Abstract

Most research discusses the characteristics of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), few studies have applied MMORPGs to provide psychological and behavioral help. The purpose of this research is to explore the online help application of MMORPGs and ascertain their effectiveness in providing online help. Participants included 269 university students. The questionnaire demonstrated adequate validity and complements a Likert-type self-reporting measure of social anxiety, quality of life, as well as help outcomes related to a decrease in social anxiety and improvement of social relationships. Before playing MMORPGs, the results indicated that performance anxiety, intimacy anxiety, and observation anxiety significantly decreased quality of life. Participants showed less anxiety and improved social relationships after moderately playing MMORPGs. This study supports the implication that MMORPGs provide relative effectiveness as well as the function of online help.

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