Official course description:

Full info last published 15/11-19
Course info
Language:
English
ECTS points:
7.5
Course code:
KGPSPLG1KU
Participants max:
50
Offered to guest students:
yes
Offered to exchange students:
Offered as a single subject:
yes
Price for EU/EEA citizens (Single Subject):
10625 DKK
Programme
Level:
MSc. Master
Programme:
MSc in Games
Staff
Course manager
Assistant Professor
Course semester
Semester
Forår 2020
Start
27 January 2020
End
31 August 2020
Exam
Exam type
ordinær
Internal/External
ekstern censur
Grade Scale
7-trinsskala
Exam Language
GB
Abstract

The objective of the course is to provide students with ways of understanding, articulating and thinking critically about some of the fundamental assumptions about the psychology of games, play and players, both human and non-human.

Description

The course introduces the student to classic psychological theory and ideas about games and play. The course relates these to research into contemporary issues and debates such as:

  • Gambling versus gaming and ‘loot boxes’
  • Dark design patterns
  • Addiction
  • Violence and social learning
  • The psychology of esports
  • Player types
  • Biases
  • Social dynamics in online spaces

These topics will be discussed against the backdrop of the main schools of thought in psychology: behavioral, cognitive, social, and existential-humanistic psychology. 

The course is designed to help students think critically about how games and play in a broad sense can be understood in a psychological framework; but also, how specific game elements might or might not influence players. 

Furthermore, the course will explore the affordances of the virtual worlds that have come to be the backdrop of a lot of play in the 21st century. 

The students will be tasked with not only learning about various psychological approaches to human play, games, and motivation in general, but also to implement these in playful interactions. How might one approach a design task based on the tenants of e.g. behavioral psychology as opposed to humanistic psychology?

Formal prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for the course. Prior academic experience with psychology is advantageous. However, teaching and learning activities are aimed at students with no prior knowledge of the field. 

Intended learning outcomes

After the course, the student should be able to:

  • Identify and account for select key questions and theoretical positions in the psychology of games and play.
  • Account for relevant theoretical perspectives on games and play.
  • Analyze and discuss a select issue within the subject area of the psychology of games and play and possibly to discuss the potential implications whether they are e.g. political, ethical, philosophical, historical or societal issues, challenges, etc.
  • Present relevant concepts from the curriculum precisely, and use these concepts in a well-argued manner in an investigation of a problem related to the understanding or analysis of games.
Learning activities

The course is organized around the standard format of lectures and exercise sessions. Lectures are typically teacher-driven, but still interactive sessions wherein students are presented with the main theoretical concepts of the course. Exercise sessions vary in their format. They may feature class discussions, student-driven seminars, and student driven workshops. In student-driven seminars students, in groups, read and prepare a presentation of a part of the course literature for class discussion (all students will have to prepare at least one seminar). In student driven workshops the class as a whole attempt to apply psychological theoretical insight to concrete, game-related problems.

It is expected that students prepare a minimum of one seminar for fellow students, in which they work with selected readings from the syllabus.

Course literature

The course literature is published in the course page in LearnIT.

Student Activity Budget
Estimated distribution of learning activities for the typical student
  • Preparation for lectures and exercises: 30%
  • Lectures: 20%
  • Exercises: 20%
  • Exam with preparation: 30%
Ordinary exam
Exam type:
C: Submission of written work, external (7-trinsskala)
Exam variation:
C: Submission of written work
Exam submission description:
For the final exam students are required to submit an a traditional academic paper. Exam papers are written individually and have to be between 10 and 12 normal pages.

One normal page is defined as 2400 characters. Including spaces, footnotes, and endnotes. Excluding front page, table of contents, references, and appendices.

Time and date