Sense of field reality scale reconsidered: Evidence from two experiments using the Simulated International Society (SIMINSOC)

Abstract

Validity of the sense of field reality scale was examined, using intergroup situations constructed through the Simulated International Society (SIMINSOC) game (Hirose, 1997). In Study 1, an ordinary version of the SIMINSOC game was conducted while a newly developed computer-based prototype of the game was conducted in Study 2. In Study 1, two conditions were compared in terms of subscale scores and the unified score of the sense of field reality scale: the scenario game condition in which participants simply learned the rules of the game and anticipated what would happen, and the actual game condition in which participants actually played the game. As hypothesized, scale scores were larger in the latter than the former. In Study 2, data from the actual game conditions were compared between the ordinary and the computer-based prototype games. It was found that the sense of reality of the "participants" was smaller in the computer-based prototype game, reflecting its game characteristics. Together with the subscale score patterns, it would appear that the scale captured the sense of field reality relatively well. Several methodological and theoretical issues were discussed.View full abstract