HARMONIOUS PASSION AND OBSESSIVE PASSION IN PLAYING ONLINE GAMES

Abstract

The concepts of passion as proposed by Vallerand et al. (2003) were employed to describe the passion of online computer game players. An empirical survey was conducted, and statistical analysis was utilized to analyze the 404 responses. The empirical evidence confirms the theory of Vallerand et al. that the passion for online computer games can be divided into two subdimensions, namely harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Furthermore, the influences of harmonious and obsessive passion on players' addiction to online computer games differ significantly. Obsessive passion may lead to addiction, while harmonious passion normally does not. These results support the argument that only obsessive passion leads to negative outcomes.