the psychology of esports a systematic literature review

The Psychology of Esports: A Systematic Literature Review

Affiliations.

• 1 Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, Budapest, 1064, Hungary.
• 2 Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
• 3 International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
• 4 Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, Budapest, 1064, Hungary. [email protected].
• PMID: 29508260
• DOI: 10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1

Recently, the skill involved in playing and mastering video games has led to the professionalization of the activity in the form of 'esports' (electronic sports). The aim of the present paper was to review the main topics of psychological interest about esports and then to examine the similarities of esports to professional and problem gambling. As a result of a systematic literature search, eight studies were identified that had investigated three topics: (1) the process of becoming an esport player, (2) the characteristics of esport players such as mental skills and motivations, and (3) the motivations of esport spectators. These findings draw attention to the new research field of professional video game playing and provides some preliminary insight into the psychology of esports players. The paper also examines the similarities between esport players and professional gamblers (and more specifically poker players). It is suggested that future research should focus on esport players' psychological vulnerability because some studies have begun to investigate the difference between problematic and professional gambling and this might provide insights into whether the playing of esports could also be potentially problematic for some players.

Keywords: Competitive video gaming; Esport; Gambling; Gaming motivations; Poker; Professional video gaming; Video games.

Publication types

• Systematic Review
• Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
• Competitive Behavior
• Gambling / psychology*
• Internal-External Control*
• Video Games / psychology*

Grants and funding

• K111938/Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office
• KKP126835/Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office
• CA16207/Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union, COST Action

Advertisement

The Psychology of Esports: A Systematic Literature Review

• Review Paper
• Published: 05 March 2018
• Volume 35 , pages 351–365, ( 2019 )

Cite this article

• Fanni Bányai 1 , 2 ,
• Mark D. Griffiths 3 ,
• Orsolya Király 1 &
• Zsolt Demetrovics   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5604-7551 1  

27k Accesses

159 Citations

6 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Recently, the skill involved in playing and mastering video games has led to the professionalization of the activity in the form of ‘esports’ (electronic sports). The aim of the present paper was to review the main topics of psychological interest about esports and then to examine the similarities of esports to professional and problem gambling. As a result of a systematic literature search, eight studies were identified that had investigated three topics: (1) the process of becoming an esport player, (2) the characteristics of esport players such as mental skills and motivations, and (3) the motivations of esport spectators. These findings draw attention to the new research field of professional video game playing and provides some preliminary insight into the psychology of esports players. The paper also examines the similarities between esport players and professional gamblers (and more specifically poker players). It is suggested that future research should focus on esport players’ psychological vulnerability because some studies have begun to investigate the difference between problematic and professional gambling and this might provide insights into whether the playing of esports could also be potentially problematic for some players.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Do Sports Programs Prevent Crime and Reduce Reoffending? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Effectiveness of Sports Programs

Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

The Role of Avoidance Coping and Escape Motives in Problematic Online Gaming: A Systematic Literature Review

Adamus, T. (2012). Playing computer games as electronic sport: In search of a theoretical framework for a new research field. In J. Fromme & A. Unger (Eds.), Computer games and new media cultures: A handbook of digital games studies (pp. 477–490). Dordrecht: Springer.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Brock, T. (2017). Roger Caillois and e-sports: On the problems of treating play as work. Games and Culture, 12 (4), 321–339.

Article   Google Scholar  

Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play and games . Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Google Scholar  

Campbell, J. (1965). Hero with 1000 faces . New York: World.

Demetrovics, Z., Urbán, R., Nagygyörgy, K., Farkas, J., Zilahy, D., Mervó, B., et al. (2011). Why do you play? The development of the motives for online gaming questionnaire (MOGQ). Behavior Research Methods, 43 (3), 814–825.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nuring, 62 (1), 107–115.

Engeström, Y. (1993). Developmental studies of work as a testbench of activity theory: The case of primary care medical practice. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (Eds.), Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context (pp. 64–103). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R.-L. Punamäki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: University Press.

Engeström, Y., Miettinen, R., & Punamäki, R.-L. (1999). Perspectives on activity theory . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Book   Google Scholar  

Entertainment Software Association. (2017). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry . Retrieved February 8, 2017, from http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/EF2017_FinalDigital.pdf .

Faust, K., Meyer, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Competitive and professional gaming: Discussing potential benefits of scientific study. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 3 (1), 67–77.

Fisher, S. E., & Griffiths, M. D. (1995). Current trends in slot machine gambling: Research and policy issues. Journal of Gambling Studies, 11, 239–247.

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). Grounded theory: The discovery of grounded theory. Sociology, 12, 27–49.

Greenberg, B. S., Sherry, J., Lachlan, K., Lucas, K., & Holmstrom, A. (2010). Orientations to video games among gender and age groups. Simulation & Gaming, 41 (2), 238–259.

Griffiths, M. D. (1991). Amusement machine playing in childhood and adolescence: A comparative analysis of video games and fruit machines. Journal of Adolescence, 14, 53–73.

Griffiths, M. (2017). The psychosocial impact of professional gambling, professional video gaming and eSports. Casino & Gaming International, 28, 59–63.

Griffiths, M. D., King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2014). The technological convergence of gambling and gaming practices. In D. C. S. Richard, A. Blaszczynski, & L. Nower (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of disordered gambling (pp. 327–346). Chichester: Wiley.

Guttmann, A. (2004). From ritual to record: The nature of modern sports . New York: Columbia University Press.

Hamari, J., & Sjöblom, M. (2017). What is eSports and why do people watch it? Internet Research, 27 (2), 211–232.

Hemphill, D. (2005). Cybersport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 32 (2), 195–207.

Himmelstein, D., Liu, Y., & Shapiro, J. L. (2017). An exploration of mental skills among competitive League of Legend players. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 9 (2), 1–21.

Hing, N., Russell, A. M., Gainsbury, S. M., & Blaszczynski, A. (2016). A case of mistaken identity? A comparison of professional and amateur problem gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32 (1), 277–289.

International e-Sports Federation. (2017). Member Nations . Retrieved February 8, 2018, from http://www.ie-sf.org/about/#member-nations .

Jenny, S. E., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2016). Virtual(ly) athletes: Where esports fit within the definition of “sport”. Quest . https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2016.1144517 .

Johansson, A., & Götestam, K. G. (2004). Problems with computer games without monetary reward: Similarity to pathological gambling. Psychological Reports, 95 (2), 641–650.

Jonasson, K., & Thiborg, J. (2010). Electronic sport and its impact on future sport. Sport in Society, 13 (2), 287–299.

Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37 (4), 509–523.

Kim, Y., & Ross, S. D. (2006). An exploration of motives in sport video gaming. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 8 (1), 28–40.

Kim, S. H., & Thomas, M. K. (2015). A stage theory model of professional video game players in South Korea: The socio-cultural dimensions of the development of expertise. Asian Journal of Information Technology, 14 (5), 176–186.

King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2010). Video game structural characteristics: A new psychological taxonomy. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8, 90–106.

King, D. L., Gainsbury, S. M., Delfabbro, P. H., Hing, N., & Abarbanel, B. (2015). Distinguishing between gaming and gambling activities in addiction research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4 (4), 215–220.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Király, O., Nagygyörgy, K., Koronczai, B., Griffiths, M. D., & Demetrovics, Z. (2015). Assessment of problematic internet use and online video gaming. In E. Aboujaoude & V. Starcevic (Eds.), Mental health in the digital age: Grave dangers, great promise (pp. 46–68). New York: Oxford University Press.

Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M. D., & Pontes, H. M. (2016). Chaos and confusion in DSM-5 diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: Issues, concerns, and recommendations for clarity in the field. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6 (2), 103–109.

Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M. D., & Pontes, H. M. (2017). DSM-5 diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: Some ways forward in overcoming issues and concerns in the gaming studies field: Response to the commentaries. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6 (2), 133–141.

Lee, J.-Y., An, J.-W., & Lee, S.-W. (2014). Factors affecting eSports audience satisfaction-The case of League of Legends. Journal of Korea Game Society, 14 (3), 35–46.

Lee, D., Cheon, W., Judge, L., Shin, H., & Kim, K. (2012). Motives and marketing stimuli affecting esports consumption: Cross-cultural perspectives. International Journal of Sport Management, 13 (2), 203–223.

Lee, D., & Schoenstedt, L. J. (2011). Comparison of eSports and traditional sports consumption motives. The ICHPER-SD Journal of Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport & Dance, 6 (2), 39–44.

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Understanding the convergence of markets in online sports betting. International Review for the Sociology of Sport . https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216680602 .

Ma, H., Wu, Y., & Wu, X. (2013). Research on essential difference of e-sport and online game. In W. Du (Ed.), Informatics and management science V (pp. 615–621). London: Springer.

Martončik, M. (2015). e-Sports: Playing just for fun or playing to satisfy life goals? Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 208–211.

Mäyrä, F. (2008). An introduction to game studies . London: Sage Publications Ltd.

McCormack, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). What differentiates professional poker players from recreational poker players? A qualitative interview study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10 (2), 243–257.

Newzoo. (2017). Global Esports Market Report 2017 . Retrieved February 8, 2018, from https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/global-esports-market-report-2017-light/ .

Phillips, C. A., Rolls, S., Rouse, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (1995). Home video game playing in schoolchildren: A study of incidence and patterns of play. Journal of Adolescence, 18 (6), 687–691.

Pöhlmann, K., & Brunstein, J. C. (1997). GOALS: Ein fragebogen zur messung von lebenszielen. Diagnostica, 43 (1), 103–119.

Recher, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). An exploratory qualitative study of online poker professional players. Social Psychological Review, 14 (2), 13–25.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), 54–67.

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, C. S., & Przybylski, A. (2006). The motivational pull of video games: A self-determination theory approach. Motivation and Emotion, 30 (4), 344–360.

Seo, Y. (2016). Professionalized consumption and identity transformations in the field of eSports. Journal of Business Research, 69 (1), 264–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.07.039 .

Seo, Y., & Jung, S.-U. (2016). Beyond solitary play in computer games: The social practices of eSports. Journal of Consumer Culture, 16 (3), 635–655.

Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K., Greenberg, B. S., & Lachlan, K. (2006). Video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference. In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds.), Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences (pp. 213–224). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Stebbins, R. A. (1982). Serious leisure: A conceptual statement. Pacific Sociological Review, 25 (2), 251–272.

Suits, B. (2007). The elements of sport. Ethics in Sport, 2, 9–19.

Taylor, T. (2012). Raising the stakes: E-sports and the professionalization of computer gaming . Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Thompson, C. J. (1997). Interpreting consumers: A hermeneutical framework for deriving marketing insights from the texts of consumers’ consumption stories. Journal of Marketing Research, 34, 438–455.

van Hilvoorde, I. (2016). Sport and play in a digital world. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 10 (1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2016.1171252 .

van Hilvoorde, I., & Pot, N. (2016). Embodiment and fundamental motor skills in eSports. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 10 (1), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2016.1159246 .

Vorderer, P. (2000). Interactive entertainment and beyond. In D. Zillman & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Media entertainment: The psychology of its appeal (pp. 21–36). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Vorderer, P., Hartmann, T., & Klimmt, C. (2003, May). Explaining the enjoyment of playing video games: The role of competition . Paper presented at the proceedings of the second international conference on entertainment computing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Wagner, M. G. (2006). On the scientific relevance of eSports. In: International conference on internet computing & conference on computer games development. LasVegas, NV: ICOMP.

Weinstock, J., Massura, C. E., & Petry, N. M. (2013). Professional and pathological gamblers: Similarities and differences. Journal of Gambling Studies, 29 (2), 205–216.

Weiss, T., & Schiele, S. (2013). Virtual worlds in competitive contexts: Analyzing eSports consumer needs. Electronic Markets, 23 (4), 307–316.

Whalen, S. J. (2013). Cyberathletes’ lived experience of video game tournaments . Doctoral Dissertation, University of Tennessee.

Witkowski, E. (2009). Probing the sportiness of eSports. In J. Christophers & T. Scholz (Eds.), eSports yearbook (pp. 53–56). Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH.

Witkowski, E. (2012). On the digital playing field: How we “do sport” with networked computer games. Games and Culture, 7 (5), 349–374.

Wood, R. T. A., Griffiths, M. D., Chappell, D., & Davies, M. N. O. (2004a). The structural characteristics of video games: A psycho-structural analysis. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 7, 1–10.

Wood, R. T. A., Gupta, R., Derevensky, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2004b). Video game playing and gambling in adolescents: Common risk factors. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 14, 77–100.

Yee, N. (2006a). The demographics, motivations, and derived experiences of users of massively multi-user online graphical environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 15 (3), 309–329.

Yee, N. (2006b). Motivations for play in online games. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9 (6), 772–775.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Grant Nos. K111938, KKP126835). Orsolya Király was supported by the ÚNKP New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities. This study was supported by the COST Action (Grant No. CA16207) funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. The funding institutions had no role in the study design or the data collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, Budapest, 1064, Hungary

Fanni Bányai, Orsolya Király & Zsolt Demetrovics

Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Fanni Bányai

International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

Mark D. Griffiths

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zsolt Demetrovics .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

Three of the authors (FB, OK, ZS) declare that they do not have any interests that could constitute a real, potential or apparent conflict of interest with respect to their involvement in the publication. The authors also declare that they do not have any financial or other relations (e.g., directorship, consultancy or speaker fee) with companies, trade associations, unions or groups (including civic associations and public interest groups) that may gain or lose financially from the results or conclusions in the study. Sources of funding are acknowledged. MG carries out consultancy with the gambling companies in the area of responsible gambling, harm minimization and player protection. Some of his research has also received funding from GambleAware, a charity that is funded by gambling industry donations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Bányai, F., Griffiths, M.D., Király, O. et al. The Psychology of Esports: A Systematic Literature Review. J Gambl Stud 35 , 351–365 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1

Download citation

Published : 05 March 2018

Issue Date : 15 June 2019

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Professional video gaming
• Competitive video gaming
• Video games
• Gaming motivations
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Europe PMC requires Javascript to function effectively.

Either your web browser doesn't support Javascript or it is currently turned off. In the latter case, please turn on Javascript support in your web browser and reload this page.

Search life-sciences literature (44,042,124 articles, preprints and more)

• Full text links
• Citations & impact
• Similar Articles

The Psychology of Esports: A Systematic Literature Review.

Author information, affiliations.

• Demetrovics Z 1
• Griffiths MD 2

ORCIDs linked to this article

• Demetrovics Z | 0000-0001-5604-7551
• Bányai F | 0000-0003-4911-2399

Journal of Gambling Studies , 01 Jun 2019 , 35(2): 351-365 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1   PMID: 29508260 

Abstract 

Full text links .

Read article at publisher's site: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1

References 

Articles referenced by this article (69)

Adamus, T. (2012). Playing computer games as electronic sport: In search of a theoretical framework for a new research field. In J. Fromme & A. Unger (Eds.), Computer games and new media cultures: A handbook of digital games studies (pp. 477–490). Dordrecht: Springer.

Brock, t. (2017). roger caillois and e-sports: on the problems of treating play as work. games and culture, 12(4), 321–339., caillois, r. (2001). man, play and games. chicago: university of illinois press., campbell, j. (1965). hero with 1000 faces. new york: world., why do you play the development of the motives for online gaming questionnaire (mogq)..

Demetrovics Z , Urban R , Nagygyorgy K , Farkas J , Zilahy D , Mervo B , Reindl A , Agoston C , Kertesz A , Harmath E

Behav Res Methods, (3):814-825 2011

MED: 21487899

The qualitative content analysis process.

Elo S , Kyngas H

J Adv Nurs, (1):107-115 2008

MED: 18352969

Engeström, Y. (1993). Developmental studies of work as a testbench of activity theory: The case of primary care medical practice. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (Eds.), Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context (pp. 64–103). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Engeström, y. (1999). activity theory and individual and social transformation. in y. engeström, r. miettinen, & r.-l. punamäki (eds.), perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). cambridge: university press., engeström, y., miettinen, r., & punamäki, r.-l. (1999). perspectives on activity theory. cambridge: cambridge university press., entertainment software association. (2017). essential facts about the computer and video game industry. retrieved february 8, 2017, from http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ef2017_finaldigital.pdf., citations & impact , impact metrics, citations of article over time, alternative metrics.

Article citations

Physical activity and self-determination towards exercise among esports athletes..

Nicholson M , Thompson C , Poulus D , Pavey T , Robergs R , Kelly V , McNulty C

Sports Med Open , 10(1):40, 16 Apr 2024

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38625433 | PMCID: PMC11021385

ESport programs in high school: what's at play?

Lemay A , Dufour M , Goyette M , Berbiche D

Front Psychiatry , 15:1306450, 26 Jan 2024

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38343624 | PMCID: PMC10853400

The Prevalence and Outlook of Doping in Electronic Sports (Esports): An Original Study and Review of the Overlooked Medical Challenges.

Słyk S , Zarzycki M , Grudzień K , Majewski G , Jasny M , Domitrz I

Cureus , 15(11):e48490, 08 Nov 2023

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38074032 | PMCID: PMC10704399

Understanding Esports-related Betting and Gambling: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Mangat HS , Griffiths MD , Yu SM , Felvinczi K , Ngetich RK , Demetrovics Z , Czakó A

J Gambl Stud , 22 Sep 2023

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 37740076

Missed a live match? Determinants of League of Legends Champions Korea highlights viewership.

Ryu Y , Hwang H , Jeong J , Jang W , Lee G , Pyun H

Front Psychol , 14:1213600, 23 Aug 2023

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 37680247 | PMCID: PMC10481709

Similar Articles 

To arrive at the top five similar articles we use a word-weighted algorithm to compare words from the Title and Abstract of each citation.

Career as a Professional Gamer: Gaming Motives as Predictors of Career Plans to Become a Professional Esport Player.

Bányai F , Zsila Á , Griffiths MD , Demetrovics Z , Király O

Front Psychol , 11:1866, 05 Aug 2020

Cited by: 8 articles | PMID: 32903792 | PMCID: PMC7438909

Safer esports for players, spectators, and bettors: Issues, challenges, and policy recommendations.

Czakó A , Király O , Koncz P , Yu SM , Mangat HS , Glynn JA , Romero P , Griffiths MD , Rumpf HJ , Demetrovics Z

J Behav Addict , 12(1):1-8, 24 Mar 2023

Cited by: 1 article | PMID: 36961739 | PMCID: PMC10260215

The mediating effect of motivations between psychiatric distress and gaming disorder among esport gamers and recreational gamers.

Bányai F , Griffiths MD , Demetrovics Z , Király O

Compr Psychiatry , 94:152117, 08 Aug 2019

Cited by: 32 articles | PMID: 31422185

The Gambling Preferences and Behaviors of a Community Sample of Australian Regular Video Game Players.

Forrest CJ , King DL , Delfabbro PH

J Gambl Stud , 32(2):409-420, 01 Jun 2016

Cited by: 9 articles | PMID: 25773869

Will esports result in a higher prevalence of problematic gaming? A review of the global situation.

Chung T , Sum S , Chan M , Lai E , Cheng N

J Behav Addict , 8(3):384-394, 25 Sep 2019

Cited by: 17 articles | PMID: 31553236 | PMCID: PMC7044624

Funding 

Funders who supported this work.

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union, COST Action (1)

Grant ID: CA16207

1 publication

Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (2)

Grant ID: K111938

19 publication s

Grant ID: KKP126835

28 publication s

ÚNKP New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities

Europe PMC is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

• Share on twitter (New window)
• Share on facebook (New window)
• Share on email (New window)
• Share on linkedin (New window)
• Olympic Studies Center
• Other sites
• Olympic World Library Network
• Go to the menu
• Go to the content
• Go to the search
• OSC Catalogue
• INDERSCIENCE
• Search in all sources

The psychology of esports : a systematic literature review / Fanni Bányai... [et al.]

• Bányai, Fanni

Recently, the skill involved in playing and mastering video games has led to the professionalization of the activity in the form of ‘esports’ (electronic sports). The aim of the present paper was to review the main topics of psychological interest about esports and then to examine the similarities of esports to professional and problem gambling. As a result of a systematic literature search, eight studies were identified that had investigated three topics: (1) the process of becoming an esport player, (2) the characteristics of esport players such as mental skills and motivations, and (3) the motivations of esport spectators. These findings draw attention to the new research field of professional video game playing and provides some preliminary insight into the psychology of esports players. The paper also examines the similarities between esport players and professional gamblers (and more specifically poker players). It is suggested that future research should focus on esport players’ psychological vulnerability because some studies have begun to investigate the difference between problematic and professional gambling and this might provide insights into whether the playing of esports could also be potentially problematic for some players.

• Description
• IN: Journal of gambling studies, 2019, vol. 35, pp. 351-365.
• Comparative studies
• Sports betting
• Export HTML
• Export RIS (Zotero)

Consult online

Other research, selection : zoom esports and gaming - articles.

"Dear IOC" : considerations for the governance, valuation, and evaluation of trends and developments in eSports

Forging a link between competitive gaming, sport and the Olympics : history and new developments

The esports question for the Olympic Movement

Esports will not be at the Olympics

Inclusion of electronic sports in the Olympic Games for the right (or wrong) reasons

Integration of eSports in the structure of Ifs : disruption or continuity ?

Esports research : a literature review

Sports video games participation : what can we learn from esports?

Extending disposition theory of sports spectatorship to esports

Setting the scientific stage for esports psychology : a systematic review

Managing the health of the eSport athlete : an integrated health management model

The challenges of implementing a governing body for regulating esports

The psychology of esports : a systematic literature review

Upholding the integrity of esports to successfully and safely legitimize esports wagering

Virtue(al) games - real drugs

E-sports are not sports

E-sports explosion : the birth of esports law or merely a new trend driving change in traditional sports law?

Esports : competitive sports or recreational activity?

Women's experiences in esports : gendered differences in peer and spectator feedback during competitive video game play

Reconsidering esport : economics and executive ownership

What do you think of this resource give us your opinion.

Fields marked with the symbol * are mandatory.

Export in progress

Change your review, memorise the search.

The search will be preserved in your account and can be re-run at any time.

Your alert is registered

You can manage your alerts directly in your account

Subscribe me to events in the same category

Subscribe to events in the category and receive new items by email.

Frame sharing

Copy this code and paste it on your site to display the frame

Or you can share it on social networks

• Share on twitter(New window)
• Share on facebook(New window)
• Share on email(New window)
• Share on print(New window)
• Share on linkedin(New window)

Confirm your action

Are you sure you want to delete all the documents in the current selection?

Choose the library

You wish to reserve a copy.

Register for an event

Registration cancellation.

Warning! Do you really want to cancel your registration?

Add this event to your calendar

Exhibition reservation.

• Study with us
• International
• Services for business

The psychology of esports: a systematic literature review

Recently, the skill involved in playing and mastering video games has led to the professionalization of the activity in the form of 'esports' (electronic sports). The aim of the present paper was to review the main topics of psychological interest about esports and then to examine the similarities of esports to professional and problem gambling. As a result of a systematic literature search, eight studies were identified that had investigated three topics: (i) the process of becoming an esport player, (ii) the characteristics of esport players such as mental skills and motivations, and (iii) the motivations of esport spectators. These findings draw attention to the new research field of professional video game playing and provides some preliminary insight into the psychology of esports players. The paper also examines the similarities between esport players and professional gamblers (and more specifically poker players). It is suggested that future research should focus on esport players' psychological vulnerability because some studies have begun to investigate the difference between problematic and professional gambling and this might provide insights into whether the playing of esports could also be potentially problematic for some players.

Actions (login required)

Views per month over past year

View more statistics

Downloads per month over past year

• Information
• Submit amendment (on-campus access only)

Nottingham Trent University Burton Street Nottingham NG1 4BU +44 (0)115 941 8418

• Get directions

Quick links

• Online payment
• Student Services
• Accommodation
• Academic Schools
• Fees and funding
• Students' Union
• Job vacancies
• Short courses

Connect with us

Keep up to date with all things NTU

Search for a member of staff

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Non-interpersonal traumatic events in patients with eating disorders: a systematic review.

• 1 Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
• 2 Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Select one of your emails

You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:

Notify me on publication

Please enter your email address:

If you already have an account, please login

You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here

The purpose of the systematic review was to synthesize literature on eating disorders (ED) and non-interpersonal traumatic events (NTE) and consolidate the reported prevalence of NTE in patients with an ED.The literature search was performed in Embase, PsycInfo, and PubMed. The keywords in the search were "eating disorder", "trauma" and "non-interpersonal", using index-terms and freesearch keywords related to NTE and ED. The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Relevant studies were screened using Rayyan.Of the 16 studies included in the quantitative synthesis, five overall types of NTE were identified: accidents, illness, injury, natural disaster and war. Findings provided tentative evidence for illness and injury being more prevalent in patients suffering from an ED compared to controls. The remaining subtypes of NTE didn't show a higher prevalence in patients with an ED when compared to controls. Findings also suggest that those with binge/purge subtype of anorexia nervosa (AN) had a higher prevalence of non-interpersonal traumatic events compared to the restrictive subtype of AN.Discussion: This systematic review provided a clear synthesis of previous findings related to NTE among patients with an ED. Noteworthy, is that many studies do not take into account if the trauma happened prior or after to ED onset, which may affect the association. Furthermore, the body of research on NTE in patients with ED is exceedingly limited, and more research is needed.

Keywords: Trauma, Non-interpersonal, Eating Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa

Received: 08 Mar 2024; Accepted: 07 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Nielsen, Johnsen, Nilsson and Telléus. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Kirstine M. Johnsen, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark Gry K. Telléus, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.