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| Video Games as the New “Virtual” Skinner Box |
| Sunday, May 25, 2025 |
| 10:00 AM–10:50 AM |
| Marriott Marquis, M2 Level, Marquis Salon 6 |
| Area: SCI; Domain: Basic Research |
| Chair: Jonathan W. Pinkston (University of Kansas) |
| CE Instructor: Jonathan W. Pinkston, Ph.D. |
| Presenting Author: MICHAEL YOUNG (Kansas State University) |
| Abstract: The ubiquitous “Skinner box” (i.e., operant conditioning chamber) has been in use for nearly 100 years. Evolutions of the box have included new response mechanisms, advances in stimulus presentation, and more refined behavioral tracking. Each of these additions has required significant technological innovation. My laboratory has taken a different approach in studying human behavior – creating tasks and environments using video game engines. This approach makes it easier to enrich the stimulus, response, and outcome mechanisms, simplifies behavioral tracking, and improves assessment of the generalizability of established findings to more complex environments. Well-designed tasks can also increase subject engagement – they’re more fun! – although scientific goals sometimes dictate otherwise. I will share concrete examples from 15 years of using games to study human behavior in my laboratory: causal inference, impulsive behavior, resource limitations, foraging, and loot boxes. I will close with encouragement on how others can enter this new frontier of “virtual Skinner boxes.” |
| Instruction Level: Basic |
| Target Audience: Researchers and professionals interested in human learning using virtual environments. |
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the types of research questions that can be answered using video games
2. Delineate the strengths and challenges of using video games to study behavior.
3. Understand the limitations of traditional Skinner boxes. |
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| MICHAEL YOUNG (Kansas State University) |
 Dr. Michael Young is a Professor of Psychological Sciences at Kansas State University. He received his Bachelor’s (U. of Illinois) and Master’s (U. of Minnesota) degrees in Computer Science and his Ph.D. in Psychology (U. of Minnesota). During his 35+ year academic career his research program has included causal learning by humans that was built on the principles of classical and operant conditioning, avian judgment and perception, the integration of reward magnitude, delay, probability, and resource limitations in decision making, and quantitative methods used in data analysis. For the past 20 years, a large portion of his behavioral data has been collected by architecting research-specific video games. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, Air Force Office for Scientific Research, the Hershey Corporation, and RTI International. He has served as a Graduate Program Director, Department Head, Provost Fellow, and Acting Associate Dean of the Graduate School. |
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