THE RELATIONSHIP OF ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION WITH MOTIVATIONS TO
PLAY AND CRAVING
Nicole Alexandra Cross
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green
State University in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
August 2016
Committee:
Harold Rosenberg, Advisor
Amy Morgan
Graduate Faculty Representative
Anne K. Gordon
William O'Brien
ii
ABSTRACT
Harold Rosenberg, Advisor
Although many people play online games with few if any consequences, others appear to
become addicted to such games. Consequences of online gaming addiction (OGA) can include
inordinate time playing the game, sleep deprivation, social and romantic impairment, loss of
control over gameplay, and loss of educational or career opportunities. Despite these
consequences, little research exists regarding factors of game structure that are associated with
indicators of OGA. Identifying these factors may help clinicians treat individuals who have
difficulty moderating online gaming, and may help parents or players choose games with lower
addiction potential. The current study examines factors that may be associated with OGA,
including craving to play, motivations for playing, harmonious and obsessive passion for
playing, and the match between players’ motivations for playing games and the structure of the
game of choice. Using web-based recruitment and data-collection, 542 participants completed
questionnaires to assess indicators of OGA, craving, motivations, passionate attachment, and
structural characteristics of preferred game. On average, participants met 2 of 9 criteria for
Internet Gaming Disorder. Regression analyses to predict indicators of OGA revealed the best
predictors were obsessive passion, Escapism motivation, and craving. Regression analyses to
predict craving revealed the best predictors were Escapism and Advancement motivations,
indicators of OGA, relationship-based game structure, and obsessive passion. Findings support
previous research identifying craving, obsessive passion, motivations for Escapism and
Advancement, and in-game relationships as important factors in the experience of OGA.
iii
When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
When you see we're all one
And life flows on within you and without you.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sincerest thanks to my advisor, Harold Rosenberg, without whom this dissertation would
never have been completed on time. Much thanks to Alan Kooi Davis and Kirstin Lauristen for
commiseration services rendered. Finally, and most importantly, thanks to my husband and
partner, Zach Fake, for supporting me in this and in everything.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................
1
ASSESSMENT OF ONLINE GAMING EXPERIENCE .....................................................
3
Assessment of Online Gaming Addiction..................................................................
3
Assessment of Non-addicted but Problematic Online Game Playing .......................
6
Assessment of Craving to Play Online Games ..........................................................
6
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ONLINE GAMING .......................................................
8
Harmonious and Obsessive Passions for Online Gaming..........................................
8
Interpersonal/Intrapersonal Difficulties and Online Gaming Addiction ...................
9
Negative Consequences of Online Gaming Addiction ..............................................
11
Motivations for Online Gaming ................................................................................
12
The Relationship between Game Structure and Online Gaming Addiction ..............
16
Purposes of the Current Study ...................................................................................
21
Hypotheses
............................................................................................................
21
METHOD ..............................................................................................................................
23
Participants
............................................................................................................
23
Measures
............................................................................................................
23
Motivations to Play in Online Games Questionnaire ....................................
23
Online Gaming Passions Scale ......................................................................
25
Online Gaming Craving Questionnaire .........................................................
25
International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder ..........
25
Game Structure Questionnaire .......................................................................
26
vi
Demographics ................................................................................................
Procedure
26
............................................................................................................
27
RESULTS ..............................................................................................................................
28
Participant Characteristics and Gaming History ........................................................
28
Motivations for Playing Online Games .....................................................................
30
Structure of Online Games.........................................................................................
30
Prediction of Number of Indicators of Online Gaming Addiction ............................
31
Prediction of Craving to Play Online Games .............................................................
32
Association of Motivations and Game Structure with Harmonious and Obsessive
Passions…….. ............................................................................................................
33
DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................
34
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................
44
APPENDIX A. RECRUITMENT SCRIPT ..........................................................................
62
APPENDIX B. MOTIVATION TO PLAY IN ONLINE GAMES QUESTIONNARE ......
63
APPENDIX C. ONLINE GAMING PASSIONS SCALE ...................................................
65
APPENDIX D. ONLINE GAMING CRAVING QUESTIONNAIRE ................................
66
APPENDIX E. INTERNATIONAL CONSESNUS ITEMS TO MEASURE INTERNET
GAMING DISORDER ..............................................................................................
68
APPENDIX F. GAME STRUCTURE QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................
69
APPENDIX G. DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS ................................................................
72
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1
Demographic and Game Playing Characteristics of Participants ..............................
2
Intercorrelations among 10 Subscales of the
52
Motivation to Play in Online Games Questionnaire ..................................................
54
3
Intercorrelations among 10 Subscales of the Game Structure Questionnaire............
55
4
Regression for Significant Predictors of Number of
Indicators of Addiction and Craving..........................................................................
5
Association between Motivation to Play in Online Games
Questionnaire Subscales and Harmonious and Obsessive Passions .........................
6
58
Percent of Participants Endorsing International Consensus Items
To Measure Internet Gaming Disorder (ICIMIGD) Criteria .....................................
8
57
Association between Game Structure Questionnaire Subscales and
Harmonious and Obsessive Passions .........................................................................
7
56
59
Gender Differences for Number of Addiction Indicators, Craving,
Passions, and Ten Motivation Subscales ...................................................................
60
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 1
INTRODUCTION
The term “addiction” is defined by the American Psychological Association (Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; American Psychological Association,
2013) as continued excessive use of a substance despite negative personal, occupational, or
social consequences; inability to fulfill major work, school, or home obligations; recurrent use in
physically dangerous situations; tolerance; withdrawal; repeated unsuccessful efforts or desire to
control use; craving or strong desire to use; and reducing or discontinuing important social,
occupational, or recreational activities due to substance use. Although addiction has typically
been thought of as applying to alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, psychologists have argued
that the concept also applies to sex, gambling, and other activities (e.g., Orford, 2001). Another
recent addition to the list of behavioral addictions is internet addiction and, more specifically,
addiction to playing online games (Chappell, Eatough, Davies, & Griffiths, 2006; Haagsma,
Caplan, Peters, & Pieterse, 2013; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009b).
Although many people play online games recreationally and experience few if any
negative consequences, others appear to develop a psychological dependence on or addiction to
playing such games. Early advocates for the concept of gaming addiction adapted the diagnostic
criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text
Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychological Association, 1994) for substance abuse,
substance dependence, and pathological gambling to define online gaming addiction (Griffiths &
Hunt, 1998; Ng & Wiemer-Hastings, 2005; Young, 1998). For example, Griffiths and
colleagues (Griffiths & Davies, 2005) proposed seven criteria for gaming addiction: 1) Salience,
2) Tolerance, 3) Mood modification, 4) Withdrawal, 5) Relapse, 6) Conflict, and 7) Problems
resulting from excessive game play. Numerous researchers have agreed that these criteria define
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 2
online gaming addiction (Chappell et al., 2006; Griffiths & Hunt, 1998; Grüsser, Thalemann, &
Griffiths, 2007; Haagsma et al., 2013a; Haagsma, Pieterse, Peters, & King, 2013; Hussain &
Griffiths, 2009a, 2009b; Kuss & Griffiths, 2012; Lee et al., 2007; Meenan, 2007; Ng & WiemerHastings, 2005; Oggins & Sammis, 2012; Peters & Malesky, 2008; Porter, Starcevic, Berle, &
Fenech, 2010; Salugero & Moran, 2002; Van Rooij, Schoenmakers, Vermulst, Van den Eijnden,
& Van de Mheen, 2010; Young, 1998; Young, 2009).
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 3
ASSESSMENT OF ONLINE GAMING EXPERIENCE
Assessment of Online Gaming Addiction
Researchers have assessed online gaming addiction in various ways. One method has
been to count participants’ endorsement of DSM-III or DSM-IV criteria for pathological
gambling modified to reflect online gaming (Griffiths & Hunt, 1998; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a;
Lemmens, Valkenburg, & Peter, 2009; Young, 1998). The criteria for substance addiction of the
International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10; World Health Organization,
1992) have also been used as a basis for defining online gaming addiction (Chou & Ting, 2003;
Grüsser et al., 2007). As an alternative to counting the number of modified diagnostic criteria,
Lemmens et al. (2009) developed a 21-item Game Addiction Scale based on Griffiths’s (2005)
adaptation of the seven DSM-based criteria for gaming addiction.
In addition to modifying the criteria for substance addiction and pathological gambling,
some researchers have modified questionnaires designed to assess dependence on other
presumably addictive behaviors. For example, Hussain and Griffiths (2009) modified the
Exercise Addiction Inventory (Terry, Szabo, & Griffiths, 2004) so that the items reflected online
game playing. Other examples are adaptations of Young’s (1998) 20-item Internet Addiction
Test for online game playing (Oggins & Sammis, 2012; Whang and Chang (2002) and
adaptations of the Computer Use Survey for online gaming addiction (Ng & Wiemer-Hastings,
2005).
As another means of assessment, some researchers have created interview schedules to
assess online gaming addiction. The majority of these interview schedules include questions
regarding withdrawal, loss of control over use, relief of negative affect, salience, relapse, and use
despite negative consequences (Chappell et al., 2006; Haagsma et al., 2013b; Hussain &
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 4
Griffiths, 2009b; Tsai & Lin, 2003). Interview schedules have also included additional questions
regarding motivation for playing, games of preference, and subjective experience while gaming
(Chappell et al., 2006; Haagsma et al., 2013b; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009b; Tsai & Lin, 2003).
The only extant questionnaire specifically designed to assess online gaming addiction is
the International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder. This set of items was
developed by experts on online gaming addiction, including members of the DSM-5 Substance
Use Disorder Workgroup. These experts voted on items drawn from the results of a study which
used an iterative process to identify diagnostic criteria for online gaming addiction (Petry et al.,
2014). These criteria were based on criteria for substance use disorders and gambling disorders,
and also include items particular to online game playing. The nine items reflect preoccupation,
withdrawal, tolerance, inability to reduce or stop playing, forgoing other activities to play,
continued game playing despite negative consequences, attempts to deceive others or cover up
playing, playing to escape adverse moods, and risking the loss of relationships and/or
educational or occupational opportunities due to playing online games.
Because the International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder was
developed so recently, its internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent
validity, and discriminant validity have not been evaluated. However, one advantage of this
assessment tool is that it is comprised of criteria which were voted on by a group of experts and
the measure was purposefully developed to assess online gaming. As such, it could be a more
content valid measure than substance or gambling questionnaires modified to assess online
gaming addiction. Measures which have been adapted from assessments of other behavioral or
substance addictions may include items which do not reflect the specific phenomenology of
online gaming addiction, and may exclude items which are relevant to online gaming addiction.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 5
Additionally, the expert group specified that some items may have greater diagnostic importance
than others and emphasized that noting the frequency with which certain criteria are met
provides a more sophisticated assessment than using dichotomous response options.
Questionnaires and interview schedules created to assess online gaming addiction
(Chappell et al., 2006; Haagsma et al., 2013b; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009b; Tsai & Lin, 2003)
also may have greater criterion validity than measures adapted from substance or gambling
addiction assessments because they were developed to assess this behavior specifically. Because
substance addiction and other behavioral addictions may be qualitatively different from online
gaming addiction in several ways (e.g., consuming a substance that one has to continually spend
finances, time, and effort to acquire involves a different set of direct and indirect experiences
than playing a computer game one owns and plays in one’s home), simply modifying items to
read “online gaming” rather than “gambling,” may not produce a measure that accurately
assesses online gaming addiction.
Another advantage of interview schedules is that they allow researchers to clarify the
meaning of questions for participants and allow participants to elaborate on or explain their
responses to certain questions. However, a disadvantage of interview schedules is that they are
administered face-to-face with participants. Therefore, participants may respond in a socially
desirable manner, and may be less likely to report difficult experiences or consequences
associated with their online gaming behavior which could result in more false negatives.
A disadvantage of structured interview schedules that inquire about specific criteria, or
questionnaires derived from lists of diagnostic criteria, is that the specific criteria mentioned in
items may not be equally important in determining the presence or absence of addiction, and
these criteria are not weighted differently in deriving scores for these assessments. Additionally,
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 6
lists of diagnostic criteria usually have dichotomous response options which can elicit
unbalanced response distributions (i.e., where almost all respondents endorse yes or no).
Additionally, Comrey (1988) asserted that the multiple choice format is more reliable, provides
more stable results, and produces better scales than the dichotomous choice format. Furthermore,
the creators of these measures often do not provide guidance for sub-threshold cut-offs which
may be useful in identifying respondents who do not meet criteria for addiction but who
experience negative consequences due to excessive gaming.
Assessment of Non-addicted but Problematic Online Game Playing
In addition to developing criteria and measures to assess addiction to playing online
games, some researchers have been interested in assessing non-addicted but nonetheless
problematic use of online games. For example, Haagsma et al. (2013a) developed the
Problematic Online Game Use Scale, which measures components of problematic online gaming
(preference for online social interaction, negative outcomes, mood regulation, and deficient selfregulation). Other examples include the Problematic Online Game Use questionnaire (Kim &
Kim, 2010), the GAME-TACE (Decker & Gay 2011), and the Problem Video-game Playing
screening questionnaire (Salugero et al., 2002). Rather than modifying existing assessments of
other problem behaviors to reflect game playing, some researchers created measures specifically
to assess or screen for dysfunctional use of online games and/or video games. Examples of this
type of questionnaire include the Game Engagement Questionnaire (Brockmyer et al., 2009) and
the Video Game Use Questionnaire (Porter, Starcevic, Berle, & Fenech, 2010).
Assessment of Craving to Play Online Games
Applied to behavioral addictions, craving can be defined as the intense desire and strong
intention to engage in a specific behavior. If we conceptualize online game playing as a
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 7
potentially addictive behavior, craving may also be experienced by those who play online games
excessively. Researchers have used various methodologies to assess craving to play online
games, including self-report single-item rating scales, multi-item assessment measures, measures
of attentional bias, and observation of neural activity (Decker & Gay, 2011; Han et al., 2010; Ko
et al., 2009; Sun et al., 2012; Stoeber, Harvey, Ward, & Childs, 2011; Thalemann, Wolfling, &
Grusser, 2007). For the purposes of the present study, I employed a multi-item self-report
questionnaire of craving to play online games.
Compared to single-item rating scales that ask the respondent to rate the strength or
intensity of an urge or craving to play a game, multi-item self-report questionnaires have the
advantage of assessing several different cognitive, emotional, and physiological experiences that
may be indicative of craving. Additionally, participants may find it difficult to rate their
experience of a subjective desire, urge, or need to play online games using a single number.
Thus, multi-item craving scales may provide a more accurate representation of participants’
craving than single-item ratings.
An example of a multi-item online gaming craving questionnaire is Stoeber et al.’s
(2011) modified version of the Gambling Craving Scale (Young & Wohl, 2009). Stoeber et al.
altered the instructions and items to reflect playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing
Games (MMORPGs) rather than gambling. Craving was significantly positively associated with
positive affect when playing (r = .39), negative affect when playing (r = .37), and negative affect
when prevented from playing (r = .47).
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 8
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ONLINE GAMING
Harmonious and Obsessive Passions for Online Gaming
Vallerand and colleagues (2003) define passion as a strong internal force leading
individuals to choose to engage in an activity or with an object that they find enjoyable and
important and on which they spend time and energy. The authors distinguished two types of
passions: harmonious and obsessive. Individuals with a harmonious passion view the activity as
important to their self-concept and experience enjoyment and other positive emotions when they
engage in the activity.
Conversely, individuals with an obsessive passion feel compelled to engage in the
activity and experience negative affect (e.g., sadness, anger, anxiety, guilt) both when prevented
from and while engaging in the activity. Unlike a harmonious passion, an obsessive passion is
associated with negative consequences resulting from over-engagement in the activity (Mageau,
Vallerand, Rousseau, Ratelle, & Provencher, 2005; Ratelle, Vallerand, Mageau, Rousseau, &
Provencher, 2004; Vallerand et al., 2003).
Wang and Chu (2007) examined the association between harmonious and obsessive
passion for online gaming and online gaming addiction in 404 Taiwanese online gamers.
Harmonious and obsessive passions were assessed using a 10-item modification of the Passion
Scale for gambling (Ratelle et al., 2004). Online game addiction was assessed using Young’s
(1998) 20-item internet addiction questionnaire, which includes questions concerning negative
consequences of use, loss of control over use, use to relieve negative affect, tolerance,
withdrawal, and unsuccessful attempts to quit or moderate use. Wang and Chu (2007) conducted
structural equation modeling analyses to evaluate the relationships among harmonious passion,
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 9
obsessive passion, and internet addiction. Obsessive passion scores were significantly associated
with internet addiction scores (r =.75), but harmonious passion scores were not (r = .03).
Stoeber and colleagues (2011) assessed 160 gamers’ craving to play MMORPGs, their
harmonious and obsessive passions for playing MMORPGs, and their positive and negative
affect during normal daily activities, while playing MMORPGs, and when prevented from
playing MMORPGs. Harmonious passion scores were significantly positively associated with
craving (r = .40), positive affect during normal activities (r = .32), and with positive affect while
playing online games (r = .44). Obsessive passion scores were significantly positively associated
with craving (r = .47), negative affect during normal activities (r = .44), negative affect while
playing online games (r = .45), and negative affect when prevented from playing (r = .51).
Stoeber et al. (2011) also conducted regression analyses which revealed that, when
general affect and craving were controlled for, harmonious passion scores continued to predict
positive affect when playing, and obsessive passion scores continued to predict negative affect
when playing and when prevented from playing. The authors suggested that individual
differences in harmonious and obsessive passions for online gaming may explain the results of
previous studies in which MMORPG playing has both positive and negative effects for different
individuals (e.g., Smyth, 2007). Specifically, individuals with harmonious passion for online
game play experience positive affect, but individuals with obsessive passion for online game
play experience both positive affect and negative affect.
Interpersonal/Intrapersonal Difficulties and Online Gaming Addiction
Research conducted with players of online games suggests that the onset of recreational
play and escalation to addiction may be influenced by players’ interpersonal and intrapersonal
difficulties. As Yee (2002) pointed out, individuals who experience feelings of helplessness,
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 10
loneliness, social anxiety, social skills deficits, and low self-esteem may be particularly attracted
to playing online games by the desire for advancement, escape from negative emotions or reallife problems, teamwork, customization, discovery, role-playing, socializing, and/or relationships
which are provided by playing MMORPGs. Furthermore, individuals with interpersonal and
intrapersonal difficulties may be particularly likely to become addicted to online games if game
playing is more rewarding because the game’s virtual world fulfills desires that have not been
met in the real world.
In support of Yee’s (2002) proposition, Kim and Kim (2010) found that 8th grade online
game players’ anxiety was significantly positively associated (r = .53) with scores on the
Problematic Online Game Use scale. Similarly, Mehroof and Griffiths (2010) found that both
trait anxiety (b = .23) and state anxiety (b = .28) were significant predictors of online gaming
addiction scores in a sample of university students, and Lo et al. (2009) reported that frequency
of game play was strongly positively associated with higher social anxiety in players.
Lemmens et al. (2011) asserted that, rather than social deficits leading to motivation to
play online games, playing online games leads to deficits in social competence. In their
longitudinal study of the relationship between online gaming addiction and social competence,
Lemmens et al. found that the association between pathological gaming at Time 1 and social
competence at Time 2 (r = -.21) was stronger than the association between pathological gaming
at Time 1 and social competence at Time 1 (r = -.11). The authors interpreted this finding as an
indication that pathological gaming is causally related to deficits in social competence. However,
an alternative explanation for this finding is that frequency of social contact influenced the social
competence of the players over the six month period between assessments and accounts for the
stronger association between game addiction scores and social competence.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 11
Research examining the association between intrapersonal or interpersonal difficulties
and online gaming addiction also suggests that social skills deficits, loneliness, and lack of
enjoyment of real life social interaction are related to playing and becoming addicted to online
games. For example, Hussain and Griffiths’ (2009) found that significantly more addicted than
non-addicted gamers reported socializing while playing their game of choice to be more pleasant
and satisfying than was socializing in the real world. Given these findings, Yee (2002) may be
correct in arguing that individuals who are struggling with feelings of helplessness, loneliness,
social anxiety, social skills deficits, and low self-esteem may be particularly attracted to online
games and may be particularly likely to become addicted to online games. Yet, causal
interpretations of the association between interpersonal and intrapersonal difficulties and online
gaming addiction are premature. Longitudinal research examining participants’ experience of
social skills deficits, social anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem, and online gaming addiction over
time would contribute to our understanding of the way in which interpersonal and intrapersonal
difficulties influence online gaming addiction, and vice-versa.
Negative Consequences of Online Gaming Addiction
As with any substance or behavioral addiction, excessive online gaming has been found
to be associated with several negative consequences including considerable time devoted to
playing the game (e.g., up to 16 hours per day), sleep deprivation, and social and romantic
impairment (Allison et al., 2006). Additionally, online gaming addiction is characterized by loss
of control over gameplay, ceasing participation in other activities, and risking the loss of
important educational or career opportunities (Batthyány, Müller, Benker, & Wölfling, 2009;
Liu, Ko, & Wu, 2008). Addicted individuals report that gameplay fulfills needs that are not met
in their real lives and has become the focus of their existence (Wan & Chiou, 2006).
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 12
Online gaming addiction can also lead to psychosocial problems such as obsession with
gaming and lack of real life relationships (Allison et al., 2006), inattention (Batthyány et al.,
2009; Chan & Rabinowitz, 2006), aggressive/oppositional behavior and hostility (Chan &
Rabinowitz, 2006; Chiu, Lee, & Huang, 2004), maladaptive coping (Batthyány et al., 2009;
Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a, 2009b), decreased academic achievement (Chiu et al., 2004),
decreased verbal memory performance (Dworak, Schierl, Bruns, & Struder, 2007), dissociation
(Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a), decreased psychosocial well-being and loneliness (Lemmens et al.,
2011), maladaptive cognitions (Peng & Liu, 2010), increased suicidal ideation (Rehbein, Psych,
Mediasci, & Mossle, 2010), seizures (Chuang, 2006), and sacrifices in several life domains
including hobbies, sleep, work, education, and social and family relationships (Batthyány et al.,
2009; Griffiths, Chappell, & Davies, 2004; King & Delfabbro, 2009; Peng & Liu, 2010; Peters &
Malesky, 2008; Rehbein et al., 2010; Yee 2006a, 2006b). However, it is unclear whether these
psychosocial, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional difficulties are consequences of online
gaming addiction, predate and set the foundation for subsequent online gaming addiction, are
exacerbated by online gaming addiction, or evolve simultaneously with online gaming addiction
as part of an interdependent process.
Motivations for Online Gaming
Perhaps because online games offer a wide variety of experiences, different players have
different motivations for playing or reasons for being attracted to the games (Bartle, 2003;
Billieux et al., 2013; Haagsma et al., 2013b; Hsu, Wen, & Wu, 2009; Kneer & Glock, 2013; Wan
& Chiou, 2007; Yee, 2002, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c). Some researchers have made a distinction
between reasons and motivations for playing (Yee, 2002), whereas other researchers have
viewed the motivations individuals have for playing certain games and the reasons individuals
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 13
are attracted to certain games as equivalent constructs (Bartle, 2003; Billieux et al., 2013;
Haagsma et al., 2013b; Kneer & Glock, 2013).
Bartle (2003) differentiated multiple types of online game players based on their
motivations for playing and identified four different categories of players: achievers, killers,
explorers, and socializers. Achievers are motivated to play by acquiring achievements; they
prioritize acquiring points, currency, or items and rising in character level over all other aspects
of the game. Killers are motivated by the opportunity to kill in-game characters or other players;
they prioritize killing, taunting, or causing distress to other players. Explorers are motivated by
the chance to explore the virtual world of the game and prioritize discovering the external and
internal characteristics of the game. Socializers are motivated by socializing with other players
during the game. They prioritize interaction with other players and view providing sympathy or
empathy and entertaining or listening to others as more important than the game itself (Bartle,
2003).
Yee (2006b) created a motivation questionnaire for online game playing in an attempt to
provide empirical support for Bartle’s (2003) different player types. Over a three year period,
30,000 MMORPG-playing participants were asked to complete the Motivation to Play in Online
Games Questionnaire (Yee, 2006a) in which they rated their agreement (1=Strongly Disagree,
5=Strongly Agree) with 40 items describing a wide range of motivations (e.g., “I like to feel
powerful in the game,” “I like to be immersed in a fantasy world”). Exploratory factor analysis
identified five motivations: Relationship, Manipulation, Immersion, Escapism, and
Achievement. Yee asserted that the Relationship factor aligns with Bartle’s Socializer type,
Manipulation aligns with the Killer type, Immersion aligns with the Explorer type, and
Achievement aligns with the Achiever type. The Escapism factor, which involves playing the
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 14
game to avoid, forget about, and escape from real-life problems and negative affect, does not
align with any of the player types identified by Bartle.
Yee (2006a) conducted another study examining the relationship between player
motivations and age, gender, game playing patterns, and in-game behaviors. Principle
components analysis revealed 10 components with eigenvalues greater than 1. Each of the 10
subscales had internal consistency coefficients equal to or greater than .70. Because of the high
number of components, Yee performed an additional analysis to assess whether any of the 10
identified components were related and should be grouped together. This second analysis
revealed 3 components with eigenvalues greater than 1. These three components accounted for
55% of the overall variance. Therefore, Yee proposed that the 10 motivation components be
grouped into 3 distinct categories: Achievement, Social, and Immersion. Although Yee reported
that his questionnaire comprises 10 components grouped into 3 categories, his principle
components analysis has not been replicated. Different component structures may emerge upon
replication with different samples of game players.
The first category, Achievement, includes motivations for Advancement (i.e., to gain
power, rapidly progress, and acquire currency, items, or status), Mechanics (i.e., to understand
the rules and structure of the game to maximize in-game success), and Competition (i.e., to
challenge and compete with other players). The second category, Social, includes motivations for
Socializing (i.e., to help and communicate with other players), Relationship (i.e., to form longterm meaningful relationships with other players), and Teamwork (i.e., to be part of a fulfilling
group effort or achievement). The third category, Immersion, includes motivations for Discovery
(i.e., to explore and acquire knowledge about the game which other players lack), Role-playing
(i.e., to create an avatar with a rich background and narrative developed through interaction with
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 15
other players), Customization (i.e., to choose and alter various aspects of the avatar’s
appearance), and Escapism (i.e., to play as a means of decreasing negative affect and/or avoiding
real-life problems). Factor analysis and inter-correlations among the scales has been interpreted
as indicating that an individual may be strongly or weakly motivated by each of the categories in
any combination. For example, a player who scores highly on the Social components does not
necessarily receive low scores on the Achievement components.
Yee (2006a) also explored the relationship between various motivations to play and
online gaming addiction measured using a modification of Young’s (1998) Internet Addiction
Test. Regression revealed that Escapism motivation (b = .31), hours played per week (b = .30),
and Advancement motivation (b = .17) were significant predictors of addiction scores. None of
the other motivations were predictive of addiction scores. Thus, it appears that playing online
games as a means of decreasing negative affect and/or avoiding real-life problems and, to some
degree, to gain power, currency, and status is related to an addictive pattern of online game play.
Similar to Yee’s (2006a) study, Billieux et al. (2013) found that motivations for Escapism
(r = .48) and Advancement (r = .47) were meaningfully correlated with addiction scores.
Motivations for Competition (r = .30), Mechanics (r = .26), Customization (r = .24), and Roleplay (r = .20) were also significantly positively associated with addiction scores, albeit not as
strongly as the motivations for Escapism and Advancement. Kneer and Glock (2013) found that
players’ overall Immersion motivation, which includes the Escapism motivation, was strongly
positively correlated with online gaming addiction scores.
Hsu et al. (2009) designed the User Experience Factor Questionnaire to assess
motivations for playing online games, game experience, and level of addiction. This
questionnaire assessed 11 distinct playing motivations: Challenge, Fantasy, Curiosity, Control,
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 16
Reward, Cooperation, Competition, Recognition, Belonging, Obligation, and Role-playing.
Regression analysis revealed that motivations of Role-playing (b = .31), Belonging (b = .28),
Reward (b = .26), Obligation (b = .21), and Curiosity (b = .15) accounted for 65.1% of the
variance in online gaming addiction scores.
If we view motivation for Reward (i.e., accumulation of currency and rare items) as
similar to the motivation for Advancement, Hsu and colleagues’ (2009) results are somewhat
consistent with previous research in that motivations for Reward and Advancement have both
been found to be significantly associated with addiction scores (Billieux et al., 2013; Hsu et al.,
2009; Yee, 2006a). Additionally, like Billieux et al. (2013), Hsu et al. (2009) found that
motivation for Role-playing was associated with addiction scores. However, Hsu et al.’s results
were not consistent with previous studies regarding motivations to play for Curiosity and
Belonging, which are similar to Yee’s (2006a) motivations for Discovery, Socializing,
Relationships, and Teamwork. Although Hsu et al. found that Curiosity and Belonging were
predictive of addiction scores, Discovery and Socializing were unrelated to addiction scores in
previous research (Billieux et al., 2013; Kneer & Glock, 2013; Yee, 2006a). Hsu and colleagues’
results regarding the Obligation as a motive cannot be compared with previous research because
previous studies did not assess this motivation.
The Relationship between Game Structure and Online Gaming Addiction
Players of certain types of online games have higher addiction scores and higher
prevalence rates of addiction than those who play other types of games. Specifically, playing
MMORPGs has been found to be significantly associated with spending more time playing and
with higher addiction scores compared to playing other types of games (Chappell et al., 2006;
Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a; Kuss & Griffiths, 2012; Lee, et al., 2007; Nagygyorgy et al., 2013;
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 17
Ng & Wiemer-Hastings, 2005; Porter, Starcevic, Berle, & Fenech, 2010; Van Rooij et al., 2010;
Yee, 2002, 2006b, 2006c).
Yee (2002) identified several structural features of MMORPGs that may account for
increased frequency and duration of game play. One of these structural features is the game’s
reward cycle. Yee argued that one of the ways in which MMORPGs encourage more time
investment and personal attachment than other types of games is that rewards (i.e., gaining skills,
increasing levels, earning/finding items or currency) are earned very quickly when a player first
starts to play the game. Then, the amount of time and effort required to earn additional rewards
increases after players have become invested in their progress in the game. Additionally, earning
many types of rewards – increasing levels, gaining skills, earning currency and other valuable
items – are arranged so that the player is never very far from achieving one of these rewards and,
thus, is highly motivated to play “just a little more” to get to the next reward.
Chumbley and Griffiths (2006) investigated Yee’s hypothesis regarding the reward
structure of MMORPGs by examining the emotional experience of those who played games that
involved increasing difficulty to earn rewards. One condition involved a reward system in which
players were required to invest a large amount of time and effort into earning rewards, and
another condition required little time and effort to earn rewards in the game. Results
demonstrated that players who did not have to expend more effort and time to earn rewards
experienced significantly greater excitement and significantly lower boredom and frustration
than players who had to expend increasingly greater time and effort to earn in-game rewards.
King and Delfabbro (2009) also examined the relationship between the reward structure
of online games and playing persistence, and found that players did not have to enjoy playing in
order to play for long periods of time. King and Delfabbro’s participants reported that certain
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 18
game reward schedules (i.e., two simultaneous in-game reward tasks; receiving a new “quest”
before finishing the current one; multiple visible experience or progress rankings) encouraged
them to continue playing even when they no longer found the activity enjoyable. These results
are consistent with Yee’s (2002) argument that many MMORPGs initially “hook” players by
providing rewards for little time and effort (which players find exciting, not frustrating, and not
boring) and contribute to players’ time and personal investment by continually increasing the
amount of time and effort required for rewards only after players have become personally
attached to the game.
Another structural factor Yee (2002) identified as contributing to the addictive nature of
MMORPGs is the social aspect of these games. Yee argued that MMORPG games facilitate the
development of platonic and/or romantic relationships because the anonymity inherent to ingame interaction – mediated by an avatar or computer – encourages self-disclosure. For example,
some MMORPG players report telling secrets or personal information to in-game friends that
they have never shared with real life friends or family. Yee argued that high stress combat in
MMORPGs and the collaboration required to achieve most goals also contribute to the
development of platonic and/or romantic relationships among players.
Research supports Yee’s (2002) argument that inter-player social factors contribute to
attachment to and dependence on playing MMORPGs. Hussain and Griffiths (2009a) reported
that significantly more addicted gamers (57%) than non-addicted gamers (21%) found
socializing online in their game of choice more pleasant and satisfying than socializing offline in
the real world. Furthermore, significantly more addicted gamers (86%) than non-addicted gamers
(26%) reported that socializing online in their game of choice satisfied social and relationship
needs that were not satisfied in the real world. These findings are perhaps not surprising, given
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 19
research demonstrating that many addicted gamers struggle with interpersonal and intrapersonal
difficulties such as social anxiety, social skills deficits, and low self-esteem (Caplan, 2007; Chiu
et al., 2004; Colwell & Payne, 2000; Kim & Kim, 2010; Lemmens, Valkenburg, & Peter, 2011;
Lo et al., 2009; Mehroof & Griffiths, 2010). Players with such deficits may find online
socializing less difficult and more rewarding than socializing in the real world.
Yee (2002) also identified the immersive quality of MMORPGs as influential in the
development of game addiction. Yee argued that the realistic sound and graphics of the game, in
addition to the fantasy world history and culture, facilitate players’ feelings that their in-game
experiences are “real.” He also argued that MMORPGs encourage players to become attached to
and empathize with their characters, or avatars, and to become highly personally invested in their
avatars’ in-game experiences. The experience of immersion based on the quality, detail, and size
of the MMORPG environment has been identified as an important factor in motivation to play
online games and in online gaming addiction (Brockmyer et al., 2009; Chou & Ting, 2003; Wan
& Chiou, 2006; Yee, 2006b). For example, Wood et al. (2004) report that MMORPG players
valued a realistic environment, including realistic sound effects, plausible story lines for both ingame characters and avatars, and realistic settings or world appearance, in their game of choice.
Another structural factor that may contribute to a sense of immersion while playing is the
time-limited versus time-unlimited course of the game. Although a few MMORPGs are timelimited, meaning that the game ends when the players complete a series of achievements or
battles to “win” the game, the large majority of MMORPGs are time-unlimited, meaning that
there is no identifiable “end” to the game. Rather, the game is a world in which the player can
battle, achieve, and explore seemingly indefinitely. A player is never required to actively choose
to “play again” because the initial game, in theory, never ends. Instead, players must actively
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 20
decide to stop playing their ongoing game at a certain point, and then log-in to the game at a later
time to continue. Griffiths, Chappell, and Davies (2004) found that MMORPG players’
enjoyment of being able to play time-unlimited games was associated with higher online gaming
addiction scores.
Yee (2002) also proposed that individuals’ motivations to play online games interact with
the structural aspects of certain games to build attachment to and dependence on a game.
Examples include players who are motivated by Competition and Advancement having more
interest in and attachment to the rewards and achievement aspects of games; players motivated
by desire for Relationships and Teamwork having more attachment to the social aspects of
games; and players motivated by Discovery, Exploration, and Escapism having more attachment
to the immersive aspects of games (i.e., avatar attachment, unlimited time course, and game
world detail, size, and realism).
Based on existing literature (Chumbley & Griffiths, 2006; Griffiths et al., 2004; Hussain
& Griffiths, 2009a; King & Delfabbro, 2009; Wood et al., 2004; Yee, 2002), the structure of
online games appears to influence players’ enjoyment, attachment, and addiction. However, as
King et al. (2010) noted in their review, there is little empirical research examining the
relationship between specific structural features of games and addiction to online games.
Additionally, I could not find empirical research examining the relationship of online gaming
addiction with the match between game structure and motivation to play. Therefore, future
research in this area might examine the relationship of player motivations with specific structural
features of games, such as reward contingencies (Chumbley & Griffiths, 2006; Griffiths et al.,
2004; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a; King & Delfabbro, 2009; Wood et al., 2004; Yee, 2002,
2006a), social interaction (Griffiths et al., 2004; Hussain & Griffiths, 2009a; Wood et al., 2004;
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 21
Yee, 2002), time-limited or time-unlimited game course (Griffiths et al., 2004; Yee, 2002),
avatar development, attachment, and customization (Billieux et al., 2013; Wood et al., 2004;
Yee, 2002), and game world size, detail, and realism (Wood et al., 2004; Yee 2002).
Purposes of the Current Study
In light of research reviewed above indicating that playing online games could be
considered as both an addictive activity and passionate attachment, and that certain motives and
aspects of game structure leave players more vulnerable to addictive play, I designed the current
study to accomplish two aims. My first aim was to examine whether craving to play online
games would be associated with the number of indicators of “addiction” to such games. My
second aim was to examine the relationship of player motivations, harmonious and obsessive
passion for online games, and structural aspects of one’s preferred game with two outcomes:
craving to play online games and number of endorsed indicators of addiction to online games.
Hypotheses
1. The number of players’ endorsed indicators of addiction will be significantly and strongly
positively correlated with self-reported craving to play online games. Based on the
Resource Guide for the interpretation of Pearson’s r Coefficients (Quinnipiac Faculty,
2012), I operationally defined a strong positive correlation as an r between .40 and .69.
2. Players’ scores on a selected subset of motivations to play, specifically Role-playing,
Escapism, and Advancement, will be significantly and strongly positively associated with
both craving and number of indicators of addiction.
3. Players’ scores on a different subset of motivations to play, specifically Mechanics,
Competition, and Customization, will be significantly but only weakly positively
associated with both craving and number of indicators of addiction. Based on the
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 22
Resource Guide for the interpretation of Pearson’s r Coefficients (Quinnipiac Faculty,
2012), I operationally defined a weak positive correlation as an r between .20 and .30.
4. Players’ scores on a third subset of motivations to play, specifically Socializing,
Relationship, Teamwork, and Discovery, will not be significantly associated with either
craving or number of indicators of addiction.
5. Selected structural aspects of online games, including increasing effort/difficulty in
reward attainment, unlimited time course, high avatar customization/attachment, greater
world size and depth, and multi-player format, will be significantly positively associated
with both craving scores and number of indicators of addiction.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 23
METHOD
Participants
I recruited individuals from two populations as participants for this study. First, in
November 2014, I posted information and a link to the study materials on five websites
frequented by online game players (gaming discussion boards, forums, etc.). The recruitment
notice explained that individuals could participate if they were at least 18 years of age and had
played an online game at least once within the past 6 months. The notice also provided a short
description of the measures, explained that participants have the opportunity to win a $100 gift
card to Amazon.com, and emphasized that participation was anonymous (see Appendix A).
Second, because this recruitment procedure yielded an insufficient number of
participants, I sent an email in February 2015 to approximately 17,000 undergraduate and
graduate students at a large, public, Midwestern university (enrollment of approximately 17,000
students) inviting them to participate in a research study in exchange for a chance to win a $100
gift card to Amazon.com. This email provided the same information about the study described
above and included a link to the study (hosted by Survey Gizmo). The recruitment procedure and
materials for both populations were approved by the BGSU Human Subjects Review Board.
Measures
Motivations to Play in Online Games Questionnaire. This questionnaire comprises 40
items designed to assess 10 types of motivation that Yee (2006a) grouped into three categories:
Achievement, Social, and Immersion. The first category, Achievement, includes three motives:
Advancement (i.e., the desire to gain power, rapidly progress, and acquire currency, items, or
status), Mechanics (i.e., the desire to understand the rules and structure of the game to maximize
in-game success), and Competition (i.e., the desire to challenge and compete with other players).
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 24
The second category, Social, also includes three motives: Socializing (i.e., the desire to help and
communicate with other players), Relationship (i.e., the desire to form long-term meaningful
relationships with other players), and Teamwork (i.e., the desire to be part of a fulfilling group
effort or achievement). The third category, Immersion, includes four motives: Discovery (i.e., the
desire to explore and uncover information about the game which other players lack), Roleplaying (i.e., the desire to create an avatar with an in-depth background and develop his or her
narrative through interaction with other players), Customization (i.e., the desire to choose and
alter aspects of the avatar’s appearance), and Escapism (i.e., the desire to use game play as a
means of decreasing negative affect and/or avoiding real-life problems). Respondents rate their
agreement (1=Strongly Disagree to 5=Strongly Agree) with items describing these 10
motivations (e.g., “I like to feel powerful in the game,” “I like to be immersed in a fantasy
world”).
Respondents may be strongly, moderately, or weakly motivated by each of the three
categories in any combination. Billieux et al. (2013) reported the internal consistency reliability
was .77 for the Achievement subscale, .74 for the Social subscale, and .73 for the Immersion
subscale. Additionally, the motives of Escapism, Advancement, Competition, Mechanics, and
Customization have been found to be significantly positively correlated with scores on online
gaming addiction measures and number of hours played per week (Billieux et al., 2013; Yee,
2002; Yee 2006a, 2006b). These findings support the internal consistency reliability of the
overarching categories and several elements of criterion validity of five motivation subscales in
this questionnaire (Billieux et al., 2013; Yee, 2002; Yee 2006a, 2006b). Internal consistency
reliabilities for the 10 subscales in the current sample are reported in the Results section.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 25
Online Gaming Passions Scale. This scale comprises five statements designed to assess
one’s obsessive passion and five statements designed to assess one’s harmonious passion to play
online games (Wan & Chiou, 2007). Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with each
item on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 7 (“completely agree”).
Wan and Chiou (2007) reported that obsessive passion to play online games, but not harmonious
passion, was significantly positively associated with internet addiction scores. In a separate
investigation of the Online Gaming Passions Scale, Stoeber et al. (2011) found that both
harmonious passion and obsessive passion were significantly associated with craving to play
online games. In the current sample, internal consistency reliability was .66 for obsessive passion
and .71 for harmonious passion.
Online Gaming Craving Questionnaire. This questionnaire, intended to measure
subjective craving to play online games, is a modified version of the 12-item Alcohol Craving
Questionnaire-Short Form-Revised (Singleton, Tiffany, & Henningfield, 2000). For this study, I
modified the items of the revised Alcohol Craving Questionnaire to pertain to online gaming
rather than alcohol consumption. In the current sample, internal consistency reliability of the
Online Gaming Craving Questionnaire was .90, but there is no information about other
psychometric properties of this questionnaire.
International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder. This
questionnaire was developed by several experts on online gaming addiction, including members
of the DSM-5 Substance Use Disorder Workgroup (Petry et al., 2014). The nine items reflect
preoccupation, withdrawal, tolerance, inability to reduce or stop game playing, forgoing other
activities, continued use despite negative consequences, attempts to deceive others or cover up
game playing, playing to escape adverse moods, and risking the loss of relationships and/or
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 26
educational or occupational opportunities due to game playing. The psychometric properties of
this questionnaire have not yet been published. In the current sample, internal consistency
reliability was .74.
Game Structure Questionnaire. I designed this 21-item questionnaire to assess the
degree to which each participant’s game of choice emphasizes certain structural characteristics
(e.g., “world” size, avatar customization, social interaction) based on the 10 motivations
identified by Yee (2006a). Like Yee’s questionnaire to assess motivations to play online games,
this newly developed questionnaire includes 10 subscales, one for each of the structural
characteristics assessed, which are grouped into 3 overarching scales. The first scale, Social,
includes the Socializing, Relationship, and Teamwork subscales. An example item from this
scale is “My game of choice encourages relationships among players.” The second scale,
Achievement, includes the Advancement, Competition, and Mechanics subscales. An example
item from this scale is “My game of choice encourages winning battles against other players.”
The third scale, Immersion, includes the Discovery, Customization, Roleplaying, and Escapism
subscales. An example item from this scale is “My game of choice encourages the development
of my avatar’s skills and story.” Internal consistency reliabilities for the 10 subscales are
reported in the Results section.
Demographics. This questionnaire asked participants for information about their age,
gender, ethnicity, full-time or part-time student status, year in college, employment status,
relationship status, residence, grade point average (GPA), and history of online gaming behavior.
Procedure
After a potential participant clicked on the link provided, the first page displayed was the
informed consent. Participants consented by clicking the ‘Next’ button at the bottom of that
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 27
page. The next page of the survey asked participants to imagine they were preparing to play their
online game of choice and to indicate their subjective craving by completing the Online Gaming
Craving Questionnaire. Then, participants were asked to complete the Motivation to Play in
Online Games Questionnaire and then the Game Structure Questionnaire. After completing the
Game Structure Questionnaire, participants were asked to complete the International Consensus
Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder and the Online Gaming Passions Scale. The last
questionnaire collected demographic information and history of online gaming behavior. After
completing all survey materials, participants were notified of whether they were randomly
chosen as the winner of the lottery for the $100 Amazon.com gift card. Finally, participants were
provided with links to additional resources about online gaming addiction and thanked for their
time.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 28
RESULTS
Participant Characteristics and Gaming History
At the close of data collection, 5,388 potential participants had clicked the link to the
survey, and 936 completed at least part of the survey. Of those participants, 43 from the sample
of regular game players provided complete data and 504 from the student sample provided
complete data. Five participants from the student sample were eliminated due to failure to meet
eligibility requirements, resulting in a final sample of 542 participants. As Table 1 reveals, the
final sample was 59% male and 41% female, and 84% identified as Caucasian, 5% as
Black/African-American, 5% as “other,” 3% as Asian-American/Pacific Islander, and 2% as
Latino(a)/Hispanic-American. Most participants reported attending college or university (94%)
and, of these participants, 25% were freshman, 20% were sophomores, 16% were juniors, 20%
were seniors, and 13% were graduate students. Consistent with this distribution, the mean age of
participants was 21.8 (SD = 3.7). Most participants resided in the United States (94%) and the
remaining 6% resided in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan,
the Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
With regard to their game playing characteristics, 18% reported playing every day, 16%
played 5-6 days per week, 23% played 3-4 days per week, 25% played 1-2 days per week, and
8% currently played less often. Almost two-thirds (65%) of participants reported playing 1-2
sessions per day, 11% played 3-4 sessions per day, 7% played 5 or more sessions per day, and
17% played less often. One-third of participants (34%) of participants reported having played
online games for 1-5 years, another one-third (35%) had played for 6-11 years, 17% had played
for longer than 11 years, and 13% of participants had played for less than one year.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 29
In terms of game modality, 37% of participants reported playing on a laptop computer,
30% reported playing on a gaming console (e.g., Xbox, Playstation), 20% played on a desktop
computer, 7% played on their cellphones, and 3% played on their tablets. The most commonly
reported games of choice included MMORPGs such as League of Legends (45 participants, 8%),
World of Warcraft (37 participants, 7%), and Runescape (20 participants, 4%); first-person
shooter games such as Call of Duty (35 participants, 7%), Destiny (22 participants, 4%), and
Grand Theft Auto (18 participants, 3%); virtual life games such as The Sims (16 participants,
3%); and strategy games such as Minecraft (11 participants, 2%).
I conducted a series of t-tests to examine whether male and female participants differed
significantly in their scores on any key variables. These analyses revealed that male and female
participants differed significantly, but not meaningfully, on the two outcomes and seven of the
predictors (see Table 8). For example, women scored an average of 3.0 for harmonious passion
for online gaming, whereas men scored an average of 3.3. Although this difference was
statistically significant (p < .001), there is not a meaningful difference between the scores of 3.0
and 3.3, both of which correspond to the same response option (“Slightly Disagree”) on the
questionnaire for this variable, the Online Gaming Passions Scale. Because the actual differences
on all of these variables were small and I did not consider them clinically meaningful, I
conducted all further analyses using the entire sample combining males and females together.
On average, participants met 2 of the 9 possible proposed criteria for Internet Gaming
Disorder (M = 2.0, SD = 2.0). According to Petry et al. (2014), a cut off score for Internet
Gaming Disorder has not been identified, but the authors suggest that a score of 5 may be used as
a conservative cut-off point. Using the proposed cut-off, 8% of my participants would be
categorized as having Internet Gaming Disorder. Participants also reported moderately high
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 30
craving to play online games, with a mean score of 4.3 (SD = 1.2) on a craving scale from 1 to 7.
On average, participants moderately disagreed with statements indicating an obsessive passion
for online gaming (M = 1.7, SD = 0.8), but slightly disagreed with statements indicating
harmonious passion for online gaming (M = 3.1, SD = 0.9), both on a scale from 1 to 7.
Harmonious and obsessive passions were significantly but weakly correlated, r (538) = .30.
Motivations for Playing Online Games
To evaluate the statistical independence of these predictors, I calculated inter-correlations
among the 10 subscales of the Motivation to Play in Online Games Questionnaire. As Table 2
reveals, six of the coefficients were between .54 and .73, five were between .41 and .45, 11 were
between .30 and .39, and the remaining 23 coefficients were between .14 and .29. This
distribution of inter-correlations suggests that, although some of the 10 subscales of the
Motivation to Play in Online Games Questionnaire were strongly associated, most were
sufficiently independent to be employed as separate predictors.
I also calculated the internal consistency reliability for each of the 10 Motivation to Play
in Online Games Questionnaire subscales. Aside from the Teamwork subscale (α = .25), the
Mechanics subscale (α = .25), the Customization subscale (α = .46), and the Discovery subscale
(α = .51), all subscale alphas were acceptable to very good (Advancement, α = .65; Competition,
α = .69; Socializing, α = .71; Relationship, α = .87; Role-playing, α = .62; Escapism, α = .77).
Internal consistency reliability for the three overarching scales of Achievement, Social, and
Immersion were .74, .81, and .78, respectively.
Structure of Online Games
To evaluate the statistical independence of these predictors, I calculated inter-correlations
for the 10 subscales of the Game Structure Questionnaire and, as Table 3 reveals, subscale
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 31
correlations range from r = -.06 to r = .67. Of the 45 total coefficients, five were between .50 and
.67, nine were between .41 and .49, 18 were between .20 and .39, and the remaining 13
coefficients were between -.06 and .19. This distribution of coefficients suggests that, although
some of the 10 subscales of the Game Structure Questionnaire were related, most were
sufficiently independent to be employed as separate predictors.
Internal consistency reliability was also calculated for each of the five Game Structure
Questionnaire subscales comprised of multiple items. Alphas for each of these five subscales
were acceptable to very good (Socializing, α = .72; Escapism, α = .63; Role-playing, α = .75;
Advancement, α = .75; Competition, α = .89). Internal consistency reliability for the three
overarching scales of Achievement, Social, and Immersion was .69, .79, and .77, respectively.
Prediction of Number of Indicators of Online Gaming Addiction
I conducted a linear regression to test whether the number of addiction criteria endorsed
(measured using the International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder) could
be predicted based on participants’ motivation to play online games (measured using the ten
motivation subscales), the structure of their current game of choice (measured using the ten game
structure subscales), their craving to play online games (measured using the Online Gaming
Craving Questionnaire), the number of days they play online games per week, and their
harmonious and obsessive passions for online gaming (measured using the Online Gaming
Passions Scale). Although I expected craving scores and number of indicators of addiction to be
significantly and strongly associated, I included craving scores as a predictor in this regression
because I wanted to evaluate whether other variables were even stronger predictors of addiction
indicators than craving scores. The regression equation was significant, F(1,190) = 26.65, p <
.001, R2 = .56. The number of indicators of addiction participants endorsed was equal to -3.665
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 32
(constant) + 1.291 (Obsessive passion score) + .363 (Escapism motivation score) + .240
(Craving score) - .220 (Harmonious passion score) + .086 (Number of days played per week).
Examination of Table 4 reveals the strongest predictor was participants’ obsessive passion (β =
.524), followed by Escapism motivation (β = .160), craving (β = .143), harmonious passion (β = .101), and number of days played per week (β = .096, all ps < .05).
Prediction of Craving to Play Online Games
I conducted a linear regression to test whether participants’ craving scores (measured
using the Online Gaming Craving Questionnaire) could be predicted based on their motivation to
play online games (measured using the ten motivation subscales), the structure of their current
game of choice (measured using the ten game structure subscales), their endorsed criteria
indicating online gaming addiction (measured using the International Consensus Items to
Measure Internet Gaming Disorder), the number of days they play online games per week, and
their harmonious and obsessive passions for online gaming (measured using the Online Gaming
Passions Scale). Similar to my rationale in the first regression analysis, I included number of
addiction indicators as a predictor in this regression because I wanted to evaluate whether other
variables were even stronger predictors of craving scores than number of addiction indicators.
The regression equation was significant, F(390) = 22.55, p < .001, R2 = .51. Participants’
predicted craving score was equal to 4.67 (constant) + .403 (Escapism motivation score) + .327
(Advancement motivation score) + .175 (Obsessive passion score) + .103 (Game Structure
Relationship score) + .093 (number of endorsed indicators of online gaming addiction).
Examination of Table 4 reveals the strongest predictor was participants’ Escapism motivation (β
= .299), followed by Advancement motivation (β = .191), number of indicators of addiction (β =
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 33
.157), obsessive passion (β = .119), and Relationship game structure score (β = .094, all ps <
.05).
Association of Motivations and Game Structure with Harmonious and Obsessive Passions
As a follow-up analysis, I wanted to examine whether the 10 motivation subscales were
associated with obsessive and harmonious passions scores. Therefore, I calculated correlations
between each of these variables and the 10 motivation subscales. All 10 subscales of the
Motivation to Play in Online Games Questionnaire were significantly positively correlated with
participants’ obsessive passion scores and harmonious passion scores. However, the size of the
correlation varied greatly depending on the subscale. As examination of Table 5 reveals,
obsessive passion scores were most highly correlated with Escapism (r = .28), Competition (r =
.27), Mechanics (r = .27), and Relationship (r = .25). The table also shows that harmonious
passion scores were most highly correlated with Relationship (r = .49), Escapism (r = .48),
Roleplaying (r = .47), and Discovery (r = .41).
In a second follow-up analysis, I examined whether game structure scores were
associated with obsessive and harmonious passions scores. Therefore, I calculated correlations
between each of these variables and the 10 game structure subscales. Analyses revealed that 5 of
the 10 GSQ subscales were significantly correlated with participants’ obsessive passion scores
and harmonious passion scores. As examination of Table 6 reveals, obsessive passion scores
were not meaningfully correlated with any of the 10 subscales, even for those three coefficients
that were statistically significant: Relationship (r = .16), Competition (r = .12), and Mechanics (r
= .12). The table also shows that harmonious passion scores were significantly and most highly
correlated with Mechanics (r = .40), Teamwork (r = .39), Relationship (r = .36), and Socializing
(r = .35).
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 34
DISCUSSION
The results of this study support, in part, the hypotheses that craving and motivation to
play online games would be related to the number of endorsed indicators of online gaming
addiction, and that the match between motivation and game structure would also be related to the
number of endorsed indicators of addiction. To be clear, the match between motivation and game
structure refers to the degree to which the structure of a player’s game of choice emphasizes his
or her motivations for playing the game. In partial support of my hypotheses, both craving and
reported number of addiction indicators were predicted by being motivated to play for Escapism.
Contrary to my hypotheses, neither Role-playing nor Advancement motivations were significant
predictors of number of indicators, but Advancement motivation was predictive of craving.
Lastly, the association between game structure and motivation did not predict number of
indicators of online gaming addiction. However, the association between game structure and
motivation – specifically for relationships between players – was predictive of craving to play
online games.
That Escapism was one of the strongest predictors of the number of endorsed indicators
of addiction is consistent with previously published research. Similar to the current study, Yee
(2006a) found that Escapism as a motivation for game playing was a significant predictor of
number of endorsed indicators of addiction. Similarly, Billieux et al. (2013) also reported that the
correlation between Escapism motivation and number of endorsed indicators of addiction was
stronger than the association between number of indicators and all other motivations.
The finding that participants’ Advancement motivation was not predictive of number of
addiction indicators, however, was not consistent with previous research. Unlike the current
study, neither Billieux et al. (2013) nor Yee (2006a) found that being motivated to play by
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 35
Advancement was a significant predictor of number of addiction indicators. One explanation
why Advancement motivation did not predict number of endorsed indicators of addiction is that
participants in the current study may play online games in which Advancement is not a central
part of the game structure (i.e., players’ performance is not dependent on acquiring increasingly
higher character levels, points, or currency). If many current study participants are playing these
types of games, Advancement motivation would not play as influential a role in the development
of online gaming addiction and therefore would not be as predictive of number of addiction
indicators as other factors (e.g., craving, other motivations). Another explanation is that Yee
included additional independent variables (for example, the number of hours participants played
online games per week), and those were more strongly predictive of number of addiction
indicators than Advancement motivation in his sample. A third possible explanation is that too
few participants endorsed symptoms of online gaming addiction to detect a relationship between
Advancement motivation and number of indicators of addiction in my analyses.
Unlike the present investigation (see Table 5), Billieux et al. (2013) and Yee (2006) did
not find that Relationship motivation was significantly associated with number of endorsed
indicators of addiction. Yet, their findings are inconsistent with Yee’s (2002) hypothesis that the
social aspect of MMORPGs, in which players develop friendships and/or romantic relationships
with other players, is one of the structural elements of MMORPGs that contributes to their
addictive nature. Yee speculated that in-game relationship development may contribute to the
stronger association between online gaming addiction and MMORPGs than any other type of
game (Brockmyer et al., 2009; Chou & Ting, 2003; Wan & Chiou, 2006). Given the rewarding
nature of in-game social interaction for many players, I agree that players’ motivation to develop
relationships with each other should play a significant role in online gaming addiction.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 36
In support of the idea that in-game relationships are associated with online gaming
addiction, Hussain and Griffiths (2009a) found that significantly more addicted gamers than nonaddicted gamers reported socializing in-game to be more enjoyable than socializing in real life.
Therefore, perhaps participants in the current study were more highly motivated by in-game
relationships than were those of Yee (2006a) and Billieux et al. (2013). Another possibility is
that, in the current study, some other variable such as the nature of social contact in participants’
game of choice is increasing the strength of the association between Relationship motivation and
number of addiction indicators.
That Mechanics motivation was moderately positively, and meaningfully, correlated with
number of symptoms in my sample (Table 5), although it did not emerge as a significant
predictor in the regression, is also inconsistent with previous research findings. Specifically,
Billieux et al. (2013) reported that Mechanics motivation was weakly positively correlated with
addiction scores and Yee (2006a) found that Mechanics motivation was not a significant
predictor of addiction scores. One explanation for the discrepancy among these three studies is
that Yee (2006a) measured online gaming addiction using Young’s (1998) diagnostic
questionnaire for internet addiction whereas I assessed online gaming addiction using the
International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder (Petry et al., 2014). Yee’s
measure assesses internet addiction which, although related to online gaming addiction, is a
more general construct than online gaming addiction because it encompasses internet activities
that are not specifically related to gaming. Another explanation is that participants in the current
study were more interested in aspects of software programming that influence game development
and game play. If my participants had more interest in these factors, that interest would influence
both their Mechanics motivation and the number of indicators of addiction they endorsed.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 37
My findings regarding passionate attachment to online games – specifically, that
obsessive passion predicted both number of indicators of online gaming addiction and craving to
play online games – is consistent with two previously published investigations. Wang and Chu
(2007) also found that obsessive passion was strongly positively correlated with addiction scores
and Stoeber et al. (2011) found that obsessive passion was strongly positively correlated with
self-reported craving to play online games.
Unexpectedly, harmonious passion scores were a significant predictor of the number of
indicators of online gaming addiction. However, harmonious passion no longer predicted number
of indicators in the follow-up regression in which only the significant predictors were used as
independent variables. Given that harmonious passion reflects an attachment to an activity
characterized by enjoyment and other positive emotions, this latter result is consistent with my
speculation that harmonious passion for online gaming should not be related to online gaming
addiction, which often involves negative affect when playing and when prevented from playing
games. Consistent with this conceptualization, Stoeber et al. (2011) found that harmonious
passion scores were not associated with addiction scores in SEM analyses.
Because previously published studies have not examined the association of craving to
play online games with motivations for playing, there is no previous research against which to
compare these particular findings (i.e., that Escapism motivation and Advancement motivation
were the strongest predictors of craving). However, there is previous research bearing on my
findings regarding the other significant predictors of craving (i.e., number of indicators of
addiction, obsessive passion score, Relationship game structure score). Like my study,
Thalemann et al. (2007) found that craving to play online games was significantly positively
associated with online gaming addiction. That craving is associated with number of indicators of
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 38
addiction to online games makes sense conceptually, given that the experience of craving is
considered a symptom of both behavioral and substance addictions (Petry et al., 2014).
Additionally, Stoeber and colleagues (2011) found that craving to play online games was
strongly positively correlated with obsessive passion for online gaming, and that obsessive
passion for online gaming was predictive of negative affect when prevented from playing online
games. Although negative affect when prevented from playing online games is not necessarily
the same subjective experience as craving, I think negative affect when prevented from playing
contributes to urgency to play, and is therefore related to the strength of craving for many game
players.
No previous research has evaluated the association between craving and the degree to
which the structure of participants’ games of choice emphasizes relationships with other players.
However, previous research has demonstrated that in-game relationships are rewarding for many
players, especially those who report greater online gaming addiction (Hussain & Griffiths,
2009a). Given that craving is one of several defining features of online gaming addiction (Petry
et al., 2014; Yee, 2002, 2006a) and that having in-game relationships is significantly associated
with online gaming addiction, craving should be more intense for those players who choose
games in which inter-player relationships are emphasized.
It is somewhat difficult to compare my results regarding game structure and motivation
because previous research has not assessed the match between the structure of players’ games of
choice and their motivations for playing. However, previous research has demonstrated that
games with a particular structure, MMORPGs specifically, are more strongly associated with
online gaming addiction than any other type of game. Yee (2002) hypothesized that the reward
structure of MMORPGs, their social nature, and their immersive qualities contribute most
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 39
heavily to the association between MMORPGs and online gaming addiction. Subsequent
research by King and Delfabbro (2009) supported Yee’s hypotheses by finding that participants
who play games in which increasing amounts of time and effort are required to progress (i.e.,
incremental reward structure) report more indications of addiction than participants who play
games in which stable amounts of time and effort are required to progress.
Further support for Yee’s hypotheses was provided by Hussain and Griffiths (2009a),
who found that significantly more addicted gamers than non-addicted gamers reported in-game
socializing as pleasant and satisfying compared to socializing in real life. Griffiths et al. (2004)
found that players’ enjoyment of the unlimited time course of games, in particular, is
significantly associated with self-reported addiction. Finally, several researchers have found that
the immersive qualities of MMORPGs, such as unlimited time course, are significantly
associated with gaming addiction (Brockmyer et al., 2009; Chou & Ting, 2003; Wan & Chiou,
2006; Yee, 2006b).
The findings that reward structure, social contact, and immersive qualities of an online
game are associated with online gaming addiction were supported only partially by those of the
current study. In the current study, the degree to which participants’ game of choice emphasized
relationships between players significantly predicted craving scores. By contrast, the degree to
which participants’ game of choice emphasized incremental reward attainment and unlimited
time course were not significant predictors of either the number of endorsed indicators of
addiction or craving scores.
One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that previous research used single-item
craving scales rather than multi-item craving measures. Although single-item rating scales
provide a quicker assessment of craving, multi-item questionnaires provide a more detailed and
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 40
comprehensive evaluation of the multiple dimensions of the craving experience. However, if
single item ratings and multi-item scores are highly correlated, then the use of single-item ratings
might be more advantageous due to reduced participant fatigue and reduced cue exposure effects
in single-item craving assessments.
A second explanation is that previous research used internet addiction measures rather
than online gaming-specific addiction measures, and the former assess a broader and less-clearly
defined construct. In addition, internet addiction typically involves behaviors and experiences
that are different from online gaming addiction, such as compulsive shopping, video watching,
and forum use. The items of online-gaming addiction measures are more likely to be relevant to
the experience of online gaming than items of broader internet addiction measures.
However, there are disadvantages of using online-gaming addiction questionnaires. One
disadvantage is that there is little evidence regarding the psychometric properties of many of the
questionnaires created specifically to assess online gaming addiction (e.g., Problematic Online
Game Use Scale; Haagsma et al., 2013a; GAME-AUDIT and GAME-TACE; Decker & Gay,
2011). Because psychometric evaluations have not yet been conducted, we cannot assume that
these questionnaires are reliable or valid measures of online gaming addiction, problematic use
of online games, or online gaming dependence. Therefore, a limitation of the current study is the
use of the International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder (Petry et al.,
2014) to measure online gaming addiction, because its psychometric properties have not yet been
evaluated.
Another disadvantage of the ICIMIGD is the dichotomous (yes/no) response option for
each purported indicator of online gaming addiction. Dichotomous response options can elicit
unbalanced response distributions (i.e., where almost all respondents endorse yes or no), and thus
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 41
provide less accurate scores for questionnaires meant to assess participants’ complex
experiences. Furthermore, multiple choice response options are more reliable, provide more
stable results, and produce better scales than the dichotomous choice options (Comrey, 1988).
A limitation common to all of the measures used in this study is that they assume a trait
theory conceptualization of the constructs they assessed, rather than taking situational specificity
into account. Trait theory assumes that many behaviors are influenced by personality traits,
dispositions and characteristics that are stable across time and circumstances. By contrast,
situational specificity assumes that most behavior is less a function of traits and more a function
of the many environments in which a person operates, and which set the occasion for and reward
or punish behavior. In relation to my study, the ICIMIGD is based on the implicit assumption
that online gaming addiction is a disposition or characteristic that influences an individual across
time and environments. However, it is possible to take context into account in conceptualizing
online gaming addiction. In this case, symptoms or criteria of online gaming addiction would be
viewed less as signs of an underlying psychopathological state and more as samples of behavior
that manifest, and are then rewarded or punished, in certain environments and not in others. The
measures used in my study did not take context into account in assessing constructs such as
online gaming addiction symptoms.
A third limitation is that the nine items of the ICIMIGD are given equal weight in
determining participants’ number of endorsed indicators of addiction. Equivalent weighting of
items is problematic because some criteria, such as tolerance and withdrawal, may be indicative
of more problematic use than other criteria, such as reducing participation in other activities to
make more time for online gaming. Using equal weights, a participant who endorses 2 items on
this measure would be rated as having less problematic use than a participant who endorses 5
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 42
items on the measure. However, if the first participant scores a 2 by endorsing the tolerance item
and the withdrawal item, and the second participant scores a 5 by endorsing the items regarding
preoccupation, giving up activities, escaping adverse moods, covering up use, and risking
opportunities, I would argue that the participant who experiences tolerance and withdrawal has a
more serious problem even though he or she endorsed fewer indicators.
Another limitation of the current study was the questionnaire I devised to assess which
aspects of game structure emphasize different player motivations. Unexpectedly, many of the ten
subscales demonstrated poor internal consistency reliability. Furthermore, many subscales were
correlated only weakly with the motivations to which they pertain, and were unrelated to craving,
number of addiction indicators, and harmonious and obsessive passions for online gaming. This
pattern of results suggests that the Game Structure Questionnaire subscales lack convergent
validity, in that they do not demonstrate relationships with constructs to which they are
conceptually linked. Given these limitations, I recommend further research to develop an
assessment of game structure based on motivations to play online games.
Future research would also benefit from the development of an online gaming addiction
measure that retains the conceptual foundation of the ICIMIGD but also offers differential
weights for items referencing criteria of varying severity. Such a measure would allow
researchers to assess online gaming addiction using a measure that is based on the specific
experience of online gaming, and accounts for different severity of criteria for problematic use.
Additionally, future research in this area might benefit from more extensive examination of the
influence of game structure on players’ motives for and addiction to online gaming. Specifically,
research could examine the process by which game structure features such as increasing
difficulty in reward attainment, unlimited time course, and character/avatar attachment influence
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 43
motivations for and symptoms of online gaming addiction. Such research could lead to the
implementation of a set of standards for game development that would minimize structural
elements that lead to greater game addiction and thereby would provide an early safeguard to
problematic gaming in players. Although the current study begins the examination of the way in
which motivation and game structure influence online gaming addiction, further research is
needed to provide empirical basis and impetus for change in the game development community.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 44
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Yee, N. (2006b). The demographics, motivations, and derived experiences of users of massively
multi-user online graphical environments. Presence, 15, 309–329.
Yee, N. (2006c). The psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional investment, motivations,
relationship formation, and problematic usage. In R. Schroeder & A. Axelsson (Eds.),
Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual
Environments (pp. 187-207). London: Springer-Verlag.
Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder.
Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 1, 237-244.
Young, K. (2009). Understanding online gaming addiction and treatment issues for adolescents.
The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37, 355-372.
Young. M. M & Wohl, M. J. A. (2009). The Gambling Craving Scale: Psychometric validation
and behavioral outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23, 512-522.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 52
Table 1. Demographic and Game Playing Characteristics of Participants
Age (Years)
Gender
Male
Female
Country
United States
Europe
Canada
Asia
Australia
Ethnicity
White/European-American
Black/African-American
Asian-American/Pacific Islander
Latino(a)/Hispanic
Other
Attended College/University
Yes
No
Year in College/University
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate Student
Number of gaming sessions played per day
1-2 sessions
3-4 sessions
5-6 sessions
7-8 sessions
9-10 sessions
More than 10 sessions
Typical length of gaming sessions
Less than 1 hour
1-2 hours
3-5 hours
6-8 hours
9-11 hours
21.8 (3.7)
59%
41
95%
2
1
1
1
84%
5
3
2
5
95%
5
25%
20
16
20
13
65%
11
3
1
1
2
28%
47
21
2
1
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 53
More than 11 hours
Game playing days per week
None
1 day
2 days
3 days
4 days
5 days
6 days
Everyday
Number of years playing
Less than 1 year
1-2 years
3-5 years
6-8 years
9-11 years
More than 11 years
Typical game modality
Laptop computer
Console (e.g., Xbox, Playstation)
Desktop computer
Cell phone
Tablet
Other
1
8%
15
12
17
13
10
6
18
13%
13
21
22
13
17
37%
30
20
8
3
2
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 54
Table 2. Intercorrelations among 10 subscales of the Motivation to Play Online Games
Questionnaire
Subscale
title
Advan Mech
cement anics
Comp
etition
Social Relatio Team
izing nship
work
Disco Role
very play
Custom
ization
Esca
pism
Advance
ment
-
.36*
.39*
.28*
.28*
.14*
.30*
.27*
.56*
.41*
-
.20*
.27*
.33*
.31*
.26*
.29*
.36*
.33*
-
.25*
.22*
.16*
.22*
.16*
.26*
.26*
-
.73*
.62*
.30*
.17*
.21*
.32*
-
.59*
.32*
.21*
.26*
.36*
-
.24*
.17*
.16*
.22*
-
.45*
.43*
.41*
-
.64*
.54*
-
.45*
Mechani
cs
Competi
tion
Socializi
ng
Relation
ship
Teamwo
rk
Discover
y
Roleplay
Customi
zation
Escapis
m
*p<.01
-
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 55
Table 3. Intercorrelations among the 10 subscales of the Game Structure Questionnaire
Subscale
title
Advan Mech
cement anics
Comp
etition
Social Relatio Team
izing nship
work
Disco Role
very play
Custom
ization
Esca
pism
Advance
ment
-
.17*
.05
.23*
.06
.12*
.27*
.28*
.20*
.19*
-
.13*
.29*
.25*
.26*
.49*
.47*
.39*
.50*
-
.42*
.21*
.46*
.03
-.06
.04
-.05
-
.41*
.67*
.44*
.21*
.24*
.33*
-
.46*
.33*
.28*
.24*
.22*
-
.27*
.18*
.18*
.18*
-
.50*
.37*
.54*
-
.54*
.48*
-
.44*
Mechani
cs
Competi
tion
Socializi
ng
Relation
ship
Teamwo
rk
Discover
y
Roleplay
Customi
zation
Escapis
m
*p<.01
-
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 56
Table 4. Regression for significant predictors of number of indicators of addiction and craving
ICIMIGD
R square
.56
.51
26.65
22.552
.000
.000
OGPS
Obsessive
.524**
.119*
OGPS
Harmonious
-.101*
-
OGCQ
.143**
-
-
.157**
.096*
-
.160**
.299**
MPOGQ
Advancement
-
.191**
GSQ
Relationship
-
.094*
F
p level
Beta
weights
OGCQ
ICIMIGD
# days played
per week
MPOGQ
Escapism
Note. ICIMIGD = International Consensus Items to Measure Internet Gaming Disorder; OGCQ
= Online Gaming Craving Questionnaire; MPOGQ = Motivations to Play in Online Games
Questionnaire; GSQ = Game Structure Questionnaire.
*p < .05
**p < .01
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 57
Table 5. Association between Motivation to Play in Online Games Questionnaire subscales and
harmonious and obsessive passions
Motivation
Craving
subscale
Addiction
Harmonious
Obsessive
indicators
passion
passion
Advancement
.44**
.31**
.32**
.21**
Mechanics
.32**
.30**
.38**
.27**
Competition
.29**
.28**
.22**
.27**
Socializing
.36**
.29**
.37**
.15**
Relationship
.42**
.33**
.49**
.25**
Teamwork
.26**
.20**
.38**
.15**
Discovery
.34**
.25**
.41**
.16**
Roleplaying
.40**
.26**
.47**
.16**
Customization
.39**
.28**
.39**
.24**
Escapism
.59**
.46**
.48**
.28**
*p < .05
**p < .01
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 58
Table 6. Association between Game Structure Questionnaire subscales and harmonious and
obsessive passions
Game structure
Craving
subscale
Addiction
Harmonious
Obsessive
indicators
passion
passion
Advancement
.09*
.06
.08
-.02
Mechanics
.23**
.17**
.40**
.12**
Competition
.19**
.21**
.21**
.12**
Socializing
.29**
.27**
.35**
.09*
Relationship
.29**
.21**
.36**
.16**
Teamwork
.31**
.25**
.39**
.09*
Discovery
.24**
.16**
.34**
.09*
Roleplaying
.20**
.07
.34**
.05
Customization
.16**
.13**
.24**
.05
Escapism
.15**
.10*
.31**
.04
*p < .05
**p < .01
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 59
Table 7. Percent of participants endorsing International Consensus Items to Measure Internet
Gaming Disorder (ICIMIGD) criteria
ICIMIGD Criteria
Preoccupation - spend a lot of time thinking
about games even when not playing, or
planning when to play next
Withdrawal - feel restless, irritable, moody,
angry, anxious, or sad when attempting to cut
down or unable to play
Tolerance - need to play for longer amounts of
time, play more exciting games, or use more
powerful equipment to get same amount of
excitement
Unable to reduce/stop - feel you should play
less but are unable to cut back on amount of
time spent playing games
Give up other activities - lose interest or
reduce participation in other activities
(hobbies, meetings with friends) due to gaming
Continue despite problems - continue to play
despite negative consequences (not getting
enough sleep, being late to school/work,
spending too much money, having arguments
with others, neglecting important duties)
Deceive/cover up - lie to family, friends, or
others, or try to keep them from knowing,
about how much you play
Escape adverse moods - play to escape from
or forget about personal problems or to relieve
uncomfortable feelings (guilt, anxiety,
helplessness, sadness)
Risk/lose relationships/opportunities - risk or
lose significant relationships or job, academic,
or career opportunities due to gaming
% of participants endorsing
28%
15%
19%
13%
19%
40%
12%
45%
7%
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 60
Table 8. Gender differences for number of addiction indicators, craving, passions, and 10
motivation subscales
Variable
# of addiction indicators
Male
Female
Craving score
Male
Female
Obsessive passion score
Male
Female
Harmonious passion score
Male
Female
Advancement motivation
Male
Female
Mechanics motivation
Male
Female
Competition motivation
Male
Female
Socializing motivation
Male
Female
Relationship motivation
Male
Female
Teamwork motivation
Male
Female
Discovery motivation
Male
Female
Role-playing motivation
Male
Female
N
Mean
SD
p value
315
223
2.20
1.66
2.03
1.98
.002*
316
223
4.45
4.10
1.19
1.20
.001*
316
222
1.75
1.66
0.82
0.83
.225
316
222
3.27
2.95
0.89
0.97
.000*
316
223
3.60
3.27
0.69
0.71
.000*
316
223
2.97
2.65
0.63
0.69
.000*
316
223
2.66
2.20
0.72
0.69
.000*
315
222
3.20
2.51
1.12
1.16
.000*
316
223
2.71
2.23
1.12
1.10
.000*
316
223
2.92
2.62
0.62
0.62
.000*
316
223
3.38
3.28
0.91
0.90
.211
316
223
3.26
3.31
0.73
0.76
.421
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 61
Customization motivation
Male
Female
Escapism motivation
Male
Female
316
223
2.91
2.93
0.86
0.88
.728
316
223
3.69
3.57
0.89
0.95
.153
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 62
APPENDIX A. RECRUITMENT SCRIPT
Online Game Playing Research Study - Bowling Green State University
You are invited to participate in a project we are conducting on the relationship between online
gaming attitudes, motivations, and behaviors.
You are eligible to participate if you are at least 18 years old and have played an online game at
least once in the past six months.
Participation is completely anonymous and participants can complete the entire study online.
Participants will be asked to complete a set of questionnaires regarding their online gaming
attitudes and behaviors and a few demographic questions. Please know that all of your answers
are anonymous.
We anticipate it will take you between 20 and 40 minutes to complete all questionnaires.
As incentive, you will be automatically entered to win a $100.00 Amazon.com gift card.
The benefits of participating include helping us better understand the relationship between online
gaming attitudes, motivations, and behaviors.
To access the online study, please click on the following link:
[[[study link to Survey Gizmo inserted here]]]
For more information, please contact:
Nicole Cross, Principal Investigator
Graduate Student - Bowling Green State University
[email protected]
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 63
APPENDIX B. MOTIVATION TO PLAY IN ONLINE GAMES QUESTIONNAIRE
Instructions: Please rate your agreement with each of the following items using this scale:
1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree
1) I find myself having meaningful conversations with others.
2) I usually don’t chat much with group members.
3) I have made some good friends in the game.
4) I find myself soloing a lot.
5) I like to say funny things in group/guild chat.
6) I talk to my friends in the game about personal issues.
7) Friends in the game have offered me support when I had a RL problem or crisis.
8) I am an effective group leader.
9) I would rather follow than lead.
10) I like to feel powerful in the game.
11) Doing massive amounts of damage is very satisfying.
12) I constantly try to set and reach goals.
13) I can’t stand those people who only care about leveling.
14) It’s very important to me to get the best gear available.
15) I try to optimize my XP gain as much as possible.
16) I’m fascinated by the game mechanics, and love charts and tables.
17) I research everything about a class before starting the character.
18) Class-balancing or realm-balancing issues do not interest me.
19) This game is too complicated.
20) I like wandering and exploring the world.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 64
21) I would make maps if they weren’t available.
22) I have learned things about myself from playing the game.
23) I understand real-life group dynamics much more after playing the game.
24) I like the escapism aspect of the game.
25) I like to be immersed in a fantasy world.
26) Playing the game lets me vent and relieve stress from the day.
27) Playing the game lets me forget some of the real-life problems I have.
28) I like to try out new roles and personalities with my characters.
29) The way I am in the game is the way I am in real life.
30) People who role-play extensively bother me.
31) I like the feeling of being part of a story.
32) I make up stories and histories for my characters.
33) I like to manipulate other people so they do what I want them to.
34) I like to dominate other characters/players.
35) I like to taunt or annoy other players.
36) I scam other people out of their money or equipment.
37) I beg for money or items in the game.
38) It’s important to me to achieve things with as little help from other people as possible.
39) It’s just a game.
40) I am uninterested in player-killing.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 65
APPENDIX C. ONLINE GAMING PASSIONS SCALE
Instructions: Please rate your agreement with each of the following items using this scale:
1: I do not agree at all, 2: I do not agree, 3: I somewhat disagree, 4: I neither agree or disagree,
5: I somewhat agree, 6: I agree, 7: I completely agree
1. I cannot live without this game.
2. I am emotionally dependent on this game.
3. I have a tough time controlling my need to play this game.
4. I have almost an obsessive feeling for this game.
5. The urge is so strong, I cannot help myself from playing this game.
6. This game allows me to live memorable experiences.
7. This game is in harmony with the other activities in my life.
8. The new things that I discover with this game allow me to appreciate it even more.
9. This game reflects the qualities I like about myself.
10. This game allows me to live a variety of experiences.
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 66
APPENDIX D. ONLINE GAMING CRAVING QUESTIONNAIRE
1. If I had access to my game of choice right now, I would probably play it.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
__
__
Strongly Agree
2. I miss playing my game of choice.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
3. I am not planning on playing my game of choice.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
4. I could not stop myself from playing my game of choice if I had the chance to play.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
5. I want to play my game of choice so badly, I can almost see the game images in my
mind.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
6. I would feel less irritable if I played my game of choice right now.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
__
Strongly Agree
__
Strongly Agree
7. If I play my game of choice right now, I will feel less tense.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
8. Playing my game of choice now would not be very satisfying.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 67
9. I would feel less restless if I played my game of choice right now.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
10. If I was playing my game of choice right now, I would feel less nervous.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
11. It would be easy for me to pass up the chance to play my game of choice.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
__
Strongly Agree
__
Strongly Agree
12. Playing my game of choice would put me in a better mood.
Strongly Disagree
__
__
__
__
__
__
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 68
APPENDIX E. INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS ITEMS TO MEASURE INTERNET
GAMING DISORDER
Question
1. Do you spend a lot of time thinking
about games even when you are not
playing, or planning when you can play
next?
2. Do you feel restless, irritable, moody,
angry, anxious, or sad when attempting
to cut down or when you are unable to
play?
3. Do you feel the need to play for
increasing amounts of time, play more
exciting games, or use more powerful
equipment to get the same amount of
excitement you used to get?
4. Do you feel that you should play less,
but are unable to cut back on the amount
of time you spend playing games?
5. Do you lose interest in or reduce
participation in other recreational
activities (hobbies, meetings with
friends) due to gaming?
6. Do you continue to play games even
though you are aware of negative
consequences, such as not getting
enough sleep, being late to school or
work, spending too much money, having
arguments with others, or neglecting
important duties?
7. Do you lie to family, friends, or others
about how much you game, or try to
keep your family or friends from
knowing how much you game?
8. Do you game to escape from or forget
about personal problems or to relieve
uncomfortable feelings such as guilt,
anxiety, helplessness, or sadness?
9. Do you risk or lose significant
relationships or job, educational, or
career opportunities because of gaming?
Criterion
Preoccupation
Withdrawal
Tolerance
Unable to reduce/stop
Give up other activities
Continue despite problems
Deceive/cover up
Escape adverse moods
Risk/lose relationships/opportunities
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 69
APPENDIX F. GAME STRUCTURE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. My game of choice allows _____ people to play simultaneously.
1 person
2 – 3 people
4 – 10 people
11 – 100 people
More than 100 people
2. My game of choice encourages social contact.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
3. My game of choice encourages teamwork among players.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
4. My game of choice encourages relationships among players.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
5. The setting of my game of choice is a very large world.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
6. The setting of my game of choice is a realistic-looking world.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
7. The setting of my game of choice is a visually detailed world.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
8. The setting of my game is a complex world.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
9. My game of choice allows me to customize my avatar to look however I want.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
10. My game of choice encourages the development of my avatar’s skills and story.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 70
11. I progress in my game of choice through the way my avatar progresses in his/her skills
and story.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
12. When I play my game of choice, there is a defined end to the game (for example, when
the battle is over, I must choose a new battle or game to continue playing).
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
13. When I play my game of choice, there is no defined end to the game (for example, the
game is ongoing and I stop playing when I log off to start again where I left off in the last
session).
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
14. At the beginning of my game of choice, items are easier to earn.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
15. As my level progresses in my game of choice, items require more time, effort, and skill to
earn.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
16. In my game of choice, the same amount of skill, time, and effort is required to earn items
when I first start playing and after I have been playing for a while.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
17. At the beginning of my game of choice, I advance in levels quickly.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
18. After I have been playing my game of choice for a while, it requires more time and effort
to advance my level.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 71
19. In my game of choice, the same amount of skill, time, and effort is required to advance
my level when I first start playing and after I have been playing for a while.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
20. My game of choice encourages competing with other players.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
21. My game of choice encourages winning battles against other players.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
CRAVING AND MOTIVATION IN ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION 72
APPENDIX G. DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS
1) Please check your gender:
Male
Female
2) How old are you? _______
3) Please check your ethnicity:
White/European American
Asian-American/Pacific Islander
Black/African American
Native American Indian/First Nation
Latino(a)/Hispanic-American
Other (please specify):
4) What is your year in college?
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
5th year or above
Senior
5) Are you a:
Full-time student
Part-time student
6) Please check where you live:
I live on campus
I live off campus
7) How many separate game sessions do you play each day?
None
times
1-2 times
3-4 times
5-6 times
7-8 times 9-10 times More than 10
8) How long does a typical gaming session last?
Less than 1 hour 1 – 2 hours
3 – 5 hours
6-8 hours
More than 9 hours
9) How many days out of the week do you game?
None
One day
Two days
Three days
Four days
Five days
Six days
Everyday
10) How long have you been playing online games?
Less than 1 year
1 – 2 years
3 – 5 years
6-9 years
More than 10 years