DSpace Repository

Computer games: what motivates New Zealand adolescents?

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Bell, Rebecca
dc.date.accessioned 2011-09-19T23:08:11Z
dc.date.accessioned 2022-10-30T23:16:09Z
dc.date.available 2011-09-19T23:08:11Z
dc.date.available 2022-10-30T23:16:09Z
dc.date.copyright 1998
dc.date.issued 1998
dc.identifier.uri https://ir.wgtn.ac.nz/handle/123456789/26449
dc.description.abstract Playing computer games has become an increasingly popular activity of New Zealand adolescents but the reasons behind this trend are largely under-researched. The purpose of this thesis was to explore why young New Zealand males and females play computer games. Adolescent motivations for computer game-playing were identified and comparisons were made with their motivations for participating in other leisure activities. The ways in which same-sex participants interacted when they played computer games was also investigated to provide further evidence of adolescents' motivations behind computer game-playing. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods enabled 12 participants' experiences to be set in a broader context. The study involved two parts: firstly, the observational study that identified the interactions between same-sex pairs while playing a computer game; secondly, the open-ended questionnaire that discovered adolescents' attitudes to and motivations for computer game-playing and their participation in other leisure activities. The findings showed that computer game-playing is equally popular with males and females, although males tend to play more often and for longer periods of time. Other findings of the study were: the importance of fun, excitement, skill and competition as intrinsically motivating factors for male computer game players; the importance of challenge, fun, and excitement as intrinsically motivating factors for female computer game players. It was found that the intrinsically motivating factors for computer game-playing were not unlike the participants' reasons for playing sport and socialising. Co-operation was a strong behaviour for both males and females in the study, as was control that was displayed through instances of dominance. The concepts of assimilation and flow offered a possible explanation for why adolescents play computer games as a leisure activity. en_NZ
dc.format pdf en_NZ
dc.language en_NZ
dc.language.iso en_NZ
dc.publisher Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
dc.title Computer games: what motivates New Zealand adolescents? en_NZ
dc.type Text en_NZ
vuwschema.type.vuw Awarded Research Masters Thesis en_NZ
thesis.degree.discipline Recreation and Leisure Studies en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington en_NZ
thesis.degree.level Masters en_NZ
thesis.degree.name Master of Arts en_NZ


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search DSpace


Browse

My Account