The effect of task demand on mood repair and selective exposure to video games

It is argued by entertainment scholars that the potential for video games to intervene in noxious mood states is heightened by the fact that video game play is a more demanding task as compared to consuming other forms of media. According to mood management theory, heightened intervention potential should make video games particularly well-adept at repairing noxious moods. Moreover, according to selective exposure theory, this heightened intervention potential should make video game play more desirable to people experiencing noxious mood states. Although many researchers have made theoretical claims about the unique attributes of video games as compared to more traditional media, both in general and in relation to mood management and selective exposure, these claims have yet to be tested empirically.;To this end, three studies were conducted. Study 1 varied task demand in a video game by experimentally manipulating the amount of control an individual had over a mediated environment and found that (a) increased task demand heightens a video game's intervention potential, (b) heightened intervention potential enhances the video game's ability to relieve boredom and stress, (c) too much task demand has a detrimental effect on mood repair, and (d) the ability of video games to repair negative affect is a function of increased task demand, and not simply increased arousal. Study 2 used behavioral measures of user engagement rather than experimental manipulations of task demand and found that (a) increased involvement with some game controls has a positive influence on post-game play affect and (b) increased involvement with game controls has a positive influence on affect for bored participants and a negative influence on affect for stressed individuals. Study 3 focused on selective exposure stemming from expectations of a video game's task demand learned from game play, and found that (a) participants in states of boredom and stress preferred moderate levels of expected task demand, and (b) this preference was stronger for stressed participants than for bored participants. By focusing attention on the role of task demand in these processes, this collection of studies expands previous conceptualization of intervention potential in a manner that aids efforts to understand the uses and effects of interactive media as related to mood regulation. Combined, these studies advance our knowledge of mood management and selective exposure processes related to a specific and increasingly-popular form of interactive media: the video game.