Prosocial Cyberball Game (PCG)

The Prosocial Cyberball Game (PCG) measures prosocial behavior related to empathy when seeing that someone is being socially excluded. In the game, children play a (digital) ball-tossing game with peers. In the first block of the game, all children typically receive the ball an equal amount of time. In the second block of the game, one of the peers is systematically ignored by the other peers (never receives the ball). Participants have the option to show empathy by throwing the ball to the ignored player more often. The increase in the amount of throws from the first block to the next is then measured.

In YOUth, children played the game online with three other children (computer simulations of peers of the same gender with typical Dutch names). In the first block (48 trials), all children received the ball on average every fourth throw. If the participant received the ball, they could decide who was next to receive the ball. In the second block (48 trials), one of the three peers was systematically ignored (i.e., never received the ball from the other two peers). Participants could however show empathy by compensating: when they received the ball, they might chose to throw the ball more often to the ignored player. The dependent variable is the increase in throws to the ignored player in this block relative to first block. The task lasted approximately 10 minutes (including explanation).

Citation Loading citation...
Keywords
Constructs
Waves
  • Child and Adolescent

  • 9 years
    •   C
    8.0 - 10.0 years   From 2016-03-14 to 2020-04-14
  • 12 years
    •   C
    11.0 - 16.0 years   From 2019-07-04 to 2022-12-01
    Mode of collection MeasurementsAndTests    Behavioral/cognitive task
    Analysis unit Individual
    Instrument name Prosocial Cyberball Game (PCG)
    Measure name Cyberball
    References
    Vrijhof, C. I., van den Bulk, B. G., Overgaauw, S., Lelieveld, G., Engels, R. C. M. E., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2016). The Prosocial Cyberball Game: Compensating for social exclusion and its associations with empathic concern and bullying in adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 52(1), 27–36. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.07.005
    You can also access this dataset using the API (see API Docs).