Can Playing Games Help Students Master Concepts from General Psychology Classes?

Abstract

As part of a final project for a general psychology course, students were required to play a game, either digital/video or on a board. Students selected their own games, and were asked to identify psychological principles in their game play. Topics included the brain, sensation and perception, human development, learning, motivation, intelligence, personality, and mental disorders. Students successfully applied all topics to game play, but to varying degrees. Student discussions on the brain and intelligence were well covered. Discussions on personality and psychological disorders issues were relatively poor. Students were able to make connections between concepts and their game-play experiences.