Motivations for Social Interaction: The Case of Pokémon Go After the Fad Ended
Abstract
Objective: We survey Pokémon Go players regarding motivations/patterns of gameplay and sociability over time to understand human interaction in augmented game settings. We disentangle effects of solo versus social and past versus current gameplay through replication of the Pokémon Go Motive Scale.
Methods: We use OLS regression to determine how motivation affects hours of gameplay, to measure changes in hours spent playing Pokémon Go, and to capture perceptions of engagement with the game over time.
Results: We find seven motivations: exercise, fun, escapism, nostalgia, friendship maintenance, relationship initiation, and achievement. Initiating new relationships leads to increased social playing time and increased perceptions of Pokémon Go as both interesting and challenging.
Conclusion: Intrinsic rewards hold the most staying power as a distinct motivation for gameplay. Implications go beyond Pokemon Go gaming to shed light on the differential impact of human motivation for social interaction in games that utilize augmented reality.
Recommended Citation
Evans, J., Evans, S. Z., Shank, D. B., & Fallon, Q. P. (2021). Motivations for Social Interaction: The Case of Pokémon Go After the Fad Ended. Social Science Quarterly, 102(1), pp. 547-551. Wiley.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12880
Department(s)
Psychological Science
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0038-4941; 1540-6237
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2021 Southwestern Social Science Association, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 2021
Comments
This study was supported by grants from the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of West Florida and Missouri University of Science and Technology.