Designing a serious game to illustrate ADHD struggles for non-ADHD individuals to improve knowledge, empathy, and willingness to help

Abstract

My thesis looks at the intersection of serious games and ADHD. This is done by developing a serious game that simulates key aspects of the ADHD experience, such as task prioritization, procrastination, time perception, and lack of working memory. Letting the participants experience and manage these difficulties, the serious game seeks to increase empathy and understanding towards individuals with ADHD. Through a user study that uses pre and post-questionnaires, my research evaluates the participants’ knowledge of ADHD, empathy towards someone with ADHD, and willingness to help someone with ADHD and see if this changes after playing the game. My thesis fills a research gap in understanding how serious games can increase empathy and support for individuals with ADHD by showing participants the struggles of ADHD. The results showed a significant increase in kindness after playing my serious game, which is part of the willingness to help. All other components showed a small improvement, but the changes were not significant enough to draw definitive conclusions.