Abstract
Personality and temperament research continues to engage psychologists and the broader public. Since the early 1990s, studies on the Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) temperament trait have explored its association with heightened sensitivity to internal, external, and social stimuli in both children and adults. SPS affects approximately 20% of the population, and this research traces its historical development from Carl Jung’s early theories to Elaine Aron’s and other psychologists’ contemporary findings. Individuals with SPS, or Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs), often encounter internal and external stigmas that hinder Self convergence. This paper examines the role of narrative and video games—specifically narrative Role Playing Games (RPGs)—as tools for identification and transportation, drawing from Higgin et al.’s self-discrepancy theory and van Laer et al.’s expanded transportation imagery model. By applying these theories alongside the Highly Sensitive Person Revised (HSP-R) Scale, this research explores the eudaimonic benefits of narrative RPGs through case studies of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Keywords: Sensory Processing Sensitivity, Highly Sensitive Person, Self, narrative, video games, Role Playing Games, eudaimonia, transportation, identification
Citation: Staten, K. R. (2025). Playing the Self: How narrative role playing video games foster identification and transportation for Highly Sensitive People [Master's Thesis, Fielding Graduate University]. DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.28654775
Extended Transportation Imagery Model - HSP Version
Presentation
Narrative RPG Videos: Skyrim and The Witcher 3
The "Kill Paarthurnax" Quest
The "Scenes From A Marriage" Quest
