Research Team, Ready!

With a bevy of new additions joining veteran postdoc Geoff and returning research assistants Joe and Sara – including a brand new postdoctoral researcher in psychology Jordan Carpenter*, and an army of new RAs – the intrepid Tiltfactor research team is preparing to run an exciting slate of studies this fall!

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The team is set to tackle a host of timely and provocative research questions. Here’s just a sample of them:

  • Can a party game inspire greater interest in science and math?
  • Do people act differently when they play a game on a board or on a digital device? How can we make sure people are thinking clearly and effectively, no matter what platform a game is in?
  • How can we inspire the highest levels of participation and engagement and elicit high-quality contributions from players of a digital crowdsourcing game?
  • Can a role-playing game build greater empathy, inspire new ways of thinking about social issues, and change the way players see themselves in the process?
  • Which of the following would be the most distressing to players: disease-stricken dogs, cats, humans, or zombies?
  • What could time-traveling scientists or ambitious princesses teach us about stereotypes and prejudice?

As we begin to form exciting new partnerships with schools and youth organizations in the Upper Valley and beyond (and continue to strengthen our existing relationships with our invaluable local educational partners) we are venturing into a multitude of exciting new terrains in our research. And with new games in development as we speak, a whole new set of empirical questions are beginning to emerge. Stay tuned for the latest developments from the research front!

*Jordan has been a mysterious presence in the lab thus far, but from what we can tell, he combines a passion for the psychology of games with youthful energy (he literally just got his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of North Carolina ten minutes ago). He spends most of the day hiding in a nook, only emerging for coffee and for daily brainstorming sessions. Will he change Tiltfactor, or will Tiltfactor change him??