The University of Southampton IT Innovation Centre is developing The Chase, a cooperative game that teaches children the value of cooperating to fulfill a common goal and how by helping others everyone can benefit.
Research
Research: Pilot study at Greek primary school
The prosocial game Path of Trust was successfully presented to pupils of Ellinogermaniki Agogi on 16 November 2015. Almost 20 third grade primary school children had the chance to play the game, express their trust and collaborative skills towards their classmates – a first-hand experience of prosocial behaviour.
At the beginning of the activity, the rationale of Path of Trust was explained and how the game was played. The time that the rest of classroom waited for their turn to play was devoted to prosocial classroom activities, aimed at familiarising pupils with prosocial behaviour and setting-up a pedagogical framework for the games to follow.
Report: Ethical oversight for research
A report describing how to implement ethical oversight for research into the benefits of using serious digital games to teach children about prosociality has been produced by the ProsocialLearn consortium.
Appropriate management of ethical issues is essential for research and innovation actions conducting short and longitudinal studies within schools in Europe, especially where the subjects are minors. The report outlines measures to ensure the right technical, physical and administrative environment is implemented in accordance with applicable European legislation. The report recommends an ethical issues coordinator, as well as a data protection coordinator are incorporated within the overall project management structure.
Report: Potential prosocial game scenarios
A report defining potential prosocial game scenarios based on the core prosociality domains of empathy, trust, fairness, compassion, generosity and cooperation has been produced by the ProsocialLearn consortium.
The study is intended as an initial outline for designers of prosocial games, as a source for inspiration for new games, as well as providing an outline methodology to use when conceptualising scenarios. The report provides succinct and prescriptive game scenarios that serve as the foundation for future games design and for inspiring game designers to imagine new games for prosociality.
Report: Prosociality, academic achievement & social inclusion
A report defining the domains of prosociality and reporting the research that has been done on their relationship with academic achievement and social inclusion has been produced by the ProsocialLearn consortium.
Helping a friend studying for an exam, consoling a friend who is crying, sharing a chocolate bar with someone, defending a friend when he is unfairly accused of something, and including a new classmate in the ball game. These are all examples of prosocial behaviour children are doing every day. Research shows that children who are more prosocial have more positive relationships with their peers and are doing better in school. In this project we are aiming to develop games to teach children to be more prosocial to ultimately improve social inclusion and their academic abilities. We are particularly planning to focus on 6 domains of prosociality: empathy, trust, fairness, compassion, generosity and cooperation.
