Psychology Works analyzing RPGs...

Rashak Mani · May 16, 2002

Wondering if anyone has or knows where I can find Pschyology works/thesis/papers about RPGs. Curious to know the professional psycologists view of this hobby of ours...

V-2 · May 16, 2002

http://www.rpg.net/252/quellen/sources.html

Fascinatingly, you can glean from that bibliography that there are at least two schools: those who are looking for a treatment to help dysfunctional RPG players, and those who think RPGs themselves can be a treatment for dysfunction (because they are socially interactive).

Chun-tzu · May 16, 2002

Professional psychologists disagree on a great many things. And the vast majority wouldn't know anything about RPGs, and thus would not have informed opinions. So, don't expect a single, universal point-of-view.

There's nothing wrong with the use of fantasy. It becomes problematic if there is excessive use, but that's true for just about anything.

That's my professional opinion, anyway (although I'm still over a year away from earning my doctoral degree in clinical psychology).

Rashak Mani · May 16, 2002

If I were a religious fanatic I would probably feel bad about articles and scholars bashing my "religion"... so I always wondered if RPG isnt a sick kind of hobby that we defend only due to our "brainwashing" or dedication to our "religion/hobby" ?

What if you didnt play RPGs ? Would you be more or less social ? More or less creative ? Spend more time in "healthier" hobbies like sports or sex ?

Psyhcology articles could be a good "neutralish" point of view if they are RPGers themselves of course...

Volefisk · May 16, 2002

IF

Rashak Mani, if you can, try to find copies of "Interactive Fantasy." It is/was (been awhile since I've seen a new one) a "quasi-academic journal of role-playing and story-making systems." Always was a fascinating read.

It was chock-full of gaming editorials, articles, and even quasi-experiments from a variety of scholarly disciplines: psychology, sociology, gender studies, literature, etc.

Published by Hogshead Publishing Limited (London, Great Britain).

<volefisk>