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		Press Play to Grow! How Could Video Games be Designed to Facilitate Personal and Spiritual Growth? A Mixed Methods and Integral Study

Integral Theory and the AQAL Model

Follow below a brief introduction of the Integral Model (Wilber, 2007, 2000), which is one of the backbones of this research project and also a framework used in many instances of this study. The Integral Model is also the foundation for the Integral Play Theory (Gordon & Esbjörn-Hargens, 2007) - which I further explored in the System Analysis of the research paper.

The Integral theory, which has been gradually developed by Wilber (2000, 2007) and other scholars in the last decade, brings an intrinsically inclusive and balanced approach in relation to the multi-dimensional complexity of reality and phenomena, exemplified by the (AQAL) model. It can be - and is already being - applied into various areas of study and fields of application. According to Gordon & Esbjörn-Hargens's (2007) definition of the Integral Model:

It is also important to note that by applying Integral Theory into my research topic, I am in agreement with Gordon & Esbjörn-Hargens (2007) about some of the issues of legitimacy of this application, endorsing their views in my research:

Presented below is a brief overview of the five main aspects of AQAL as related to the topic of my research.

AQAL definitions

Figure #1: The 4 Quadrants with their respective levels of growth (Wilber, 2007).

Figure #1a: The 4 Quadrants (Wilber, 2003).
So, we have: Upper Left Quadrant (UL) for “I” Upper Right (UR) for “It” Lower Left (LL) for “We” Lower Right (LR) for “Its”

In this research, these four Quadrants were related to:

(UL) Quadrant: Personal and spiritual experiences related to inner development (video game players); and the internal or subjective aspects of video games (video games).

(UR) Quadrant: Behavioral actions, development and transformation (video game players); and the external or objective aspects of video games (video games).

(LL) Quadrant: Cultural beliefs, interpersonal relationships and shared worldviews (video game players); and the cultural aspects of video games and the video game industry (video games).

2. Levels

The Levels or Stages are levels or stages of personal and/or spiritual growth; “the idea being that each Stage represent a level of organization or a level of complexity” (Wilber, 2003, p. 26).

According to Robert Kegan (1994) – one of the founding members of the Integral Institute and a renowned Harvard professor of adult learning and development - inner growth or transformation has one basic fundamental pattern, a natural "law" shown in the findings of most contemporary developmental researchers (Wilber, 2000).

In terms of definitions of personal growth, inner growth basically occurs when one or more aspects of an individual’s life (either personal, interpersonal, spiritual, informational or material) that he or she is subject to total identification with (or attachment to) in a specific stage of development, turns to be only an object of partial or relative identification with (or non-attachment to) while experienced from the next emerging developmental stage.

This gradual non-attachment and non-identification allows a person to “transcend and include” their previous exclusive identifications, being able to increase their level of control and free will over it, as well as to access a more complex, systemic, broader and deeper spectrum of perspectives and choices.

As a result, one will experience an increase of responsibility (ability to proactively respond and adapt to inner and outer situations, instead of reactively oppose or passively adapt to them), as well as an increase in growth in levels of maturity and complexity which could be reflected in one or more areas of life. This basic developmental concept applied to personal and spiritual growth was one of the backbones of this research study.

It is also important to note that the concepts of personal and spiritual development explored in this research included both the notions of healthy horizontal development (translation, integration and/or mastering/transferring of knowledge and skills) within a specific developmental stage, and healthy vertical development (transformation or “evolution” of knowledge and skills) through consecutive levels or stages (Wilber, 2007).

According to the developmental researcher Suzanne Cook-Greuter (2002), “most growth in adults is of the horizontal, expansion kind. People learn new skills, new methods, even new ways of organizing knowledge, but their current action logic [level of development] or mental model of the world remains the same … Human development in general can be looked at as a progression of different ways of making sense of reality of different actions logics [levels of development]” (p.2 & 3), which follows a growing pattern of continuous differentiation and integration.

In relation to the definitions of spirituality and spiritual development in the context of this research, I considered that video games could facilitate growth in all four of Wilber’s (2007) distinctions related to spirituality - although I focused more on the items (1) and (2) below due to their stronger “vertical” developmental nature.

Based on these distinctions, I considered spiritual growth as:

(1) moving to the highest levels of any line of intelligence (cognitive, emotional, moral, values, interpersonal, kinesthetic, etc.)
(2) as the evolution of a separate spiritual line of intelligence itself
(3) as the increase of extraordinary peak experiences or states of consciousness, including horizontal state-structure development as related to the Wilber-Combs lattice (Wilber, 2007)
(4) as the steady nurturance of particular special or “spiritual” attitudes that can be present in any stage or state of inner development, such as love, care, compassion, wisdom, etc.

Integral Theory divides these levels in altitudes or colors, using a color scale that can be applied to locate the center of gravity of different Levels of growth corresponding to various Lines of intelligence (see below), related to different aspects of personal and spiritual growth and development.

In this research, the development through these levels were related to the personal and spiritual growth that video game players could experience in various lines of intelligence while playing video games purposefully designed to do so (See figs. #1b, #1c, #2 and #3 below).
   
    

Fig. #1b: Levels of growth based on research of two developmental psychologists From Wilber, 2007

3. Lines

The Lines stand for “Lines of Intelligence" or Development (see above), which are different potential intelligences that can be manifested in all of us, including: “Cognitive, Emotional, Interpersonal, States of Faith, Self-Identity, Moral, Values, Spiritual, Talents, and so on” (Wilber, 2003, p. 10).

Integral Theory affirms that stages or levels of development happen within the scope of various lines of Intelligence, that correspond to different aspects of a person's whole Self. According to Wilber (personal communication, 2008), there are basically there broad groups of those lines: Cognitive Line, Self-Related Lines and Talents (or gifts) Lines. According to Wilber (2008), there are different challenges and potentials involved in facilitating personal and spiritual growth in each one of those three broad groups of lines.

Fig. #1c: Levels of growth (left) and Lines of Intelligence (bottom) Psychograph from Integral Institute, 2005

In this research, growth, transformation and integration throughout these lines were related to specific personal and spiritual growth that video game players could experience in terms of improving different skills and abilities while playing video games purposefully designed to do so (See figs. #2 and #3 below).

4. States

The States stand for “States of consciousness”, transitory or stable (State-Stages, Wilber, 2007) states of awareness that can be experienced or appear at specific moments or periods during our daily life.

These States could be related to our different bodies (gross, subtle, causal, etc.), states of awareness (waking, dreaming, sleeping) and with various inner states.

Transitory brain states (alpha, theta, delta, gamma) could also be trained into stable State Stages with practices such as meditation, brainwave interfaces and audio technologies (Holosync), breathwork, etc.

Different states of awareness can be experienced form any level of development, as described by the Wilber-Combs matrix. See fig. #1d below.

Fig. #1d: Levels of Growth (left) and States of Awareness (top) on Wilber-Combs matrix From Wilber, 2007

In this research, these states were related to both the transitory and the stable (State-Stages) inner states of consciousness - such as flow, exhilaration, joy, focus, clarity, will, strength, ecstasy, peek, mindfulness, transpersonal, etc. - that video game players could experience and train that would facilitate growth and integration through Levels and Lines (See fig #3 below: sub-fig. #3.1).

5. Types

Fig #1e: Integral Theory and AQAL diagrams from Integral Institute, 2003 Quadrants (top); Quadrants, Levels & States (bottom left); Levels & Lines (bottom right)

Figure #2: Different Altitude scales (colors) related to various Levels and Lines  (Wilber, 2007)
Figure #3: Different Altitude scales (colors) related to various Levels and Lines plus States  (Wilber, 2007)

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