Ellen LaPointe

HopeLab | Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

elapointe@hopelab.org

Games, Brains, and Positive Motivation:

How Games Drive Healthy Behavior

A nonprofit R&D organization that

harnesses the power and appeal of

technology to improve kids’ health

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research innovation customer input

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our model

Determine underlying psychology

Identify behavioral targets

Develop fun, effective game play scenarios to address targeted behaviors

HOPELAB’S APPROACH

RATIONAL ENGINEERING

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Tate R, Haritatos J, Cole S. HopeLab’s approach to Re-Mission. IJLM 2009; 10.1162/ijlm.2009.0003.

• 20 levels

• 7 cancer types

• Objectives: kill cells, manage

side-effects and complications

• Weapons: chemo, radiation,

antibiotics, stool softener

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re-mission

Warni

ng:

Playing

These

Video

Games

May

Be

Good

for

Your

Health

• Improved treatment adherence

- 16% increase in antibiotic doses

- Blood chemo levels 20% higher

• Improved cancer knowledge

• Greater self-efficacy Increased belief in ability to control/cope with cancer

PEDIATRICS AUGUST 2008

RE-MISSION WORKS

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Knowledge and learning are

only part of the story

identifying mechanisms of action

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Treatment adherence ?

identifying mechanisms of action

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Knowledge Treatment adherence

Re-Mission Works – But How? identifying mechanisms of action

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Knowledge

Treatment adherence

Emotion/ Motivation

Re-Mission Attitudes Study Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D., Stanford University

Re-Mission Works – But How? identifying mechanisms of action

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How does videogame play influence real-life behavior?

?

identifying mechanisms of action

Interactivity and Reward-Related Neural Activation During a Serious Videogame

Brian Knutson, Ph.D., Stanford University

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033909.

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Res

t

Res

t

Res

t

Res

t

10 min fMRI T2*

Play

Rest R

est

Res

t

Res

t

Res

t

identifying the mechanisms of action in Re-Mission

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Interactive play Passive exposure

Caudate

Thalamus

Hippocampus

Caudate

Thalamus

Hippocampus

identifying mechanisms of action

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Interactivity and Reward-Related Neural Activation During a Serious Videogame

Brian Knutson, Ph.D., Stanford University

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0033909.

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Results

• Game-based interventions can be powerful tools for

activating health-supportive behaviors

• Psychological outcomes (knowledge, self-efficacy)

• Treatment-related behavior (chemo / antibiotic

adherence)

• Interactive game-play has wide impact on the brain

• Learning / knowledge

• Motivation / emotion

• Hippocampal activation may play a role in generalizing in-

game experience to real-life behavior

Implications

• Psychological “recipe” for game-based behavior change

• Neural biomarkers for optimizing interventions

identifying mechanisms of action identifying the mechanisms of action in Re-Mission

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“deconstructing” re-mission

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A SUITE OF MINI-GAMES THAT …

• Meets players where they are

• Amplifies “levers” for positive health behaviors

• Leverages “rational engineering” approach

Supported in part by:

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re-mission 2

BUILDS ON PROVEN CONCEPTS TO SUPPORT SELF-EFFICACY:

• Start easy – make the games accessible to everyone

• Create early success. Celebrate it!

• Gradually introduce challenges that are tough but

surmountable

• Give players access to new weapons/powers as they gain

mastery and difficulty increases

Supported in part by:

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re-mission 2

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re-mission 2

Coming in early 2013!

Supported in part by:

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re-mission 2

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