Keywords
survival horror video game; visual selective attention; anxiety; fear response; gaming preference
Abstract
The current study’s main research question was whether playing a survival horror video game increases the visual selective attention of a player. This project examined how visual attention and anxiety levels differ after playing a survival horror video game and whether an individual’s gaming preferences affect these concepts. The research consisted of the preliminary evaluation of participants’ visual attention abilities and anxiety levels through psychological tasks. Participants then played Resident Evil 4: Chainsaw Demo, the selected survival horror video game for this study. After playing the demo, participants repeated the previous psychological tasks, and their results were assessed. Results indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in anxiety level (p = < 0.001) and accuracy level of the flanker task (p = < 0.001) after playing a survival horror video game. There was a statistically significant decrease in average response time for the flanker task (p = < 0.001) and visual search task (p = < 0.001) after playing a survival horror video game. However, there was no statistically significant increase in accuracy level of the visual search task (p = 0.068) after playing a survival horror video game. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in gaming cluster on anxiety level (p = 0.316) and visual selective attention (p = 0.795, 0.603, 0.747, 0.879). For those who struggle with the cognitive function of visual attention, video games could be implemented in a psychological or educational sphere to improve the functioning of the affected individuals creatively and appealingly.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Neal, Raymonde
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Thesis Discipline
Psychology
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Sprague, Alicia D., "A Survival Horror Video Game's Impact on Visual Attention" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 240.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/240
Rights Statement
