When players immerse themselves in a video game, their attention, emotions, and sensory systems synchronize with the digital world. But what happens when that experience doesn’t stay contained within the screen?
A new article published in the Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine (2024) by Angelica ORTIZ DE GORTARI, Andrzej CUDO, Julio C. LLAMAS-ALONSO, and Arturo LERNER outlines the theoretical foundations of Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) — a field that explores how video game experiences can transfer into real-world perception, cognition, and behaviour.
Ortiz de Gortari’s and collegues’ article integrates insights from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and media studies to explain why GTP occurs.
The article highlights several key mechanisms:
- Perceptual priming – Frequent exposure to in-game stimuli makes related real-world cues more likely to capture attention.
- Embodied cognition – Motor and sensory experiences in games can become internalized, influencing real-world reactions and bodily responses.
- Associative learning – Players link sensory cues, emotions, and rewards from games, which can later trigger similar thoughts or feelings outside gameplay.
- Reality monitoring – When the brain retrieves vivid mental imagery, it may momentarily blur the line between imagined and perceived experiences.
Together, these frameworks show how immersive play can temporarily reshape mental representations and sensory expectations, offering a foundation for understanding both benign and potentially disruptive post-game experiences.
Download the full article.
Reference:
Ortiz de Gortari, A. B., Cudo, A., Llamas-Alonso, J. C., Lerner, A. Outlining Theoretical Underpinnings of Game Transfer Phenomena. Annual Review of Cybertherapy And Telemedicine 2024, 45.