Science Cafe: A Mostly Serious Talk About Serious Games

March 22, 2018

Clint Bowers, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
University of Central Florida

Time: Networking, drinks and appetizers at 6:30 p.m. and talk begins at 7:00 p.m.

Location: Physical Sciences Building 160/161

Abstract: “Serious Games” are games developed for a purpose other than entertainment, such as those games used for education, training or even therapy. Originally, it was presumed that these games would be effective because the ‘fun” of the game would encourage the learner to interact with the material longer than traditional learning media. However, we are learning that the effective serious games must consider a wide range of factors, many related to the manner in which people process information.

In this talk, we will discuss how my laboratory is trying to integrate findings from the science of human learning into serious game design. I will show examples of our work in education, medical training and military training. I will also explain how psychological science is likely to contribute to the science of serious games in the future.

About Dr. Clint Bowers: Clint Bowers, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida and Associate Director of the UCF RESTORES research center. Dr. Bowers has received more than $10 million dollars in external funding, largely in the area of simulation-based training. He has recently been active in research dedicated to game-based training. Dr. Bowers has directed the production of games that have won several national awards including the IITSEC Serious Games Challenge, Serious Games Conference (Bronze Medal), the NDIA Innovation in Training Award, and the “Best in Show” Award at the International Simulation in Medicine and Healthcare Conference. Dr. Bowers is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the past-president of APA’s Division of Applied Experimental Psychology.

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