Research & Methodologies
To ensure that we provide qualitative services, we have conducted thorough research to ensure there is data in place supporting our core methodology used as evidence-based backed by research.
Our main resources of research used to develop our approach to serve the well-being of gamers are from The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and the journal of Addictive Behaviors and Psychology of Addictive Behaviors which both covers behavioral and psychosocial research on a broad perspective.
About our Main Sources for Research
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors is a journal by the American Psychological Association, APA Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) which publishes peer-reviewed original articles related to the psychological aspects of addictive behaviors.
Click here to read more about Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Addictive Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality human research on addictive behaviors and disorders. They primarily publish behavioral and psychosocial research, but their articles also span the fields of psychology, sociology, psychiatry and neuroscience amongst other fields of research.
Click here to read more about the Addictive Behaviors journal.
The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science is an organization who provides information about several good resources to learn more about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is one of our main methodologies used to support the well-being of gamers.
The ACBS is the leading resource to learn more about ACT and the methodology itself is listed as evidence-based by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States federal government amongst other organizations and public bodies.
The PubMed database is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature with the aim of improving health – both globally and personally. PubMed has been available to the public online since 1996 and it was developed and is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About our Methodologies
ACT is a framework and a form of psychotherapy that combines acceptance strategies with commitment and behavior-change strategies to increase psychological flexibility. This methodology is valid to help gamers regardless of purpose why they are playing as it enables a person to successfully handle and accept their emotions & experiences and take actions to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life while getting the most out of gaming.
Applied Psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of science-based psychology to solve practical problems of human behavior and experience. This is of key importance for HealthyGaming as an organization to have a greater understanding in and utilize as this ensures the delivery of high-quality and holistic solutions for those we serve.
Gamification is a strategic way of implementing game principles and game-design elements in contexts outside of gaming to drive results and resolve problems. A majority of studies on gamification find it has positive effects on individuals and we use it as a tool to improve user engagement, drive increased productivity, to improve knowledge retention and more.
Positive Psychology: The PERMA Model
Positive Psychology is a global area of study with research findings that Positive Psychology Interventions produced improvements in well-being and lowered levels of depression.
HealthyGaming uses the five elements of the PERMA model to measure and review our social impact.
PERMA is a mnemonic of the five elements of Martin Seligman’s well-being theory where each element can be gained and elevated through gaming. They all contribute to well-being and are defined and measured independently of one and other, which enables us to measure our impact in five separate standalone criteria.
Positive emotions include a wide range of feelings such as happiness and joy. It also includes emotions like excitement, satisfaction and pride amongst others. We work with these emotions because they are frequently connected to positive outcomes.
Engagement refers to involvement in activities that draws and builds upon one’s interests. Activities that we truly enjoy and care about can result in a complete engagement. We work with Engagement to enable gamers to maintain control while entering a flow state that creates a sense of full immersion and energized focus.
Relationships are a critical part of fueling emotions in both good and bad times. By working with Relationships, we have the opportunity to help gamers successfully nurture relationships with their family, friends, the people around them as well as other gamers.
Also known as purpose, meaning prompts the question of “why”. Figuring out the “why” puts everything from your work, education, relationships and gaming into context. By working with meaning, we empower gamers to continue striving and working for their desired goals in both life & gaming despite the potential challenges they may face along the way.
Accomplishments are a definition of something you have achieved. Helping gamers work with achievements and goals will amplify the other elements of PERMA, forming a version of success that creates meaning and well-being for gamers.