Date of Award

Fall 2025

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Psychology

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

John D Mayer

Second Advisor

Jolie Wormwood

Third Advisor

Pablo Chavajay

Abstract

This thesis reports two exploratory studies of similar design, both of which investigated which gamers might be at risk for problematic or aggressive gaming. In both Study 1 (N = 480) and Study 2 (N = 761), which served as a replication, four composite scores representing participants’ personality attributes were created from big traits of the HEXACO—Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, a people-centered intelligence—personal intelligence—and motives for gaming. These composite scores and the subordinate individual variables were used to predict lifespace measures of unhealthy/healthy gaming behaviors and aggressive/pro-social in-game interactions. Lifespace scales capture a person’s reports of their readily observable behaviors and environment, with items such as, “In the last week, how many times did you communicate a positive farewell to another player at a game’s conclusion?” and “How many computer video games do you own?” The lifespace scales were developed in Study 1 and their factor structure was confirmed in Study 2. In both studies, participants, who consisted of undergraduate students from the University of New Hampshire, responded to a series of questionnaires administered online. Results showed that the standardized composite scores predicted lifespace gaming outcomes with rs = .16 to .31 in both studies, and in Study 2, predicted Internet Gaming Disorder specifically at r = -.43 and .46. Individual predictors were also significantly predictive. This research improves our understanding of how personality predicts both negative and positive gaming activities and generally expands the study of gamers by measuring their gaming-related lifespace.

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