WCSU Psychology Lecturer to Look at Whether Gamers ‘Burn Out’

DANBURY, CT — Western Connecticut State University Professor of Psychology Dr. Shane Murphy will discuss “Digital Game Burnout: Problems for High Intensity Gamers” at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, in Room 127 of White Hall on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. The talk is the 2019 Norine Jalbert Psychology Lecture. It will be free and the public is invited.

Murphy will present the findings of his sabbatical research, conducted earlier in 2019. For more than a decade, he has studied the psychological motivations of digital/video game play, and potential psychological effects of participation.

In this study, he surveyed 232 game players of the popular online game “World of Warcraft.” Murphy was interested to see if high frequency gamers experience the psychological effects of burnout — the emotional, cognitive and behavioral state of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy identified in many high-stress workplace environments. Burnout has been identified by e-sport gamers as a major health issue and Murphy was interested to see if this state is seen in “recreational,” but high-intensity, players.

This 45-minute talk will present his findings, and he will discuss the implications for healthy digital game development and participation. The presentation will conclude with a question and answer period with the audience.