Interpersonal goals can guide behaviours on Social Networking Sites (SNSs) that inform experiences. People with compassionate goals focused on supporting others or self-image goals focused on conveying a desirable image, can exhibit distinct behaviours on SNSs and experience different social, emotional and well-being outcomes. However, what contributes to adopting and pursuing these goals in SNS contexts remains unclear. To develop a foundational understanding and identify variables that may contribute, the current study conducted 21 semi-structured interviews using the snapshot scroll-back technique to explore people’s experiences of self-image and compassionate goals via SNS posting. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, and three themes were generated: evaluating internal desires before goal adoption, observing others when making decisions about goal pursuit, and determining effective means for goal achievement. Our findings offer initial insights into antecedents influencing interpersonal goals as well as how perceptions of others and platform features shape interpersonal goal adoption and pursuit in SNS contexts. Specifically, findings suggest several variables such as self-esteem, self-concept clarity, need to belong, meaning in life, gratitude, affordances, and feedback, play influential roles in goal processes. Additionally, findings shed light on how SNS users manage multiple goals. These insights expand understanding of interpersonal goals, which can guide how people use SNSs.

There is growing recognition of the role video games can play in helping people through challenging times, however many still argue that video game play can lead to adverse and problematic behaviours when relied upon to manage negative affect. This study sought to explore a number of factors that may play a role in influencing the likelihood one develops problematic habits of play, particularly in the context of difficult and stressful times. Specifically, this study utilised Self-Determination Theory and the Dualistic Model of Passion to explore the relationships between emotion regulation, psychological need satisfaction and frustration, passion for video games, and problematic video game play during times of difficulty and stress. A path analysis was conducted using data from 440 participants and found that, overall, emotion regulation may be associated with whether or not problematic play is likely to occur, particularly through its relationship with need satisfaction (and frustration) and video game passion.

Prosocial behaviour is crucial in human relationships, enhancing the well-being of both the helper and the recipient. Using rewards to encourage prosocial behaviour can be effective, but may influence reasoning and negatively affect follow-up prosocial behaviour. The salience of the reward for the initial helping behaviour could explain the mixed findings in prior literature. Using a 2 (Aesthetic Upgrade, No Aesthetic Upgrade) × 2 (Functional Upgrade, No Functional Upgrade) online experimental study design (N = 170), this research investigates the impact of reward salience within a videogame on follow-up prosocial behaviour (donation to charity). Findings indicate that although reward salience was successfully manipulated, it did not have a statistically significant relationship with reasoning or behaviour. Notably, strategic reasoning for in-game helping was negatively associated with charitable donations. These results emphasise the importance of understanding how people perceive their prosocial actions to better predict future prosocial engagement, with implications for future research and games designed for social change.

Prosocial behaviour in videogames can enhance well-being outcomes and increase engagement in post-game prosocial behaviours, such as donations to charity. While some studies show that rewarding in-game helping can diminish charitable donations, others find no significant effects. An enhanced moral context for helping, driven by awareness of need, offers a potential explanation for the mixed findings. This study examined how the in-game moral context, manipulated through non-player character (NPC) neediness, influences the effect of rewards on post-game charitable donations, using a 2 (High Need, Low Need) x 2 (Reward, No Reward) experimental design. Results from 170 participants show no significant effects on charitable donations, high NPC neediness evoked greater moral satisfaction for helping, and in-game rewards for helping increased strategic reasoning. A significant interaction between rewards and NPC neediness was found on reasoning, where the No Reward/Low Need condition had the highest moral reasoning for helping, but also the lowest moral satisfaction from helping. This discrepancy between moral reasoning and moral satisfaction is discussed, along with practical methods to manipulate and measure NPC neediness, and recommendations to improve the research of moral decision-making in videogames.

Prosocial behaviours are actions that have a positive impact on others. Those who act prosocially in videogames are more likely to be prosocial after the game. In-game rewards may impact this prosocial transfer to real life but there are mixed findings. The aim of this research was to determine the impact that in-game rewards for helping have on post-game prosocial behaviour. We partially replicated and extended a prior study that showed an impact of in-game rewards on a post-game charitable donation. While playing a videogame, players voluntarily chose to help a non-player character or not and were rewarded or not based on their experimental condition. Pre- and post-gameplay questionnaires were used to measure trait empathy, prosocial self-concept, and reasoning for in-game helping. Participants were then offered a bonus compensation and given the opportunity to donate some amount of it to charity. Moral Reasoning was positively associated with donation behaviour, successfully replicating some prior findings. However, in-game rewards did not affect reasoning or donation behaviour. The outcomes of this research help both researchers and developers better understand how rewards affect players’ reasoning and how to better utilise games as a method to increase prosocial behaviour in people.