BackgroundBehavioral addiction research has been particularly flourishing over the last two decades. However, recent publications have suggested that nearly all daily life activities might lead to a genuine addiction.Methods and aimIn this article, we discuss how the use of atheoretical and confirmatory research approaches may result in the identification of an unlimited list of “new” behavioral addictions.ResultsBoth methodological and theoretical shortcomings of these studies were discussed.ConclusionsWe suggested that studies overpathologizing daily life activities are likely to prompt a dismissive appraisal of behavioral addiction research. Consequently, we proposed several roadmaps for future research in the field, centrally highlighting the need for longer tenable behavioral addiction research that shifts from a mere criteria-based approach toward an approach focusing on the psychological processes involved.

Following the recent changes to the diagnostic category for addictive disorders in DSM-5, it is urgent to clarify what constitutes behavioral addiction to have a clear direction for future research and classification. However, in the years following the release of DSM-5, an expanding body of research has increasingly classified engagement in a wide range of common behaviors and leisure activities as possible behavioral addiction. If this expansion does not end, both the relevance and the credibility of the field of addictive disorders might be questioned, which may prompt a dismissive appraisal of the new DSM-5 sub-category for behavioral addiction. We propose an operational definition of behavioral addiction together with a number of exclusion criteria, to avoid pathologizing common behaviors and provide a common ground for further research. The definition and its exclusion criteria are clarified and justified by illustrating how these address a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings that result from existing conceptualizations. We invite other researchers to extend our definition under an Open Science Foundation framework.

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Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are video games in which players create an avatar that evolves and interacts with other avatars in a persistent virtual world. Motivations to play MMORPGs are heterogeneous (e.g. achievement, socialisation, immersion in virtual worlds). This study investigates in detail the relationships between self-reported motives and actual in-game behaviours. We recruited a sample of 690 World of Warcraft players (the most popular MMORPG) who agreed to have their avatar monitored for 8 months. Participants completed an initial online survey about their motives to play. Their actual in-game behaviours were measured through the game's official database (the Armory website). Results showed specific associations between motives and in-game behaviours. Moreover, longitudinal analyses revealed that teamwork-and competition-oriented motives are the most accurate predictors of fast progression in the game. In addition, although specific associations exist between problematic use and certain motives (e.g. advancement, escapism), longitudinal analyses showed that high involvement in the game is not necessarily associated with a negative impact upon daily living.