LARP psychological theories

---

Perspective Taking

The perspective taking element in LARP helps increase awareness of the struggles of people who are encountering stigma. It is acknowledged that our brains are hardwired to egocentric anchoring and adjustment (Epley, Keysar, Boven & Gilovich, 2004).

Thus, the role-play game setting, in which players immerse themselves in a character and act it out, is needed to put players into others’ shoes. In other words, players have to consciously take the characters’ perspective, i.e. to understand how a situation appears to the character and how that character will react cognitively and emotionally to the situation (Gehlbach, 2004).

According to Selman’s perspective taking theory, people are able to take the perspective of another person, third party, and understand that third party perspective can be influenced by larger societal values by the age of 15 (Elfers et al., 2008), which means our target group i.e. university students are able to improve in understanding the struggles of people who are encountering stigma.

---

Active Learning

Educational LARP (Edu-larp) offers many potential benefits over traditional education, including increased self-awareness (Downing, 1994; Harder, 2007; Larsson, 2004; Karalevich, 2012), critical ethical reasoning (Brummel et al., 2010; Simkins, 2010; Simkins, 2011), and empathy (Harder, 2007; Porter, 2008; Howes & Cruz, 2009; Bowman, 2010; Simkins, 2010).

The traditional learning method promotes a certain level of passivity, as students are expected to receive and assimilate information from the instructor (Porter, 2008; Hyltoft, 2010), whereas the open, participatory nature of role-playing lends to a higher degree of active engagement and participation (McSharry & Jones, 2000; Howes & Cruz, 2009; Hyltoft, 2010).

These experiential forms of learning connect subject matter with visceral, emotional memory, not just rote memorization of facts outside of a personal context. The method may also improve feelings of self-efficacy and perceived competence through goal setting and achieving (Balzac, 2011), allowing individuals to contribute their personal talents to the success of the group (Hoge, 2013), which may increase the student’s sense of agency and empowerment (Henriksen, 2004; Harder, 2007).

---

Experiential Learning and Situated Learning

LARP is highly related to psychology, especially in educational settings.

Edu-larp follows the theoretical principles of the educational theories of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984) and situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991). According to Kolb (1984), experiential learning posits that knowledge is acquired through concrete experience (doing), reflective observation (thinking back to the experience), abstract conceptualization (forming a theory about what was observed), and active experimentation (testing the new theory).

In situated learning, Lave and Wenger (1991) explain that learning does not occur in a vacuum and is socially co-constructed in a dynamic physical environment.

Furthermore, Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) theorize through the use of hermeneutic phenomenology that expertise is gained through extensive experience rather than solely from book knowledge.

---