg F, Buday R, et al. Games for health for children—current status and needed research. Games Health J. 2016;5:1–12.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Griffiths MD, Van Rooij AJ, Kardefelt-Winther D, et al. Working towards an international consensus on criteria for assessing internet gaming disorder: a critical commentary on Petry et al. (2014). Addiction. 2016;111:167–75.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Olson CK. Children’s motivations for video game play in the context of normal development. Rev Gen Psychol. 2010;14:180–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Boyle EA, Connolly TM, Hainey T, Boyle JM. Engagement in digital entertainment games: a systematic review. Comput Human Behav. 2012;28:771–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. De Grove F, Cauberghe V, Van Looy J. In pursuit of play: toward a social cognitive understanding of determinants of digital play. Commun Theory. 2014;24:205–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. •• De Grove F, Cauberghe V, Van Looy J. Development and validation of an instrument for measuring individual motives for playing digital games. Media Psychol. 2016;19:101–25. A broad, well-validated, and standardized implementation a multi-theory instrument that covers both behavior and various motivations for play

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Wu J-H, Wang S-C, Tsai H-H. Falling in love with online games: the uses and gratifications perspective. Comput Human Behav. 2010;26:1862–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. • Sherry JL, Lucas K, Greenberg BS, Lachlan K. Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preferences. In: Vorderer P, Bryant J, editors. Play. video games. Motives, responses, consequences. New York, NY: Routledge; 2006. p. 213–24. A clear implementation of the Uses and Gratifications paradigm in the area of video game research.

    Google Scholar 

  15. • Bartle R. Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: players who suit MUDs. J MUD Res. 1996;1:19. One of the first papers that searched for motivations in relation to online video games

    Google Scholar 

  16. • Yee N. Motivations for play in online games. Cyberpsychology. Behav Soc Netw. 2006;9:772–5. A refinement and more modern take on motivations, in modern MMORPG video games

    Google Scholar 

  17. Bandura A. Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 1991;50:248–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Lee D, Larose R. A socio-cognitive model of video game usage. J Broadcast Electron Media. 2007;51:632–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Yoon G, Duff BRL, Ryu S. Gamers just want to have fun? Toward an understanding of the online game acceptance. J Appl Soc Psychol. 2013;43:1814–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. LaRose R. The problem of media habits. Commun Theory. 2010;20:194–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Neys JLD, Jansz J, Tan ESH. Exploring persistence in gaming: the role of self-determination and social identity. Comput Human Behav. 2014;37:196–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Przybylski AK, Ryan RM, Rigby CS. The motivating role of violence in video games. Personal Soc Psychol Bull. 2009;35:243–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Castellar EPN, Antons J-N, Marinazzo D, Van LJ. Being in the zone: using behavioral and EEG recordings for the indirect assessment of flow. PeerJ Prepr. 2016:1–30.

  24. Csikszentmihalyi M. Flow and the foundations of positive psychology. The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 2014; doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8.

  25. Billieux J, Van Der Linden M, Achab S, Khazaal Y, Paraskevopoulos L, Zullino D, et al. Why do you play World of Warcraft? An in-depth exploration of self-reported motivations to play online and in-game behaviours in the virtual world of Azeroth. Comput Human Behav. 2013;29:103–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Männikkö N, Billieux J, Nordström T, Koivisto K, Kääriäinen M. Problematic gaming behaviour in Finnish adolescents and young adults: relation to game genres, gaming motives and self-awareness of problematic use. Int J Ment Health Addict. 2017;15:324–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kuss DJ, Louws J, Wiers RW. Online gaming addiction? Motives predict addictive play behavior in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Cyberpsychology, Behav Soc Netw. 2012;15:480–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Billieux J, Chanal J, Khazaal Y, Rochat L, Gay P, Zullino D, et al. Psychological predictors of problematic involvement in massively multiplayer online role-playing games: illustration in a sample of male cybercafé players. Psychopathology. 2011;44:165–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Williams D, Yee N, Caplan SE. Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile. J Comput Commun. 2008;13:993–1018.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Bandura A. Social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective. Annu Rev Psychol. 2001;52:1–26.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. •• LaRose R, Eastin MS. A social cognitive theory of internet uses and gratifications: toward a new model of media attendance. J Broadcast Electron Media. 2004;48:358–77. Central study that introduces the concept of habit and expected outcomes in relationship to media behavior

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. De Grove F, Breuer J, Chen V, Ratan R, Quandt T, Van Looy J. Validating the digital games motivation scale for comparative research between countries and sexes. Comput Educ. 2016;94:1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Ajzen I. The theory of planned behaviour: reactions and reflections. Psychol Health. 2011;26:1113–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Venkatesh V, Davis FD. A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal studies. Manag Sci. 2000;46:186–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Davis FD. User acceptance of information technology: system characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts. Int J ManMachine Stud. 1993;38:475–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Venkatesh V, Morris MG, Davis GB, Davis FD. User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view. MIS Q. 2004;27:425–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Deci EL, Ryan RM. Self-determination theory: a macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Can Psychol Can. 2008;49:182–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol. 2000;55:68–78.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. • Ryan RM, Rigby CS, Przybylski A. The motivational pull of video games: a self-determination theory approach. Motiv Emot. 2006;30:347–63. An important paper describing the application and argumentation for applying the Self-Determination Theory to the subject of video games

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Sherry JL. Flow and media enjoyment. Commun Theory. 2004;14:328–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Rau P-LP, Peng S-Y, Yang C-C. Time distortion for expert and novice online game players. CyberPsychology Behav. 2006;9:396–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Hsu C, Lu H. Why do people play on-line games? An extended TAM with social influences and flow experience. Inf Manag. 2004;41:853–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Birk M V., Atkins C, Bowey JT, Mandryk RL. Fostering intrinsic motivation through avatar identification in digital games. In: Proc. 2016 CHI Conf. Hum. Factors Comput. Syst.—CHI ‘16. ACM Press, New York, New York, USA, 2016 pp 2982–2995.

  44. Zaman B, Vanden Abeele V. Laddering with young children in user eXperience evaluations: theoretical groundings and a practical case. Qual Res. 2010:156–65.

  45. LaRossa R. Grounded theory methods and qualitative family research. J Marriage Fam. 2005;67:837–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Kardefelt-Winther D, Heeren A, Schimmenti A, Van Rooij AJ, Maurage P, Colder Carras M, et al. How can we conceptualize behavioural addiction without pathologizing common behaviours? Addiction. 2017; doi:10.1111/add.13763.

  47. Merikivi J, Tuunainen V, Nguyen D. What makes continued mobile gaming enjoyable? Comput Human Behav. 2017;68:411–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Lewis ML, Weber R, Bowman ND. “They may be pixels, but they’re MY pixels:” developing a metric of character attachment in role-playing video games. CyberPsychology Behav. 2008;11:515–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Teng C-I. Strengthening loyalty of online gamers: goal gradient perspective. Int J Electron Commer. 2016;21:132–51.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Smith LJ, Gradisar M, King DL, Short M. Intrinsic and extrinsic predictors of video-gaming behaviour and adolescent bedtimes: the relationship between flow states, self-perceived risk-taking, device accessibility, parental regulation of media and bedtime. Sleep Med. 2017;30:64–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Petry NM, Rehbein F, Gentile DA, et al. An international consensus for assessing internet gaming disorder using the new DSM-5 approach. Addiction. 2014;109:1399–406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. King DL, Kaptsis D, Delfabbro PH, Gradisar M. Effectiveness of brief abstinence for modifying problematic internet gaming cognitions and behaviors. J Clin Psychol. 2017;0:1–13.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. imec-mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Antonius J. Van Rooij, Rowan Daneels, Sien Liu, Sarah Anrijs & Jan Van Looy

  2. Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Da Costakade 45, 3521 VS, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Antonius J. Van Rooij

  3. Institute for Media Studies (IMS), University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Rowan Daneels

Authors
  1. Antonius J. Van Rooij
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rowan Daneels
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sien Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sarah Anrijs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jan Van Looy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonius J. Van Rooij.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Dr. Antonius J. Van Rooij, Rowan Daneels, Sien Liu, Sarah Anrijs, and Dr. Jan Van Looy declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

Ethical approval was obtained for the interviews via the internal Ghent University ethical board.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Technology Addiction

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Van Rooij, A.J., Daneels, R., Liu, S. et al. Children’s Motives to Start, Continue, and Stop Playing Video Games: Confronting Popular Theories with Real-World Observations. Curr Addict Rep 4, 323–332 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-017-0163-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-017-0163-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation