This article was downloaded by: [Tufts University]On: 14 November 2014, At: 10:01Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Promotion ManagementPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjpm20

A Model of Flow Experience asDeterminant of Positive Attitudes TowardOnline AdvergamesMonica D. Hernandez aa Texas A&M University , Corpus Christi, Texas, USAPublished online: 16 Aug 2011.

To cite this article: Monica D. Hernandez (2011) A Model of Flow Experience as Determinant ofPositive Attitudes Toward Online Advergames, Journal of Promotion Management, 17:3, 315-326, DOI:10.1080/10496491.2011.596761

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2011.596761

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Journal of Promotion Management, 17:315–326, 2011Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1049-6491 print / 1540-7594 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10496491.2011.596761

A Model of Flow Experience as Determinant ofPositive Attitudes Toward Online Advergames

MONICA D. HERNANDEZTexas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Advergames are gaining recognition as a captivating environment.Although several flow models have determined online games us-age, no previous model has explored determinants of positive at-titudes toward advergames. The objectives included developmentand empirically testing of a model of flow experience and its deter-minants of attitudes toward advergames. Positive attitudes towardadvergames were partially explained by the flow experience. Themodel revealed that challenges offered by the gameplay were animportant predictor of flow, followed by telepresence and players’skills. Contrary to expectations, arousal significantly impacted atti-tudes toward advergames but not flow. Implications for advertisersand web developers are discussed.

KEYWORDS advergames, flow, positive attitudes, web

INTRODUCTION

The growing popularity of electronic games has made online games a ma-jor industry. Several consumption-related avenues could be found in thisindustry. An avenue related with consumption is advergaming or the deliv-ery of advertising messages in electronic games. Advergaming offers to thecompanies the opportunity to promote their brands within the graphics ofa computer game, gaining prolonged exposure to a target market. A con-sideration is the possibility of developing lasting relationship marketing ties.This could be achieved through attracting customer information and productpreferences through registration, through the viral interactive promotion tak-ing advantage of raiding peer-to-peer networks, and through the formation

Address correspondence to Monica D. Hernandez, PhD, Assistant Professor of Marketing,Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, College of Business, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi,TX 78412, USA. E-mail: monica.hernandez@tamucc.edu

315

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

316 M. D. Hernandez

of brand-consumer relationship by integrating marketing messages into theelectronic games (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2002).

Games are the most common form of play activity. Flow theory sus-tains that a good game is one which allows the player infinite capability ofbecoming perfect without boredom (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Flow is expe-rienced in electronic game play activities since the rules define the relevantstimuli. Moreover, the structure provides opportunity for competition, whichincreases the motivation to play. Accordingly, several flow models have beenproposed in the literature in order to determine online games usage. Thestudy by Chou and Ting (2003) concluded that addictive electronic game be-haviors are formed when behavioral repetition triggers a flow state. Hsu andLu (2004) found that flow was a predictor of intention to play online games,but not a predictor of attitudes. Nevertheless, no previous flow model hasexplored the determinants of positive attitudes toward advergames. There-fore, the objectives of the study included the development and empiricallytesting of a model of flow experience and its determinants that influencepositive attitudes toward advergames.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS

Models of Attitudes Toward Advergames

Attitudes toward advergames could be defined as “an affective constructassessing favorable or unfavorable consumer predisposition toward theadvergame itself resulting from active user-game interaction” (Hernandez,Chapa, Minor, Maldonado, & Barranzuela, 2004, p. 74). Three alternativemodels have been proposed listing antecedents to the formation of attitudestoward advergames. The proposed model by Youn and Lee (2003) integratedescapism, competition, boredom relief, and fun as antecedents toward pos-itive attitudes, whereas curiosity was identified as a negative antecedent.Identified consequences of attitudes included attitude toward the site, re-lationship building, and purchase intentions. The second model proposedby Hernandez et al. included negative aspects that might lead to negativeattitudes, such as incongruity, lack of entertaining, intrusiveness, and irrita-tion. The significance of their study was in the mediating role that attitudesplay in influencing brand attitude and purchase intentions. More recently,a proposed model by Sukoco and Wu (2011) addressed two specific areasof telepresence (interactivity and vividness) and their effect on attitudes to-ward the advergame and toward the brand. The findings revealed that bothinteractivity and vividness led to an increase of positive affective responses.This study was the first to test the effect of telepresence in the advergamingcontext. Collectively, these studies have neglected the effects of elementsof flow such as control, challenges, skills and arousal, and their effect onaffective responses.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

Advergames and Flow 317

Models of Flow Experience on Internet Usage

Hoffman and Novak (1996) defined flow as “the state occurring duringnetwork navigation which is (1) characterized by a seamless sequence ofresponses facilitated by machine interactivity, (2) intrinsically enjoyable,(3) accompanied by a loss of self-consciousness, and (4) self-reinforcing.”Flow is a sensation present when individuals are totally involved in theiractions. This state assumes no conscious intervention. Therefore, flow willoccur when an individual is actively engaged in a clearly specified inter-action with the environment. Flow results from pure involvement withoutconsideration of results to be obtained. Loss of self-conscientiousness is oneattribute of this pure involvement (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). In addition, senseof control is one of the most important elements experienced in flow. Thisfeeling leads to absence of worry. The level of control offered by gamesprovides individual control of his actions and control of his environment.This sense of control is a very important issue for electronic players (John-son & Wiles, 2003). Moreover, flow experience is intrinsically rewarding.The elements of the flow experience include limited stimulus, control of theenvironment, clear and non-contradictory rules, and temporary forgetfulnessof the identity. The combination of these elements leads to an enjoyable andfun experience.

Previous research has identified relationship between flow elementsand attitude toward the site. Skadberg and Kimmel (2004) concluded thatchanges of attitude toward the site and behavior were a consequence ofa flow state, mediated by increased learning. Richard and Chandra (2005)found that site involvement, interactivity control, and exploratory behaviorhave a positive relationship with attitude toward the site, whereas need forcognition have a negative relationship. In addition, a model of the effectof flow on consumer effect has been proposed in the literature. The modelby Choi and Kim (2004) includes personal interaction and social interactionas antecedents of customer loyalty, mediated by the flow construct. Lastly,Luna, Peracchio, and de Juan (2003) found that flow mediates the effect ofattitude toward the site on purchase and revising intentions.

HYPOTHESES

Figure 1 summarizes the structural equation model presenting the proposedrelationships of the determinants of positive attitudes toward advergames, theconstruct of interest. The proposed antecedents to flow among advergames’players include challenges, skills, telepresence, and arousal.

Two factors characterize flow theory. First, the combination of the per-ceived challenges of the activity and the self-perceived skills lead to theoptimization of subjective experience. The feasibility of the activity is anantecedent of flow. Flow is likely to occur when individuals face tasks that

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

318 M. D. Hernandez

Skills

Challenge

Flow

Telepresence

Arousal

Attitudes

H1 (+)

H2 (+)

H3 (+)

H4 (+)

H5 (+)

FIGURE 1 Conceptual model.

are within their abilities or skills. Second, flow theory assumes no maximumof equilibrium point could be reached by the individual experience; that is,the self continuously searches for greater complexity (Moneta & Csikszent-mihalyi, 1996). The motivational system underlying flow theory is relevantto advergames because the balance of the perceived challenges and theself-perceived skills will result in positive experiences. Those experiencesmight include self-fulfillment through successful completion of the game,amusement, and socialization associated with competition. In revising theirproposed model, Novak, Hoffman, and Yung (1998) indicated that skill andchallenge lead directly to play, which in turn precedes a flow state. Byextension, the following hypotheses are posited:

H1: Greater skill at using advergames corresponds to a greater flow.H2: Greater challenge at using advergames corresponds to a greater flow.

Telepresence is composed of two dimensions: vividness and interactivity(Steuer, 1992). The vividness dimension—or the ability of the technologyto produce a sensorial rich, mediated environment—implies that the moresenses involved in an experience result in a more remarkable experience. Inparticular, sensory depth—the quality of the sensory experience—measuresthe ability of the advergames environment to express the intensity of thesensory experience. Advergames offer possibilities to assess both seeingand hearing senses experience through the image/video and sound quality.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

Advergames and Flow 319

Image/video quality involves the technical use of graphics and the aestheticquality of appearance and presentation of the game. Sound quality includesthe quality and use of sound effects and music. Therefore, perception of highquality of the sensory experience would result in a positive relationship withtelepresence, which would result in a better experience of flow. Accordingly,the following hypothesis is derived:

H3: Greater telepresence corresponds to a greater flow.

The term “arousal” as well as its synonyms “alertness,” “activation,” and“excitation” describe a process that energizes behavior and non-exclusivelyaffects cognitive performance (Ragazzoni, 1998). Arousal indicates the levelof activation associated with an emotional response and could be measuredon a continuum with very excited at one extreme to calm at the other end(Bolls, Lang, & Potter, 2001). Novak, Hoffman, and Yung (1998) pointed toarousal as an antecedent to flow. Since the sports games genre simulatesreal life sports, it is expected that the level of activation associated withadvergames’ emotional response would be comparable. Thus, the followinghypothesis is posited:

H4: Greater arousal corresponds to a greater flow.

Richard and Chandra (2005) found that some flow components (siteinvolvement, interactivity control, and exploratory behavior) have a positiverelationship with attitude toward the site. Previous research concluded thatappropriate game design elements that generate flow in games result in turnin positive affect (Johnson & Wiles, 2003). By extension, the flow-attituderelationship is broadening toward the advergaming context. Accordingly, thefollowing is hypothesized:

H5: Greater flow corresponds to a positive attitude toward advergames.

METHOD

Experimental Stimuli

The game selected for the study was a sport game, 3D Dune Derby(http://www.nabiscoworld.com/games/nw shock nwdn.htm) from nabis-coworld.com. The game 3D Dune Derby is a buggy racing game exhibit-ing 4 brand products and 1 corporate brand. The brand products are RitzBits sandwiches, Oreo, Fun Fruits, and Chips Ahoy! The corporate brand isNabisco. The brand names are displayed on buggies, dashboard, start ban-ner, banner checkpoints, and signal flags. One brand is always visible in the

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

320 M. D. Hernandez

frame of the play window. Background music and sound effects (driving,crashing) are heard during the gameplay.

Measures

The final questionnaire included items addressing skills, challenge, telep-resence, arousal, flow, and attitudes toward advergames. The items wereanswered using 7-point Likert scales with response categories from stronglydisagree to strongly agree. Four items measured positive attitudes toward ad-vergames as used by Hernandez et al. (2004). Flow was measured adaptingitems from scales developed by Ghani and Deshpande (1994) and Koufaris(2002). Telepresence was measured using modified items based on the scaleproposed by Klein (2001), consisting of seven items. Three items measuredarousal as used by Novak et al. (1998). Six additional items addressed de-mographics. The complete items in the survey instrument are presented inAppendix A.

Data Collection Procedure

Lab experiments were conducted in a large university computer lab. Com-puters were individually assigned to participants. To avoid demand artifacts,the participants were told this was a video games study. Specifically, as op-posed to explicitly tell them to be aware of particular features, the incidentalexposure method was used. The participants were provided with instructionsto the game and were instructed to play the game for 5 minutes. Followingthe gameplay, participants completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire.

Sample

A convenience sample was used for the study representing both sexes andvarious age categories. One-hundred-thirty-eight individuals attending a largeSouthwestern university voluntarily participated in the study, ranging from17 to 41 years old. The sample composition was 49% male participants; 94%of the total participants have a computer at home and 58% own a videogame console.

RESULTS

Cronbach alphas confirmed internal consistency. With exception of arousal(.67), all the individual scales exceeded the minimum standards recom-mended by Bagozzi and Yi (1988): telepresence (.93); skills (.77); chal-lenges (.90); flow elements (control [.91], concentration [.83], and exploratory

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

Advergames and Flow 321

behavior [.88]); and positive attitudes toward advergames (.83). Given thetheoretical importance of the effect of arousal, the construct was retained forthe analysis.

Overall Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI = .754), Adjusted Goodness-of-FitIndex (AGFI = .702), and chi-squared/df = 2.146, with Root Mean SquaredError (RMSEA = .091) indicated poor fit of the conceptual model. The fit ofthe model was improved via a series of model modification tests. The onlychange that improved the model fit was that the revised model replaced thepath from arousal to flow to a path from arousal to positive attitudes towardadvergames.

Although the Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI = .778), Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI = .731) and Root Mean Residual (RMR = .362) were atmarginal acceptable level for the modified model, the results indicated thatthis model fit significantly: chi-squared = 407.802, chi-squared/df = 1.951,p = .000. In addition, the Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RM-SEA = .08) and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI = .893) were at acceptable levels.Figure 2 contains the modified third-order model, indicating the regressionweights.

To test the hypotheses, the regression weights obtained were examined.With exception of H4, all significant coefficients were in the hypothesizeddirection. As Figure 2 indicates, skills (.57) positively related to flow, support-ing H1. Challenge (.90) also positively related to flow, supporting H2. H3 wassupported since telepresence (.73) positively related to the flow experience.

Skills

Challenge Flow

Telepresence

Arousal

Attitudes

.57

.90

.73

.56

.38

FIGURE 2 Nested model.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

322 M. D. Hernandez

Contrary to expectations, arousal (.56) was found positively related to pos-itive attitudes toward advergames but not related to flow, failing to sup-port H4. Lastly, flow (.38) positively related to positive attitudes towardadvergames, supporting H5.

DISCUSSION

The study provided evidence supporting a model of antecedents to positiveattitudes toward advergames, including arousal, flow, telepresence, and pos-itive gameplay experience resulting from a balance from individual skills andgame challenges. Previous research models of attitudes toward advergames(Youn & Lee, 2003; Hernandez et al., 2004) have neglected the flow ex-perience as a determinant. The proposed model not only indicates the im-portance of including this construct, but also highlights the importance ofthe proposed determinants to flow experience. The model suggests severalimplications for advertisers in the online game environment.

As regression weights indicated, flow experience was found as an im-portant predictor of positive attitudes toward advergames. This finding isconsistent with Johnson and Wiles (2003) conclusion that flow experienceresulting from appropriate game design elements is a determinant of posi-tive attitudes. Advertisers and online game developers could offer elementssuch as greater control features that result in flow experience, in order toset a platform for positive affect toward the products promoted in onlineadvergames.

According to Novak, Hoffman, and Yung (1998), appropriate balanceof skills and challenges offered by games lead to positive gameplay experi-ence. Consistent with this conclusion, the present study found that skill andchallenges are precursors of the flow experience. Importantly, challenges in-dicated a stronger regression weight than for skills. This finding suggests thatthe advergames should offer distinct levels of difficulty in order to suitablefit the players’ skills. Moreover, the model indicated that challenges (.90)offered by advergames are a more important predictor of flow experience.This situation is also interesting in that players are not concerned with pos-sessing previous developed game skills. Therefore, special attention shouldbe placed on the design of features that create increasing challenges to theplayers, which in turn would conduct to positive flow experience.

Following the flow experience, arousal was found as a significant an-tecedent of attitudes toward advergames in the revised model. This find-ing was inconsistent with Novak, Hoffman, and Yung (1998) conclusionthat arousal is a precursor to flow. The results are consistent with Lee,Suh, and Whang’s (2003) study concluding that greater dimensions ofemotion—including arousal—significantly influenced positive consumer at-titudes in the internet shopping mall. It is important to note that a difference

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

Advergames and Flow 323

from other constructs, arousal reported a marginal level of reliability. It couldbe the case that this was one factor influencing in the results. Future re-search could validate this finding by refining the arousal scale and testingwith another sample. Nevertheless, if this were not the case, inclusion ofextreme games would be desirable in order to stimulate this dimension ofemotion.

As expected, telepresence positively corresponded to the flow experi-ence. Thus, although the ability of the advergames environment to expressthe intensity of sensory depth is still limited to video and audio, it is animportant factor in order to reach a telepresence experience. Advergamedevelopers could enhance multimedia quality in order to reach a greatertelepresence. Future research could determine if additional game featurescould lead to a greater telepresence experience.

Given the increasing popularity of online games, modeling the rela-tions among the antecedents of flow is important in creating engaging ad-vergames. Future work could also extend the model by exploring alternativeaffective consequences of flow experience in advergames, such as productliking, brand attitudes, or intentions. Additionally, other theoretically sup-ported changes to the model that could lead to better fit remain to beinvestigated.

The present study was susceptible to some limitations. First, the re-spondents played only one kind of advergames. Future work could testnonsports-related games to see if the results still hold. Second, free onlineadvergames usually do not offer levels of complexity. Testing of the model inconsole (e.g., PlayStation) games, which typically offer several levels of com-plexity, is also recommended in order to extend the generalizability of theresults to other electronic game environments. Despite the limitations, thisstudy contributes to the better understanding of flow and its determinantsinvolved in the formation of players’ attitudes toward product placement andadvertising messages in online advergames.

REFERENCES

Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94.

Bolls, P. D., Lang, A., & Potter, R. F. (2001). The effects of message valence andlistener arousal on attention, memory, and facial muscular responses to radioadvertisements. Communication Research, 28(5), 627–651.

Chaudhuri, A., & Holbrook, M. B. (2002). Product class effects on brand commit-ment and brand outcomes: The role of brand trust and brand affect. BrandManagement, 10(1), 33–58.

Choi, D., & Kim, J. (2004). Why people continue to play online games: In search ofcritical design factors to increase customer loyalty to online contents. CyberPsy-chology & Behavior, 7(1), 11–24.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

324 M. D. Hernandez

Chou, T., & Ting, C. (2003). The role of flow experience in cyber-game addiction.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6(6), 663–675.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Play and intrinsic rewards. Journal of Humanistic Psy-chology, 15(3), 41–63.

Ghani, J. A., & Deshpande, S. P. (1994). Task characteristics and the experienceof optimal flow in human-computer interaction. Journal of Psychology, 128(4),381–391.

Hernandez, M. D., Chapa, S., Minor, M. S., Maldonado, C., & Barranzuela, F. (2004).Hispanic attitudes toward advergames: A proposed model of their antecedents.Journal of Interactive Advertising, 5(1), 74–83. Retrieved from jiad.org

Hoffman, D. L., & Novak, T. P. (1996). Marketing in hypermedia computer-mediatedenvironments: Conceptual foundations. Journal of Marketing, 60(3), 50–68.

Hsu, C., & Lu, H. (2004). Why do people play on-line games? An extended TAMwith social influences and flow experience. Information & Management, 41(7),853–868.

Johnson, D., & Wiles, J. (2003). Effective affective user interface design in games.Ergonomics, 46(13/14), 1332–1345.

Klein, L. R. (2001). Creating virtual experiences in computer-mediated environments.Working paper.

Koufaris, M. (2002). Applying the technology acceptance model and flow the-ory to online consumer behavior. Information Systems Research, 13(2), 205–223.

Lee, M., Suh, K., & Whang, J. (2003). The impact of situation awareness informa-tion on consumer attitudes in the Internet shopping mall. Electronic CommerceResearch and Applications, 2(3), 254–265.

Luna, D., Peracchio, L. A., & de Juan, M. D. (2003). Flow in individual web sites:Model estimation and cross-cultural validation. Advances in Consumer Research,30(1), 280–281.

Moneta, G. B., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). The effect of perceived challengesand skills on the quality of subjective experience. Journal of Personality, 64(2),275–310.

Novak, T. P., Hoffman, D. L., & Yung, Y. (1998, March). Modeling the structure ofthe flow experience among web users. Paper presented at the Marketing Scienceand the Internet Conference, MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Ragazzoni, A. (1998). Arousal: A neurophysiological view. Abstracts/InternationalJournal of Psychophysiology, 30(9), 9.

Richard, M., & Chandra, R. (2005). A model of consumer web navigational behavior:Conceptual development and application. Journal of Business Research, 58(8),1019–1029.

Skadberg, Y. X., & Kimmel, J. R. (2004). Visitors’ flow experience while browsing aweb site: Its measurement, contributing factors and consequences. Computersin Human Behavior, 20(3), 403–422.

Steuer, J. (1992). Defining virtual reality: Dimensions determining telepresence. Jour-nal of Communication, 42(4) 73–93.

Sukoco, B. M., & Wu, W. (2011). The effects of advergames on consumer telep-resence and attitudes: A comparison of products with search and experienceattributes. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(6), 7396–7406.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

Advergames and Flow 325

Youn, S., & Lee, M. (2003, March). Antecedents and consequences of attitude towardthe advergame in commercial web sites. Paper presented at the 2003 Conferenceof the American Academy of Advertising, Clemson, SC.

APPENDIX A: SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Flow

While I played. . .

1. I was/was not deeply engrossed in playing.2. I was/was not absorbed intensively.3. My attention was/was not focused.4. I did/did not fully concentrate.5. I felt confused about what to do/I clearly knew the right things to do.6. I felt agitated/calm.7. I did/did not feel in control.8. I did/did not experiment with game features.9. I did/did not try new game commands.

Telepresence

1. During the play, I felt I was in the world the computer created.2. During the play, I forgot that I was in the middle of an experiment.3. During the play, my body was in the room but my mind was inside the

world created by the computer.4. The computer-generated video game seemed to me “a game I played”

rather than “a game I saw.”5. I felt I was more in the “game world” than the “real world” around me

when was going through the exercise.6. I forgot about my immediate surroundings when I was playing the video

games.7. When the game ended, I felt like I came back to the “real world” after a

journey.

Skills and Challenges

1. I am very skilled at playing video games.2. I consider myself knowledgeable about playing games.3. I know less about playing games than most users.4. I find the game easy to use.5. Playing video games challenges me.6. Playing video games challenges me to perform to the best of my ability.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014

326 M. D. Hernandez

7. Playing video games provides a good test of my skills.8. I find that playing video games stretches my capabilities to the limits.9. Playing video games provides many opportunities for action.

10. Playing video games makes me think.

Arousal

1. While I played the game I felt calm/excited.2. While I played the game I felt stimulated/relaxed.3. While I played the game I felt alert/soothed.

Attitudes Toward Advergames

Overall, the games are. . .

1. Good/bad.2. Bored/exciting.3. Artful/Not artful at all.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Tuf

ts U

nive

rsity

] at

10:

01 1

4 N

ovem

ber

2014