Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Conor Cronin 

BSc [Hons] Applied Psychology

I am a soon to be graduate of IADT's Applied Psychology course with a Bachelors of Science (BSc) Degree. I am deeply interested in the areas of moral decision-making and educational/developmental psychology, but I am also very interested in the field of forensic psychology and its research. I have just completed my major research project, wherein I investigated the relationship between narrative engagement and moral decision-making in video games. My interest in educational psychology has only been furthered by work throughout my college course, including volunteer work with a local school and helping around my community.

Project Description

Project Title: Investigating the Impact of Narrative Engagement on Moral Decision-Making in Video Games.

The goal of this project was to follow on from the findings of previous researchers in the field of moral decision making and narrative engagement with regards to video games. For this study, participants were asked to complete the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) and then play through five experiment scenarios deigned for the study on laboratory computers.

Each of the experiment scenarios reflected a different moral category present in the MFQ, allowing for decions to be recorded with regard to each specific catagory. Participants then completed the Narrative Engagement Questionnaire (NEQ). Three hypotheses were tested as part of this study, with significant findings in statistical test results between MFQ Scores, NEQ scores and experiment moral decision scores indicating that all three hypotheses were supported.


Project Outcomes

This project showcased several significant results and interactions between the three variables investigated as part of this study. Specifically, there was a significant interaction found between participant’s types of moral choices and their levels of narrative engagement experienced as part of the experiment. These findings supported those of previous researchers that this study followed on from, whilst also furthering them by gaining deeper insight on the specific relationships between moral decision making and an individual’s level of narrative engagement with a medium.

Additionally, several methods and suggestions were able to be identified for future researchers in this particular field to use in gaining greater insight into the effects of moral decision-making, narrative engagement and specific moral decision types have on each other.