Date of Award

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology & Gerontology

First Advisor

Amanda Dykema-Engblade, Ph.D.

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the positive effects of casual video games, by comparing the mindfulness and mood scores among a) active yoga participants, b) passive yoga watchers, c) active video game players, and d) passive video game watchers. Participants were all undergraduate students recruited through Northeastern Illinois University’s participant pool. Participants began the study by being assigned to one of the four conditions. Following their interaction, participants answered an adapted mood inventory questionnaire, a Player Experience Inventory (PXI), and an Engagement Questionnaire (EQ). Demographics were also collected. It was hypothesized that the active video game condition will have equal, or greater, scores in mindfulness and mood as the active yoga condition. Also, the active conditions will have higher mood scores and engagement scores than the passive conditions. Results showed that video game participants had significantly higher mindfulness of the mind scores while yoga participants had significantly higher mindfulness of the body scores. Further, there were significant differences in all three portions of the Mood and Symptom Checklist (MSC). Finally, both the PXI and EQ had a significant main effect of engagement type (i.e., active versus passive). Theories on these outcomes are discussed later in the paper.

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