The Prosocial Gamers: Game as an Enactive Mechanism to Promote Donation Behavior

While video games are increasingly discussed as tools for behavioral change, their relationship with specific prosocial outcomes such as donation intention remains underexplored. This study examines how engagement with prosocial video games (PVGs) is associated with donation intention through morally engaging gameplay experiences. A two-study design was employed. Study 1 (N = 285) used a single-group pre – post design to examine changes in donation intention following a two-week PVG engagement. Study 2 (N = 304) used a cross-sectional survey to examine psychological mechanisms underlying donation intention. The model focuses on role-taking and game immersion as enactive experiences and tests their associations with donation intention through pure altruism and warm glow. Study 1 indicates higher donation intentions after PVG engagement compared to baseline levels. Study 2 shows that role-taking and game immersion are positively associated with donation intention through distinct motivational pathways: immersion through pure altruism, and both role-taking and immersion through warm glow. The study extends Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory by illustrating how enactive moral engagement in games relates to prosocial intention via differentiated motivational processes. The findings offer a nuanced framework for understanding the prosocial potential of morally engaging digital games.