Playing Against the Game

Negativity In Playing And Game-Based Learning

While in the literature the benefits of games for learning are implicitly related to socially acceptable or desirable behaviour (such as community-building and sharing), the implications of negative social motivations and behaviours (such as cheating, sabotaging or spoilsporting), both for learning and game play, receive less attention. However, these negative behaviours are commonplace, some being legitimate within the game structure (e.g. lying in Poker), while others take place outside of the ‘magic circle’ of the game. However, there is a growing body of research relating to violent motivations and the impacts of aggressive gaming (e.g. Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Gentile & Gentile, 2007).

Accordingly analyses of the motivational basis of playing usually consider ‘positive’ forms; e.g. Malone and Lepper (1987) identified four internal motivations: challenge, curiosity, control and fantasy – and three interpersonal motivations: cooperation, competition and recognition. And classically, Caillois (1958) distinguishes agon, alea, mimicry and ilinx. Most of these forms are conceived as pro-social. Even competition and agon are at least not understood as anti-social. But when looking at more negative human traits we find them in the ludic sphere as well. Such negativity can be directed against other players as well as against the game itself.