Item collection has been a staple of video games since Pac-Man swallowed his first cherry. Since then, we’ve collected stars, coins, rings, nuts, bolts, packages, armor, weapons, Achievements and so on.
In collecting these digital gems, are we just filling ourselves with an empty sense of accomplishment when, in fact, we’ve accomplished nothing? Not necessarily, says Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, co-director at the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry, and author of the 2007 book, Grand Theft Childhood.
“People work for intangible rewards all the time,” she says. “Money and love, for example. A paycheck may seem ‘solid,’ but it represents an abstraction. And what’s more abstract than earning an ‘A’ in philosophy?… Small things can be quite rewarding. A smile from a cute girl may be a small thing, but it can make a teenage boy’s week.”
via Gamasutra – News – Analysis: The Psychology Behind Item Collecting And Achievement Hoarding.
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From jeffmacintyre.com: The Psychology Behind Item Collecting And Achievement Hoarding (In Gaming) http://bit.ly/HTiPi
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
This is also why video games can be addictive / replace the validation that humans should be seeking from real life.