Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
Patching remains a complex mechanism of protocological control in esports. This study investigates the dual cognitive appraisal process of patching, exploring how cognitive load and self-determination influence players' intentions to adopt game updates. We conducted a vignette-based survey, randomly assigning 112 participants to one of eight changelog scenarios, and analyzed the responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. Results indicate that individual characteristics significantly moderate this appraisal: cognitive flexibility mitigates the negative effects of cognitive load, while skill level negatively moderates the impact of self-determination. This research contributes to the literature by unpacking the psychological mechanisms underlying protocological control. Practically, it provides developers with actionable insights to balance cognitive cost and player self-determination to foster adoption, while contributing a novel survey dataset for future esports research.
Paper Number
1920
Recommended Citation
Liu, Kaiyue; Samiee, Samaneh; and Zhang, Jie, "A Dual Cognitive Appraisal of Esports Protocological Control: How Patching Impacts Player Adoption" (2026). AMCIS 2026 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/game/sig_game/2
A Dual Cognitive Appraisal of Esports Protocological Control: How Patching Impacts Player Adoption
Patching remains a complex mechanism of protocological control in esports. This study investigates the dual cognitive appraisal process of patching, exploring how cognitive load and self-determination influence players' intentions to adopt game updates. We conducted a vignette-based survey, randomly assigning 112 participants to one of eight changelog scenarios, and analyzed the responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. Results indicate that individual characteristics significantly moderate this appraisal: cognitive flexibility mitigates the negative effects of cognitive load, while skill level negatively moderates the impact of self-determination. This research contributes to the literature by unpacking the psychological mechanisms underlying protocological control. Practically, it provides developers with actionable insights to balance cognitive cost and player self-determination to foster adoption, while contributing a novel survey dataset for future esports research.
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