Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them
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- Create Date：2021-09-05 09:54:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Jamie Madigan
- ISBN：1538121336
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Summary
Video games are big business。 They can be addicting。 They are available almost anywhere you go and are appealing to people of all ages。 They can eat up our time， cost us money， even kill our relationships。 But it's not all bad！ This book will show that rather than being a waste of time， video games can help us develop skills， make friends， succeed at work， form good habits， and be happy。 Taking the time to learn what's happening in our heads as we play and shop allows us to approach games and gaming communities on our own terms and get more out of them。 With sales in the tens of billions of dollars each year， just about everybody is playing some kind of video game whether it's on a console， a computer， a web browser， or a phone。 Much of the medium's success is built on careful （though sometimes unwitting） adherence to basic principles of psychology。 This is something that's becoming even more important as games become more social， interactive， and sophisticated。 This book offers something unique to the millions of people who play or design games: how to use an understanding of psychology to be a better part of their gaming communities， to avoid being manipulated when they shop and play， and to get the most enjoyment out of playing games。 With examples from the games themselves， Jamie Madigan offers a fuller understanding of the impact of games on our psychology and the influence of psychology on our games。
Reviews
Nelson Zagalo
，
In the past I used to follow Jamie Madigan's blog religiously， and thanks to him I discovered many important studies on the psychology of video games。 But little by little I stopped following it， without really understanding why。 The focus of his texts stopped speaking to me more and more。 When I started reading this book of his I realized why。Madigan writes about psychology and games but assumes that his readers are not only completely ignorant of both areas but are also sceptical of the value In the past I used to follow Jamie Madigan's blog religiously， and thanks to him I discovered many important studies on the psychology of video games。 But little by little I stopped following it， without really understanding why。 The focus of his texts stopped speaking to me more and more。 When I started reading this book of his I realized why。Madigan writes about psychology and games but assumes that his readers are not only completely ignorant of both areas but are also sceptical of the value of games。 This is odd， to say the least。 If I understand that Madigan wants to reach people outside the medium， I wonder if those are the ones who will buy a book of his。To make matters worse， Madigan writes as if he's talking to his next-door neighbour while they're having a beer。 The casualness is so great that it makes any scientific data presented unrealistic。 。。。more
Andrew
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Amusing read overall。 Many studies sited were already mentioned in other places， I guess psychology isn't all that original。 The crux of it is contained in the Epilogue: addressing all psychology majors， there're more topics related to games and gaming than video-game violence， educational games and game addiction。 Sure。 The book lists many other topics， but somehow lacks the glue to tie it all together。 Amusing read overall。 Many studies sited were already mentioned in other places， I guess psychology isn't all that original。 The crux of it is contained in the Epilogue: addressing all psychology majors， there're more topics related to games and gaming than video-game violence， educational games and game addiction。 Sure。 The book lists many other topics， but somehow lacks the glue to tie it all together。 。。。more
Cristóbal Sepúlveda Cobo
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7/10
Chris Boutté
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I've been a gamer my entire life， and I even had a career in eSports in its early days。 Now， as a father， my son is a gamer， and I love that we get to share this activity together。 I'm also a massive psychology nerd， so I love to learn about the psychology of gaming， so I read books like this one。 I've read a few books on this subject， but Jamie Madigan has written one of the best。 I think I enjoyed this book so much because not only does it explain the psychology of gaming， but the research he I've been a gamer my entire life， and I even had a career in eSports in its early days。 Now， as a father， my son is a gamer， and I love that we get to share this activity together。 I'm also a massive psychology nerd， so I love to learn about the psychology of gaming， so I read books like this one。 I've read a few books on this subject， but Jamie Madigan has written one of the best。 I think I enjoyed this book so much because not only does it explain the psychology of gaming， but the research he discusses can be applied to many other aspects of the world today。 I often found myself taking long breaks after reading different chapters from this book to sit and think about how interesting some of the topics were。 。。。more
Mr。 Banks
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Getting Gamers uses studies and methodologies from the field of psychology and applies it to games and the gaming community in general。 A unexpectedly funny book given the content and I had a lot of fun reading it。 The author's love of games shines through the pages and it made for an informative read。Here are my high-level takeaways from the book:1。 We can use general psychological studies and apply them to the domain of games and gaming communities。- Social psychology frameworks help us unders Getting Gamers uses studies and methodologies from the field of psychology and applies it to games and the gaming community in general。 A unexpectedly funny book given the content and I had a lot of fun reading it。 The author's love of games shines through the pages and it made for an informative read。Here are my high-level takeaways from the book:1。 We can use general psychological studies and apply them to the domain of games and gaming communities。- Social psychology frameworks help us understand why people cheat， fanboy， and market games to their friends。- Behaviour economics help us understand why people purchase games or help game developers *encourage* in-game purchases。- General psychology theories explains why people immerse themselves in games and how their real lives can be impacted by their game （avatar's） lives。2。 Self-determination theory states that people play games to satisfy three main criteria: competency， autonomy， and relatedness。- Competency is the feeling of mastery and players commonly achieve this by mastering the mechanics or comparing their scores over time。- Autonomy means players want to feel like their in-game decisions matter in the outcome of a game。- Relatedness is a player's want to connect， cooperate， or belong in a community of other players （or even NPCs）3。 Psychology should play a greater role in influencing game design and the management of a game's community。- Game design has historically been an intuitive process relying on gut-feeling rather than applying the scientific method。- Psychologist have been hired at studios but are mostly relegated to data-science type roles which have no direct influence over the game design and community。- Psychological frameworks have been shown to make games more engaging and can alter the toxic behaviour of a gaming community。As a follow up， I'm thinking of reading an intro to psychology textbook to provide a better foundation of psychology and a survey of the main studies used in this book。 。。。more
Erryn
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Psychologist review: this is a good book for both those who know a lot about games and not much about psych or those who know a lot about psych but not much about games。 If you don't fall into either of those categories it might feel a bit out of scope。 The author occasionally takes a while to get to his point and his biases do cone through， but that's par for this type of writing and I don't think it takes away from the book too much。 I didn't learn anything new but I did leave inspired which I Psychologist review: this is a good book for both those who know a lot about games and not much about psych or those who know a lot about psych but not much about games。 If you don't fall into either of those categories it might feel a bit out of scope。 The author occasionally takes a while to get to his point and his biases do cone through， but that's par for this type of writing and I don't think it takes away from the book too much。 I didn't learn anything new but I did leave inspired which I think was the point。 。。。more
Kwinten
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Psychology focused on gamers， how to sell games and how get gamers addicted。
Scott Wozniak
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This was chock full of insights from psychology studies and how they are applicable to games。 It’s both fascinating and practical—and it was written with a witty， sarcastic tone that was great！ Loved it！
LAtUenI
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Quite a frustrating book。 Very interesting research presented on games and by extension all kinds of psychological issues related to motivation， enjoyment， decision making etc。 But the way it's written made it a struggle to read because 1。 Many descriptions of games and psychological concepts are written in a way that assumes the reader knows next to nothing about either。 Yet many in-jokes would be totally opaque to such a reader。 Thus you'll either be bored or cringe。 I was mostly bored。 2。 Mor Quite a frustrating book。 Very interesting research presented on games and by extension all kinds of psychological issues related to motivation， enjoyment， decision making etc。 But the way it's written made it a struggle to read because 1。 Many descriptions of games and psychological concepts are written in a way that assumes the reader knows next to nothing about either。 Yet many in-jokes would be totally opaque to such a reader。 Thus you'll either be bored or cringe。 I was mostly bored。 2。 More importantly， the style is just infuriatingly long-winded， with pointless nerdy jokes all over the place。 This could maaybe work in a TED Talk but definitely not in the book。 Here is a passage where I just felt the author has no respect for my time:"You know what country we haven’t mentioned yet？ France。 I should talk a bit about France。 Specifically， I should mention that Daphne Bavelier， an accomplished researcher currently in the University of Rochester’s Cognitive Neuroscience department， was born there。 At one point the young Bavelier decided she wanted to spend some time abroad， so she came to the United States to spend a semester studying there。 Decades later， she’s still there， so I guess this story is actually going to be more about the United States than France after all。 Sorry。 "I wish there was a better book on the same topic because I did learn a few extremely valuable lessons from its selection of research。 。。。more
Robert Potter
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Getting Gamers is a fantastic book， chock full of useful information that takes a stab at answering a wide variety of questions that all manner of gamers and game designers will find interesting and applicable。 Whether your a noobie， fresh into the hobby， a veteran hardcore gamer， or a working professional， I can’t recommend this book enough。I found myself bouncing from saying “Duh， of course！” after Jamie expertly outlines the psychological underpinnings of why in-app purchases are so successfu Getting Gamers is a fantastic book， chock full of useful information that takes a stab at answering a wide variety of questions that all manner of gamers and game designers will find interesting and applicable。 Whether your a noobie， fresh into the hobby， a veteran hardcore gamer， or a working professional， I can’t recommend this book enough。I found myself bouncing from saying “Duh， of course！” after Jamie expertly outlines the psychological underpinnings of why in-app purchases are so successful to being supremely intrigued by the in-depth look at violence in video games。These are questions worth asking， and Getting Gamers does a good job at answering them。 。。。more
David
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I work in the game industry as a game designer and this book was a wonderful experience。 The writing style is great， always keeps you interested and occasional jokes really hit the spot。 The book has meaningfully divided chapters mixed with texts on very interesting psychological researches applied to the field of gaming。 It will be interesting to read not only to gamers and game professionals， but its content can also be categorized as a "popular psychology" since the book explores matters of f I work in the game industry as a game designer and this book was a wonderful experience。 The writing style is great， always keeps you interested and occasional jokes really hit the spot。 The book has meaningfully divided chapters mixed with texts on very interesting psychological researches applied to the field of gaming。 It will be interesting to read not only to gamers and game professionals， but its content can also be categorized as a "popular psychology" since the book explores matters of fanboyism， shopping habits， social interactions， etc。From my game designer's standpoint， I finally learned why we design some elements of the game the way we "feel" how it works best or why something is "proven on the market that this is the way to go"。 For example， I know that people will be more likely to buy game booster after they faced an extremely hard game level， but the author finally explained to me what are those mental processes which prompt such a behavior。 On the other hand， I also got some nudges to explore how video games can make people behave nicer to others and how games can make their lives better。I really hope we'll get more books like this in the future， kudos to the author for sharing his knowledge， I'll definitely recommend this book to all my students and colleagues。 。。。more
Bastard Travel
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An entire book dedicated to the unironic， dual-fisted， fellatiatory appreciation of how modern developers use dirty little social psych tricks to screw their target demographics out of microtransaction money。 I gave it a pity star for all the shout-outs to classic psychology experiments， but the narrator was insufferable。 As if the sycophancy wasn't bad enough， he tried to wrap everything in cute little jokes。 You know when your professor would just absolutely bomb a joke， but there were a few k An entire book dedicated to the unironic， dual-fisted， fellatiatory appreciation of how modern developers use dirty little social psych tricks to screw their target demographics out of microtransaction money。 I gave it a pity star for all the shout-outs to classic psychology experiments， but the narrator was insufferable。 As if the sycophancy wasn't bad enough， he tried to wrap everything in cute little jokes。 You know when your professor would just absolutely bomb a joke， but there were a few kids who forced the laugh just to defuse the awkwardness？ A whole book of that， congratulating Epic Games for marketing Vbucks to children。 。。。more
Marija S。
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A study in social psychology focused on gaming， written in a casual alstyle with intelligent humor， informative， and comes with a hefty loot （list of references）。
Joshua Gutman
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The first half of this book was much stronger than the second half in my opinion。 Many of the topics in the second half were closer to pop-psych only loosely relevant in my opinion to games and game design。
Josh Kanownik
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If you're not familiar with psychological motivations in games and are interested in the topic this is an easy book to recommend。 It is a great overview of where games overlap psychology。 Tons of examples of specific psychological knowledge with specific examples of how they apply to games。 I've encountered a lot of these from different behavioral psychology books and my games experience and still found examples that increased my knowledge。 There are a few points that keep it from 5 stars in my If you're not familiar with psychological motivations in games and are interested in the topic this is an easy book to recommend。 It is a great overview of where games overlap psychology。 Tons of examples of specific psychological knowledge with specific examples of how they apply to games。 I've encountered a lot of these from different behavioral psychology books and my games experience and still found examples that increased my knowledge。 There are a few points that keep it from 5 stars in my mind。 The author leaves a lot of loose threads where he has made connections in his mind but not explain them fully in the book。 For example he talks about the Dunning-Kruger effect in tutorials and specific games， but leaves you hanging as to whether the specific games have addressed it or what the benefit would be to telling players they suck at a game earlier。 I think that points to a larger organizational problem with the book。 The sections seem forced and not fleshed out based on the larger topics。 It feels like the book is covering a checklist of topics and a page count。 。。。more
Halil Emre Kocalar
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Oyunlarda gördüğümüz temel oyuncu davranışları ve ardında yatan motivasyonel nedenleri eğlenceli bir dille açıklayan atıştırmalık。
Bon Tom
，
At first， I didn't like the narrator。 It didn't sound like a gamer。 More like goodie but oldie professor with pompous pronunciation， compensatory reflex for unsatisfying pay。And then I realized， this is exactly how he should sound。 Because this book is so much about psychology and the way we're all wired， gamers or not， as much as it is about games。It's almost like a general psychology textbook disguised in very satisfactory context of videogames。 Promising play， giving you education。After a ver At first， I didn't like the narrator。 It didn't sound like a gamer。 More like goodie but oldie professor with pompous pronunciation， compensatory reflex for unsatisfying pay。And then I realized， this is exactly how he should sound。 Because this book is so much about psychology and the way we're all wired， gamers or not， as much as it is about games。It's almost like a general psychology textbook disguised in very satisfactory context of videogames。 Promising play， giving you education。After a very short while， I've come to love my goodie but oldie wise man that changed the tone of voice ever so subtle or simply paused whenever there was I joke， making sure I don't miss it。 Didn't miss any of the jokes， which are great。 But now I miss him dearly。 Take care， my man。 Until the next listening。 。。。more
Gen
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Fascinating。 Informative。 Light hearted and fun。 This is wonderful journey through the psychology of video games their players。
Elizabeth
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Madigan takes concepts/theories of social psychology （such as Realistic Conflict Theory and positive/negative reinforcement） and applies them to video games， using social psychology studies and experiments （the Robbers Cave Experiment， or that time B。F。 Skinner taught pigeons to play ping pong） as examples of said concepts/theories。 He summarizes the main points and takeaways at the end of every chapter， making the content easy to review and return to at a later date。 Madigan also exhibits a hum Madigan takes concepts/theories of social psychology （such as Realistic Conflict Theory and positive/negative reinforcement） and applies them to video games， using social psychology studies and experiments （the Robbers Cave Experiment， or that time B。F。 Skinner taught pigeons to play ping pong） as examples of said concepts/theories。 He summarizes the main points and takeaways at the end of every chapter， making the content easy to review and return to at a later date。 Madigan also exhibits a humorous tone throughout the book， which was unexpected in this type of non-fiction but admittedly refreshing！As a newbie to social psychology， I found the book informative and interesting。 It's definitely written as a sort of intro to social psych， so someone who has studied in this field might be a little under stimulated。 However， even someone knowledgeable in the subject might never have really thought about applying these concepts and theories to video games。 As Madigan points out， something like the effects of video game violence （which he does tackle in one chapter） has taken much of the focus away from other， equally interesting areas of study。His focus seems to be how video games can be better designed with the psychology of its players in mind （e。g。 how to encourage more cooperative teamwork in online multiplayer environments， how to discourage cheating， etc。）。 I didn't enjoy the chapters on the psychology of selling video games as much as the others。 The social psychology behind effective sales marketing was interesting， but these chapters didn't feel specific enough to video games for me。 You could really have applied them to any type of sales， specifically digital sales。 。。。more
Stephane
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Excellent primer on psychology and video games。
Nathan Albright
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Getting Gamers: The Psychology Of Video Games And Their Impact On The People Who Play Them， by Jamie MadiganIt is very obvious that this book is written by someone who is very fond of video games， but also someone who has a critical view of the way that game design manipulates the behavior of people， not always for the better。 If the author is by no means hostile to games or the way games are often designed， the author does want the reader to become more aware of how games incentivize certain Getting Gamers: The Psychology Of Video Games And Their Impact On The People Who Play Them， by Jamie MadiganIt is very obvious that this book is written by someone who is very fond of video games， but also someone who has a critical view of the way that game design manipulates the behavior of people， not always for the better。 If the author is by no means hostile to games or the way games are often designed， the author does want the reader to become more aware of how games incentivize certain behaviors， and how the attempts to deal with some undesirable behaviors do not always work as intended。 The author also seeks to combine a critical perspective of game design with scientific principles of brain activity and psychology。 Furthermore， the way that the author discusses the way that people behave online and in games leads him to ponder ways that behavior relates to context， and that the context of games is not always as straightforward as we might imagine。 People might， for example， enjoy violent games for the ability to display competence rather than the specifically violent aspects of the game， for the most part， and this has an effect on the way that we view the content of the game as being secondary to the motivation on the part of the gamer。The book itself is about 250 pages long and is divided into four parts。 The first part of the book looks at those who play games， and has chapters on why people become raving lunatics online （1）， why people cheat， hack， and peek at strategy guides （2）， why fanboys and fangirls are so eager to fight each other （3）， and why we get nostalgic about old games （4）。 The second part of the book looks at those who make games， and asks how games get us to keep score and compete （5）， how games get us to grind and complete side quests and chase achievements （6）， and how developers keep us excited about new loot （7）。 The third part of the book examines those who sell games， looking at the question of immersion in game worlds （8）， why we go crazy for game sales （9）， how we get hooked on microtransactions （10）， how games keep players playing （11）， and how games get players to market to each other （12）。 The fourth part of the book then looks at the games themselves with chapters on how we shape avatars and how they shape us （13）， why we like violent games so much （14）， and whether or not games make us smarter （15）。 The book then concludes with a discussion of where psychology and video games go from here and notes， bibliography， and an index。What this book has to say is something that is likely to trouble a lot of people， especially because of the way that a great deal of behavior relating to games is so context-dependent。 The greater anonymity of the online world and the lack of empathy we have with people we only know from words and not tone or body language all tend to contribute to the sort of stupidity one finds all too easily in stan culture。 Likewise， the desire of human beings to prove competence and to complete tasks means that game creators can easily create a chain of quests that lead people to spend far more time than they intended in a game world in order to get things done， even if the utility of what one is getting done is fairly limited to nonexistent。 The way that gamers like to leave certain options open also makes it interesting when game creators force resolution in certain matters， as in the relationship components of various games like FF7 and others like it。 Knowing how game merchants manipulate behavior to encourage expenditures and deal with the way that the design of game incentivizes certain forms of cheating where resources and real world money change hands will likely make some readers more cynical about the companies that make video games， but that may not be such a bad thing after all。 。。。more
Rob
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I enjoyed this book （split across Kindle and Audible）， but then I’ve been a long term listener of Jamie’s podcast series。 If you want to hear about how psychology can benefit your understanding of how games work， how motivation works， how games marketing functions， and even more then this is a great primer。 Madigan pitches this as a primer text but summarises lots of recent research that readers can go to for more detail。 Some sections adopt an informal tone that may put some readers off but fan I enjoyed this book （split across Kindle and Audible）， but then I’ve been a long term listener of Jamie’s podcast series。 If you want to hear about how psychology can benefit your understanding of how games work， how motivation works， how games marketing functions， and even more then this is a great primer。 Madigan pitches this as a primer text but summarises lots of recent research that readers can go to for more detail。 Some sections adopt an informal tone that may put some readers off but fans of the podcast will feel at home here。My only disappointment was that I’d half-expected to hear Jamie narrate this book， but that’s a small gripe。 。。。more
Pete
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Getting Gamers : The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them （2015） by Jamie Madigan looks at psychology applied to video games。 Madigan has a PhD in Psychology and has consulted with various games companies。 He also creates the excellent 'Psychology of Games' podcast。The book is divided into four parts， those who play， those who make， those who sell and the games themselves。 The subjects contained in each of the sections are a bit haphazard but lots of interesting Getting Gamers : The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them （2015） by Jamie Madigan looks at psychology applied to video games。 Madigan has a PhD in Psychology and has consulted with various games companies。 He also creates the excellent 'Psychology of Games' podcast。The book is divided into four parts， those who play， those who make， those who sell and the games themselves。 The subjects contained in each of the sections are a bit haphazard but lots of interesting aspects of games and psychology are covered。 Fights between fans of different consoles， why we are nostalgic about games， why people grind， why sales can be so effective and how people are like their Avatars are just a few of the subjects that are covered。 Getting Gamers is a very good read for anyone interested in a bit of theory around games。 For anyone wondering if they would like the book it would be worth listening to the podcast to see if it appeals。 If the ideas do and for any listener of the podcast Getting Gamers is highly recommended。 For anyone interested in the appeal of games and the psychology around them the book is also definitely worth reading。 。。。more
Caleb Ross
，
Getting Gamers is a totally engrossing survey of both the unique ways video games help us understand human psychology and the psychology of gamers themselves。Jamie Madigan has created something special with Getting Gamers。 While I generally hesitate to credit books with legitimizing videogames--as I think we're past needing to legitimize a medium that's so ubiquitous--Getting Gamers does do so but in a unique way。 In some chapters， especially those discussing MMOs， Madigan explores how virtual s Getting Gamers is a totally engrossing survey of both the unique ways video games help us understand human psychology and the psychology of gamers themselves。Jamie Madigan has created something special with Getting Gamers。 While I generally hesitate to credit books with legitimizing videogames--as I think we're past needing to legitimize a medium that's so ubiquitous--Getting Gamers does do so but in a unique way。 In some chapters， especially those discussing MMOs， Madigan explores how virtual spaces （ie， videogames） can be used as testing environments for psychology theories。 Sure， we can articulate a test of the Proteus Effect in real life， but it's so much easier and more controllable to do so in a virtual space。Getting Gamers is essential reading for psychology nerds and for scared parents who need to see how important videogames really are。 I recommend either downloading a sample from the Kindle store or watching these two videos that overview a couple of the topics from the book。Video #1Why Do Videogame Fanboys/girls Want to Fight You？Why Are Some Online Gamers So Mean？ 。。。more
Kyle Moore
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A really good book。
Neale Sourna
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Gaming psychology: purchasing， playing， and more。 And， yes， I finished it all。http://www。psychologyofgames。com/book/ Gaming psychology: purchasing， playing， and more。 And， yes， I finished it all。http://www。psychologyofgames。com/book/ 。。。more
Edwin McRae
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I work in the games industry as a narrative designer and what Jamie offers here is absolutely essential。 We need to understand what games are doing to us and how to design them more humanely， and fast。 And we need more people like Jamie to help us。
Adam Baldwin
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It was very interesting to see psychological studies applied to video games。 Complaints about it not being an in-depth are overstated。 The book is not meant to be groundbreaking research into understanding the psychology of gamers， but a general application of current theories and research to some of the more popular games people play， intended to be understood by a general audience。 It's a good starting point， and with his website， www。psychologyofgames。com， and the suggestions he provides at t It was very interesting to see psychological studies applied to video games。 Complaints about it not being an in-depth are overstated。 The book is not meant to be groundbreaking research into understanding the psychology of gamers， but a general application of current theories and research to some of the more popular games people play， intended to be understood by a general audience。 It's a good starting point， and with his website， www。psychologyofgames。com， and the suggestions he provides at the end， it will be interesting to see where this subject， and Madigan， go in the future。 。。。more
Osmosisch
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Entertaining and occasionally illuminating。 Unfortunately leans heavily on some discredited theories in places， for example ego depletion。 Though not always successful， I appreciated the jokes。
Linden
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