A VR-based serious game to regulate joy in adolescents: A comparison of different devices

Adolescence is a crucial period to learn Emotional Regulation (ER) strategies to prevent future psychological problems. This work is aimed to test the efficacy of GameTeen System (GT-System), a serious game that teaches ER strategies to regulate joy (VAS scale) and perceived arousal (FAS scale) in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. We conducted a between-participants experiment in which participants (N = 63) played a joy induction game, and then an ER game using one of three types of devices (computer, smartphone, and RGB-D camera). Results revealed that GT-System was only effective in increase perceived arousal after the joy induction game and decrease after the ER game. Statistically significant differences were found between devices conditions after the joy induction game (more intense perceived arousal was reported by participants in RGB-D camera). This finding highlights that the type of device could be an important variable in the efficacy of serious game.