107133 - USER PSYCHOLOGY

Subject type: Basic

Coordinator: Ana Beatriz Pérez Zapata

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 6

• Catalan

The subject is taught in Catalan, but both class contributions and assignments can be done in Catalan or Spanish.

The materials can be provided in Catalan as well as in Spanish or English.

User Psychology is an important part of any interactive product development, especially video game. You need to know the demographics and how people who play think, learn and are motivated. In addition, it is necessary to have a global vision of how video games impact people, both positively and negatively, thus developing critical awareness when designing games. 

Knowing the user-buyer profile and how to satisfy it is vitally important. To acquire knowledge, the subject is assessed with individual and group work and a written exam.

1. Introduction and history of psychology

   1. The psychological experience of playing
   2. What is Psychology?
   3. History of Psychology

2. Human cognition and perception

   1. Attention

   2. perception

   3. Annual report

   4. intelligence 

   5. Decision making

3. Basic Theories of Psychology

   1. Learning Theories

   2. Social Psychology

4. Individual Aspects

   1. Personality theories

   2. Basic motivations 

   3. Emotions

   4. Genre and Video Games

   5. Profile of Gamers

5. Critical Analysis of Video Games in today's society

   1. Benefits of video games on a personal and social level

   2. Risks of video games at a personal and social level

A 1: Group work: Analysis of the psychological aspects of a traditional game and its application to video game design (Evidence of learning outcome E2.1 and E3.3)

Analyze a game activity and propose 1 video games that are considered related to the chosen classic game. Then a critical comment must be made in writing relating it to the psychological aspects worked on

A.2: Exercises in class: Theoretical questions in class about the content of the subject (Evidence of the learning result All) Throughout the classes, various evaluative activities will be carried out in the form of questions to encourage participation and attendance.

A.3: Final Exam: Development Questions (Evidence of the learning result All) Final exam, all the knowledge learned in class and put into practice are integrated.

General criteria of the activities:

• A statement will be presented for each activity and the evaluation criteria.

• You will be informed of the dates and format of the delivery of the activity.

Each student's grade will be calculated based on the following percentages:

• A1: 45%
• A2: 10%
• A3: 45%

Final grade = A1 0,4 + A2 0,2 + A3 0,4

Considerations:

An activity not delivered or delivered late is a 0. The grades of the activities will take into account the correct follow-up of the requirements. Misspellings, writing errors and formal and technical problems specific to the subject will be penalized with 0,10 points, up to a maximum of 2 points, in all assessable activities and tests

To pass the subject, it is necessary that the learning activity A.3, at least, obtains a minimum grade of 5.

In the case of detecting plagiarism, copying or fraud in any evaluable activity or test, this will automatically obtain a final grade of 0. Additionally, in cases of copying or fraud, both the person who copies and the person who allows copying are responsible for their conduct, and the consequences of the conduct affect all students involved in the irregular action. Regardless of the suspension caused by plagiarism, copying or fraud, the professor will communicate the situation to the Department Management so that the applicable measures are taken in terms of disciplinary regime and the initiation of the relevant disciplinary file.

Recovery:

The retrieval will be carried out by means of a written or oral exam which will include all the contents indicated in the basic bibliography within the period established by the Head of Studies. This exam will count for 100% of the grade

Balsameda, R and Calvo, A (2022) Applied neuropsychology Expanding horizons

Rozenzweig, MR & Leiman, AI (1993) Physiological Psychology. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.

Shaffer, DR (2000) Developmental psychology. Childhood and Adolescence. Madrid: Thompson.

VVAA (2012) The book of AKAL Psychology

Barrecheguren, P. (2021) Neurogamer. paid

Hoden, C (2017) The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design. CRC Press

Kahneman, D (2012) Think fast, think slow. debate

Reeve, J. (2002) Motivation and Emotion. Madrid: Alliance.

Pearce, C. (2009). Communities of play. Emerging cultures in multiplayer games and virtual worlds. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Turkle, S. (1997). Life on the screen. Barcelona: Paidos.

Lacasa, P. (2011). Video games. Learn in real and virtual worlds. Madrid: Morata