How Social Comparison Influences People's Loot Box Use in Video Games

Loot boxes are a gambling-like mechanism in video games. Prior research has shown that in-game loot boxes are associated with disordered gaming and gambling. However, existing loot box research primarily focuses on the harm caused by loot boxes and the association with negative outcomes. Limited research has been conducted to explore the precursors of loot box use. This study aimed to investigate the impact of social comparison on individuals' purchasing of loot boxes. A total of 90 adult game players who had experience purchasing in-game loot boxes, were recruited for this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (no comparison, horizontal comparison, and upward comparison) and were asked to complete a study-specific game task to record people’s loot box use behaviour and three scales to measure gambling-related cognition, the severity of problematic gambling, and disordered gaming. There was a significant correlation between loot box purchasing and the disordered gaming and the gambling-related cognition, and faster purchasing speed predicted higher spending proportions in loot box consumption. However, a linear mixed-effects model incorporating questionnaire scores as covariates, indicated that social comparison failed to predict the proportion of money people spent. The effect of social comparison on people’s loot box purchasing was not verified, perhaps because incentives offered by loot boxes in this context override the influence of social comparison. The study also revealed important associations with gambling cognitions and identifies purchasing speed as a novel predictor, highlighting the similarity between loot boxes and gambling, with implications for legislation and treatment.