Joe Cutting, Lecturer, Department of Computer Science

His research is mainly on the design and effects of playing digital games. He has a background in both Computer Science and Cognitive Science and completed his PhD in Game HCI at York.

email: joe.cutting@york.ac.uk

Our 60-second interview with Joe:

Could you please tell us what work you do in the field of mental health?

I am interested in the interaction between mental health and video games. This includes both negative affects where game play decreases mental health and positive affects where players find that games help their mental health.  In particular, I am looking at how the design of games affects mind-wandering. People with poor mental health are known to have higher levels of mind-wandering and it is possible that playing games reduces their mind-wandering and so improves their mental health in the short term.

What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?

Video games are widespread and are played by a large proportion of the population. Similarly mental health conditions are widespread. My research on the intersection of these two areas could be of interest to many people and has the potential to touch many lives.

What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?

Even simple video games create very complex experience and psychological affects in people. Similarly mental health conditions are complex, personal and related to people’s long term lived experience. Designing and performing studies to unpick the relationship between these two areas is extremely challenging.

What impact do you hope your work is having - or can potentially have?

Our understanding of why we play video games and the affects they have on us is very limited. Improving our understanding of how games relate to mental health could give players new insights into what is going on “in their head” during gameplay and offers the possibility of improved treatments or approaches to mental health conditions.

Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?

Be aware of where your attention is focused, different activities and environments direct our attention in different ways. Make sure that you’re doing enough activities which direct your attention in ways that benefit your mental health.