Testing Measurement Invariance of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Entertainment Experiences Across Media Formats

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to investigate the measurement invariance of media users’ entertainment experiences as conceptualized by two-process models of entertainment (i.e., enjoyment and appreciation) across different media formats. With this purpose, the present research relates to the recent rise of entertainment research, embracing more and more media types and formats with which entertainment experiences may occur. At the same time, it addresses a methodological issue that has rarely been addressed in communication research. Focusing on one of the most often used measurement instruments in entertainment research, on three different media formats (political talk shows, comedies, …

Leistungshandeln und Unterhaltungserleben im Computerspiel

Das zentrale Neue am Medium Computerspiel ist die interaktive Darbietungs- und Nutzungsform (Vorderer 2000). Sie bedingt erhebliche theoretische und methodische Herausforderungen fur die Forschung (vgl. Klimmt, in diesem Band). Dies gilt in geradezu prototypischer Weise fur die (kommunikationswissenschaftliche) Unterhaltungsforschung (Vorderer 2001;Vorderer 2003), denn das (inter-)aktive Eingreifen der Rezipientinnen und Rezipienten ist in den konventionellen Konzepten zum unterhaltsamen Mediengebrauch nicht vorgesehen. Verschiedene Versuche wurden deshalb unternommen, die Implikationen interaktiver (Spiele-)Nutzung fur das Unterhaltungserleben aufzudecken und zu modellieren (z. B. Klimmt 2…

Permanently online and permanently connected : development and validation of the Online Vigilance Scale

Smartphones and other mobile devices have fundamentally changed patterns of Internet use in everyday life by making online access constantly available. The present paper offers a theoretical explication and empirical assessment of the concept of online vigilance, referring to users' permanent cognitive orientation towards online content and communication as well as their disposition to exploit these options constantly. Based on four studies, a validated and reliable self-report measure of online vigilance was developed. In combination, the results suggest that the Online Vigilance Scale (OVS) shows a stable factor structure in various contexts and user populations and provides future work i…

The motivational appeal of interactive storytelling: Towards a dimensional model of the user experience

A conceptual account to the quality of the user experience that interactive storytelling intends to facilitate is introduced. Building on socialscientific research from `old' entertainment media, the experiential qualities of curiosity, suspense, aesthetic pleasantness, self-enhancement, and optimal task engagement ("flow") are proposed as key elements of a theory of user experience in interactive storytelling. Perspectives for the evolution of the model, research and application are briefly discussed.

Entertainment 2.0? The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Need Satisfaction for the Enjoyment of Facebook Use

While intrinsic motivation has received broad attention in recent entertainment research, the effects of extrinsic motivation, such as social pressure to use media, on media enjoyment remain unknown. Based on an online-survey (N = 230), this study tested the effects of intrinsic need satisfaction and perceived social pressure on the enjoyment of Facebook use with structural equation modeling. The results reveal complex effects of extrinsic motivation: While social pressure negatively affected autonomy need satisfaction, it was positively related to competence and relatedness need satisfaction. This study is the first to develop and test a theoretical model of entertainment experience in the…

Experimental evidence for suspence as determinant of video game enjoyment

Based on theoretical assumptions from film psychology and their application to video games, the hypothesis is tested that suspense is a major factor in video game enjoyment. A first-person shooter game was experimentally manipulated to create either a low level or a high level of suspense. Sixty-three participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions; enjoyment was assessed after playing by a 10-item rating scale. Results support the assumption that suspense is a driver of video game enjoyment. © 2009 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Well-Being and Media Use

Permanently Online—Always Stressed Out? The Effects of Permanent Connectedness on Stress Experiences

Abstract Concerns have been expressed that permanent online connectedness might negatively affect media user’s stress levels. Most research has focused on negative effects of specific media usage patterns, such as media multitasking or communication load. In contrast, users’ cognitive orientation toward online content and communication has rarely been investigated. Against this backdrop, we examined whether this cognitive orientation (i.e., online vigilance with its three dimensions salience, reactibility, monitoring) is related to perceived stress at different timescales (person, day, and situation level), while accounting for the effects of multitasking and communication load. Results acr…

The video game experience as 'true' identification: A theory of enjoyable alterations of players' self-perception

This article introduces an explication of video game players' identification with a game character or role that is based on social-psychological models of self-perception. Contrasting with conventional ("dyadic" ) notions of media user-character relationships (e.g., parasocial interaction or affective disposition theory), ("monadic" ) video game identification is defined as a temporal shift of players' self-perception through adoption of valued properties of the game character. Implications for media enjoyment, the measurement of identification, and media effects are discussed. © 2009 International Communication Association.

Feeling interrupted-Being responsive: How online messages relate to affect at work

Being constantly connected to others via e‐mail and other online messages is increasingly typical for many employees. In this paper, we develop and test a model that specifies how interruptions by online messages relate to negative and positive affect. We hypothesize that perceived interruptions by online messages predict state negative affect via time pressure and that perceived interruptions predict state positive affect via responsiveness to these online messages and perceived task accomplishment. A daily survey study with 174 employees (a total of 811 day‐level observations) provided support for our hypotheses at the between‐person and within‐person level. In addition, perceived interru…

Measuring user responses to interactive stories: Towards a standardized assessment tool

With the increasing number of prototypes and market applications of interactive storytelling, the understanding and optimization of how end users respond to computer-mediated interactive narratives is of growing importance. Based on a conceptual model of user experiences in interactive storytelling, a measurement instrument for empirical user-based research was developed. We report findings from an initial test of the self-report scales that was conducted with N=80 players of the adventure game "Fahrenheit". Interactivity was manipulated experimentally in order to validate the measures. Results suggest that the scales will be useful for comparing user responses to 'real' interactive storyte…

From Mood to Meaning: The Changing Model of the User in Entertainment Research

In recent years, entertainment theory has undergone a paradigmatic shift: The traditional conceptualization of entertainment as an exclusively pleasurable affective state has been significantly extended by recent two-factor models. These models have introduced a second dimension of entertainment that incorporates more complex nonhedonic experiences, such as the search for meaning or intrinsic need satisfaction. They have not only crucially altered the way communication scholars conceptualize the audience of media entertainment but also our discipline's view on the effects of entertaining media content. The present article discusses the implications of this changing model of the media user b…

Player performance, satisfaction, and video game enjoyment

An experiment (N = 74) was conducted to investigate the impact of game difficulty and player performance on game enjoyment. Participants played a First Person Shooter game with systematically varied levels of difficulty. Satisfaction with performance and game enjoyment were assessed after playing. Results are not fully in line with predictions derived from flow and attribution theory and suggest players to (1) change their view on their own performance with its implications for enjoyment with increasing game experience and (2) to switch strategically between different sources of fun, thus maintaining a (somewhat) positive experience even when performance-based enjoyment is low.