Date of Award

8-24-2024

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D.

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Hale Martin

Second Advisor

Noelle Lefforge

Third Advisor

Thomas Davidson

Keywords

Psychodrama, Dungeons, Dragons, Qualitative research, Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs)

Abstract

This was a qualitative study of the experiences of Dungeons & Dragons players at the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club at a private university in the Western United States. Previous research has shown that the benefits of playing Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs) include developing social skills, developing empathy, and finding respite from reality. The goal of this research was to identify how role-players perceive they are affected by TTRPGs and what is appealing about TTRPGs. The participants in this study identified that, as a result of playing TTRPGs, they learned to develop better social skills and empathy. Their top reasons for playing were engaging in prosocial behaviors, finding respite from reality, being able to express themselves and find acceptance, and finding personal enjoyment engaging in the game.

The majority of these results followed the already existing research into the effects of TTRPGs. Areas that were not as readily represented in the literature were the prosocial behaviors that role-players engaged in that motivated them to play, finding respite from reality, and finding personal enjoyment with the game.

Further research could continue to identify the effects that role-players experience over time, a longitudinal study to see what personal material role-players bring to their games, and any negative effects that come from TTRPGs.

Copyright Date

7-17-2024

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Tim Daniel

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

31 pgs

File Size

270 KB

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