The research team of Behavioral Science of Games interested in the learning process of social behaviors within games. We currently working on two directions: a) The associative and reinforcement learning process of aggressive and prosocial behaviors in video games, and b) The acquiring of social behaviors in card games.

Publications

• Zhang, X., Fang, N., Wang, R., Zhu, L., Zhang, D., Teng, H., & Qiu, B. (2025). Gender-specific transmission of depressive symptoms in chinese families: A cross-lagged panel network analysis based on the China Family Panel Studies. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), Article 672. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15050672
• Tao, Z., Wang, Z., Lan, Y., Zhang, W., & Qiu, B. (2025). Socioeconomic status impacts Chinese late adolescents’ internalizing problems: risk role of psychological insecurity and cognitive fusion. BMC Public Health, 25(1), Article 1427. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22628-0
• Wang, R., Zhang, X., Zhu, L., Teng, H., Zhang, D., & Qiu, B. (2025). The double-edged sword effect of empathic concern on mental health and behavioral outcomes: The mediating role of excessive adaptation. Behavioral Sciences, 15(4), 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15040463
• Zhang, X., Teng, H., Zhu, L., & Qiu, B. (2025). Short-term exposure to aggressive card game: releasing emotion without escalating post-game aggression. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, Article 1505360. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505360
• Qiu, B., & Zhang, W. (2024, in press). Video game feedback learning and aggressive or prosocial effects. Social Science Computer Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393241277556
• Teng, H., Zhu, L., Zhang, X., & Qiu, B. (2024). When games influence words: Gaming addiction among college students increases verbal aggression through risk-biased drifting in decision-making. Behavioral Sciences, 14(8), Article 699. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080699
• Teng, H., Zhu, L., Zhang, X., & Qiu, B. (2023). The relationship between cognitive resource consumption during gameplay and postgame aggressive behaviors: Between-subjects experiment. JMIR Serious Games, 11, Article e48317. https://doi.org/10.2196/48317
• He, X., Hu, J., Yin, M., Zhang, W., & Qiu, B. (2023). Screen media use affects subcortical structures, resting-state functional connectivity, and mental health problems in early adolescence. Brain Sciences, 13, Article 1452. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101452
• Liu, T., Zou, H., Tao, Z., Qiu, B., He, X., Chen, Y., Wang, S., & Zhang, W. (2023). The Relationship between stressful life events, sleep, emotional regulation, and depression in freshmen college students. Psychology in the Schools, 1, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23002
• Wang, S., He, X., Lu, C. Qiu, B., & Zhang, W. (2023). Perceptual confusion makes a significant contribution to the conflict effect: Insight from the flanker task and the majority function task. Current Psychology, 43, 1011-1019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04318-5
• Yin, M., Qiu, B., He, X., Tao, Z., Zhuang, C., Xie, Q., Tian, Y., & Zhang, W. (2022). Effects of reward and punishment in prosocial video games on attentional bias and prosocial behaviors. Computers in Human Behavior, 137, Article 107441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107441
• He, X., Qiu, B. , Deng, Y., Liu, T., Chen, Y., & Zhang, W. (2022). Adaptive assessment of the capacity of cognitive control. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 75(1), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218211030838
• Zhen, S., Liu, J., Qiu, B., Fu, L., Hu, J., & Su, B. (2022). Interparental conflict and early adulthood depression: Maternal care and psychological needs satisfaction as mediators. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), Article 1402. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031402
• Qiu, B., Chen, Y., He, X., Liu, T., Wang, S., & Zhang, W. (2021). Short-term touch-screen video game playing improves the inhibition ability. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), Article 6884. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136884
• Qiu, B., Zhen, S., Zhou, C., Hu, J., & Zhang, W. (2020). Short-term prosocial video game exposure influences attentional bias toward prosocial stimuli. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 23(10), 702-707. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0745
• Chen, Y., Chen, C., Wu, T., Qiu, B., Zhang, W., & Fan, J. (2020). Accessing the development and heritability of the capacity of cognitive control. Neuropsychologia, 139, Article 107361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107361
• Zhu, J., Yu, C., Bao, Z., Jiang Y., Zhang, W., Chen,Y., Qiu, B., & Zhang, J. (2017). Deviant peer affiliation as an explanatory mechanism in the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression: a longitudinal study among chinese adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45, 1537-1551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0259-0

Preprints