Not until recently have psychologists and sociologists begun studying other aspects of videogames, besides violence and aggression. Since then, most psychological research on videogames has focused only on negative aspects of this relatively new form of entertainment (Anderson, Funk, & Griffiths, 2004). When the videogame Mortal Kombat was released in 1993, a massive debate erupted over videogame violence. The implications of these results for the use of The Sims 2 as a projective test in clinical psychology settings are discussed. Results indicate personality traits such as neuroticism, openness to experience and conscientiousness, values such as wealth and creativity and other characteristics correlated with specific gameplay behaviours. Afterwards, participants completed a questionnaire that asked detailed questions on how they played the game. Thirty undergraduate university students volunteered to participate in the study, and they were administered a personality test, a values survey and a background information questionnaire before playing The Sims 2 for a total of 10 hours over a six-week span. Apart from these two hypotheses, other exploratory investigations regarding participants’ characteristics and gameplay behaviour were conducted in post hoc analyses. Hypothesis 2: Participants will pass their personal values to their Sims for example, participants who place high value on wealth in their own lives will create Sims who earn high incomes. Hypothesis 1: Personality characteristics will relate to gameplay for example, participants who are organized will manage their Sims’ time more efficiently, and participants who are extroverted will make their Sims more socially oriented.

The goal of this study was to scientifically measure players’ personalities and values and find how these characteristics relate to gameplay in The Sims 2. To date, there have been no empirical studies that test whether or not this is true. Self-Portrayal in a Simulated Life: Projecting Personality and Values in The Sims 2 by Thaddeus Griebel AbstractĮver since the release of The Sims in 2000, there has been talk in the media that people who play the game project aspects of their lives into their Sim characters.

The sims 2 characters