Christian Laier, Marco Bäumer, Matthias Brand Implicit associations in male and female gamers across different online games are linked to symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder. Christian Laier, Marco Bäumer, Matthias Brand

Theoretical background 1 Theoretical background

Behavioral addictions Tolerance Loss of control Mood variation Withdrawal Conflicts Salience Substance addictions Behavioral addictions

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) DSM-5, Conditions for further study Preoccupation with Internet games Withdrawal symptoms Tolerance Unsuccessful attempts to control participation in Internet games Loss of interest in previous hobbies and entertainment Continued excessive use of Internet games despite knowledge of problems Deceiving family members, therapists, or others regarding amount of gaming Use of Internet games to escape or relieve negative moods Jeopardising or losing a significant relationship, job, or education or career opportunity

Theoretical models on IGD

The I-PACE model

Person’s core characteristics Psychopathology Depression Social anxiety ADHD Personality Impulsivity Low self-esteem Low conscientiousness Social cognitions Loneliness Perceived social support Social distrust Biopsychological constitution Genetic factors Early childhood experiences Stress vulnerability Specific motives for using Games Gambles Cybersex and pornography Shopping sites Communication sites/apps Person’s core characteristics Verstärkung Coping style Internet-related cognitive bias Expectancies Illusions Implicit associations Reinforcement Reductions of executive functions/ inhibitory control Subjectively perceived situation Confrontation with addiction-related cues Stress, personal conflicts, abnormal mood Affective and cognitive responses Cue reactivity Craving Urge for mood regulation Attentional bias Decision to use a certain application Gratification Compensation Reinforcement Stabilization and Intensification Specific Internet-use disorder Negative consequences in daily life Diminished control over the Internet use Stabilization and Intensification Stabilization and Intensification

Implicit associations  positive implicit associations develop due to experienced gratification  positive implicit associations are related to substance and behavioral addictions Brevers et al. 2013; Yi et al. (2010) Snagowski et al. (2015) Yen et al. (2010)

Hypotheses Tendencies towards IGD are related to positive and avoidance expectancies for gaming valence and arousal ratings of gaming cues craving reactions implicit associations

2 Methods

Sample Preferred Game Males N = 82 (Mage= 24.22, SD = 4.43) Females Battlefield IV n = 7 n = 3 Diablo III n = 8 n = 11 Dota 2 n = 6 n = 4 Grand Theft Auto 5 n = 22 League of Legends n = 31 n = 23 Starcraft 2 n = 0 n = 1 World of Warcraft N = 8 n = 14

Implicit Association Task - categorisation task positive, negative, neutral and addiction related cues - congruent vs. incongruent rounds Variable  D2SD positive values indicate positive implicit associations Gaming specific cue Gaming specific cue Gaming specific cue Gaming specific cue Snagowski et al. (2015)

40 Cue presentation paradigm Questionnaires Craving (t1) Craving (t2) short Internet Addiction Test modified for Gaming (Pawlikowski et al., 2014) Internet Use Expectancy Scale (Brand et al., 2014) modified for Gaming Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire (Love et al., 1998) modfied for Gaming 40 Craving (t1) Craving (t2) Valence 1 (= negative) to 5 (= positive) Arousal 1 (= not arousing) to 5 (= very arousing)

3 Results

Males M (SD) Females T p d s-IATgaming 27.75 (9.37) 16.85 (7.13) 7.84 < .001 1.29 IUESpositive 17.63 (4.80) 11.15 (6.58) 6.94 1.14 IUESavoidance 10.16 (4.20) 7.29 (3.49) 4.45 0.73 Cue valence 3.07 (0.67) 2.83 (0.74) 2.09 <. 05 0.34 Cue arousal 2.96 (0.74) 2.48 (0.97) 3.42 <. 01 0.56 Craving t1 42.87 (16.51) 25.46 (13.50) <. 001 1.15 Craving t2 44.83 (19.66) 23.79 (12.96) 7.52 1.24 D2SD 0.036 (0.444) -0.231 (0.442) 3.67 0.61

Correlations – Male participants 1. s-IATgaming 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 2. IUESpositive .65** 3. IUESavoidance .56** .45** 4. Cue valence .42** .33** .11 5. Cue arousal .47** .49** .28* .83** 6. Craving t1 .73** .60** .36** 7. Craving t2 .80** .68** .61** .35** .46** .84** 8. D2SD .26* .00 .01 .34**

Correlations – Female participants 1. s-IATgaming 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 2. IUESpositive .73** 3. IUESavoidance .47** .70** 4. Cue valence .32** .28* .26* 5. Cue arousal .35** .39** .31* .77** 6. Craving t1 .78* .56** .33** 7. Craving t2 .82** .72** .59** .34* .36** .96** 8. D2SD .38** .11 .02 .002

4 Discussion

Summary males reported higher tendencies towards IGD in male and female gamers, tendencies towards IGD were associated with use expectancies, cue ratings, craving reactions, and implicit associations the results are in line with theoretical assumptions expectations, craving reactions, and implicit associations may be important factors within the development and maintenance of IGD