5 241 THE EFFECT OF EXPECTATIONS IN AN APPLIED GAME practice. Codes of interest included three engaged and four avoidant/safety behaviours. The frequency and duration of the in-game play behaviours were transformed to frequencies per minute and proportions respectively (for more details see preregistration). State Anxiety The state scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) (Spielberger, 1989; Spielberger et al., 1983) consists of 20 items (αpre = .90 and αpost = .92) and asks participants to indicate how they feel at this moment (e.g., “I am tense”; on a 4-point scale). Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) During the baseline task (i.e., viewing a neutral video) and while playing MindLight, GSR was recorded continuously with Biopac AcqKnowledge 4.2 software (Biopac Systems Inc., 2011) and MP150 amplifier (Biopac Systems Inc., 2007). GSR data files were trimmed to 120s and 3600s for the baseline task and gameplay, respectively, and cleaned and processed using the AcqKnowledge software. No smoothing was applied to the data, but a low pass filter was used to improve the signal quality of the entire waveform (fixed frequency was set at 0.5 Hz). An overall GSR mean value for baseline and gameplay was calculated, as well as GSR mean values for six 10-minute timebins (i.e., dividing the 60 minutes of gameplay into timebins of 10 minutes). Then, the GSR percent change from baseline was calculated for each participant to control for individual differences and to facilitate interpretation across participants (Boucsein, 2012; Eastabrook et al., 2013). For more details see OSF; https:// osf.io/j7mvu/. Motivation to Change The contemplation subscale of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment questionnaire (URICA; McConnaughy et al., 1983) consists of eight items (α = .73), measuring the extent to which participants are aware of their “problems” (as identified with the BAI, see below) and have the intention to change (e.g., “I think I might be ready for some self-improvement”; on a 5-point scale). Symptom Severity The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988; Beck & Steer, 1993) measures various symptoms of anxiety with 21 items (α = .94). Participants indicated the degree to which they were bothered by each symptom on a 4-point scale.
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