MindTrek 2026: Validation of the Finnish Game Transfer Phenomena Scale

🎮When gaming experiences cross the boundary between virtual and everyday life.

Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP) describe experiences in which elements of video games spontaneously emerge in everyday life. These experiences may involve visual imagery, perceptions, thoughts, or behavioural responses and can be triggered by external cues or internal states.

At Academic MindTrek 2026 in Tampere, Finland, we will present new research examining Game Transfer Phenomena and the validation of the Finnish Game Transfer Phenomena Scale (GTPS-20).

The study included 400 Finnish gamers and examined the psychometric properties of the GTPS-20, as well as associations between GTP, gameplay behaviours, and mind wandering.

Key findings

93.8% of participants reported experiencing Game Transfer Phenomena.
Visual imagery when closing one’s eyes was the most commonly reported GTP experience.
The Finnish GTPS-20 demonstrated acceptable internal reliability and adequate model fit, supporting its factor structure.
Gameplay behaviours showed differential associations across GTP dimensions.
Console gaming predicted multiple GTP dimensions, whereas computer and mobile gaming showed more limited and inconsistent associations.
Mind wandering was associated with all GTP dimensions, suggesting an important relationship between GTP and broader cognitive processes.

Together, these findings support the Finnish GTPS-20 as a useful measure of Game Transfer Phenomena and contribute to our understanding of how gaming experiences may extend beyond gameplay and relate to everyday cognition.