Examining player estimates of prior video gaming experience: comparing single-item and multiple-item measures

The construct of game experience encompasses two distinct dimensions: experience within a video game and experience with a video game. For the purposes of this study, the authors focused on prior experience with video games. The construct of prior video gaming experience has been typically defined in terms of time spent playing and operationalized in two distinctly different ways: 1) an estimate of overall time spent playing video games (e.g., single-item measure); or 2) a cumulative estimate of time spent playing split by video game genre (e.g., multiple-item measure). Despite these extant measurement perspectives, a search of the literature did not reveal a rationale for the disparate granularity with which the prior video game experience construct is captured. However, these variations in approach to measuring prior video game experience may impact the findings of game-based research. This study was conceptualized to begin a methodological conversation centering on how construct operationalization could influence study outcomes. A common scale adaptation process was applied to examine whether prior gaming experience measured by a single-item compared to a multiple-item instrument impacted the predicted likelihood of game-based outcomes. Results demonstrated that while both overall and genre-based measures of prior video game experience measures are tenable in game-based research, genre-based measures appear to yield more clarity for both task-specific and outcome-based research questions.