Overreliance On Habit System On Internet Gaming Disorder Population And Intervention Strategies

Internet Gaming Disorder(IGD)reflects a pathological mode of online game use,manifested as compulsive gaming behaviors,including feeling uneasy when unable to play,lacking interest in other activities,and gaming behaviors continuing to escalate even if there are negative consequences.In the field of substance addiction research,researchers use the dual learning systems to explain the process of addiction.From its perspective,the progression to drug addiction involves the shift from the goal-directed behaviors to habitual drug seeking and consumption.In contrast,research on IGD still lacks the exploration on the process of online game addiction from the perspective of the dual learning systems.In order to understand the mechanism of IGD,that is,why the game behaviors of people with IGD will develop from autonomous and goal-oriented into rigid and habitual,this research focused the habitual behaviors of people with IGD,and accordingly explored the effective intervention strategies.The present study consisted of a pre-study and three formal studies.The pre-study investigated the online game behavior and addiction of college students in China(N = 2267)via online survey.Study 1,based on the framework of the dual learning systems,investigated whether people with IGD(n = 24)differed from healthy controls(n = 30)in the dependence upon the habit system when learning to pursued rewards by deploying appetitive instrumental learning task.Study 2 further examined whether people with IGD(n = 29)differed from healthy controls(n = 25)in the dependence upon the habit system when learning to avoid punishment via the devaluation paradigm of negative reinforcement.In line,study 3 explored interventions targeting at the habit system via a laboratory experiment(Study 3A)and an on-site follow-up experiment(Study 3B),investigated whether the implement intention could help to modify the habitual behavioral tendency of the people with IGD in the experimental task(N = 48),and whether it could effectivelt reduce the game behavior of the people with IGD in real life(N = 44).The main findings of the study are as follows:(1)During the learning process of pursuing reward(positive reinforcement),compared with healthy controls,people with IGD demonstrate difficulty to flexibly change their own reactions according to the changes in the value of the outcomes,showing that they are more dependent upon the habit system.(2)During the learning process of avoiding punishment(negative reinforcement),both people with IGD and healthy controls can flexibly change their reactions in accordence with the changes in the value of the outcomes,indicating goal-oriented behaviors.(3)Implement intention strategies can effectively improve the flexibility of reactions of people with IGD in the reward learning task,as well as improve their excessive and obsessive gaming behaviors in real life.