Temporal distortion may mediate the association between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting: An...

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Problematic mobile gaming is associated with impulsivity and delay discounting.
• The underlying mechanisms linking problematic gaming to these behaviors are not fully understood.
• Altered time perception is a potential mediator in impulsive decision-making within addictive behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare time perception and delay discounting in problematic and non-problematic mobile gamers.
• To investigate the mediating roles of impulsivity and time perception in problematic mobile gaming.

Main Methods:

• 98 participants completed questionnaires (Problematic Mobile Gaming Questionnaire, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and tasks (time perception, Delay Discounting Task).
• Participants were divided into problematic mobile gamers (PMGs; n=21) and non-problematic mobile gamers (NPMGs; n=77).

Main Results:

• PMGs exhibited higher impulsivity, delay discounting (k), and time perception errors (Rer60) than NPMGs.
• Time perception errors (Rer60) significantly mediated the relationship between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting.
• Impulsivity (BIS-11) did not significantly mediate this relationship.

Conclusions:

• Time perception distortion is a significant mediator between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting.
• These findings highlight the role of altered time perception in the development and maintenance of problematic mobile gaming.