Pro(f)Social: A Serious Game to Counter Cyberbullying

Nádia Salgado Pereira, Paula Costa Ferreira, Sofia Mateus Francisco, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão

Abstract: This study proposes to present the design and face validity of a serious game prototype, Pro(f)Social, as part of a blended learning teacher training program based on social-emotional ethical learning to promote pro-social behavior and well-being among children, through changes in teachers’ emotion regulation and moral involvement with cyberbullying and their social-emotional competence to deal with the phenomenon. Teachers are often unaware of aggressive acts among their students, and even when they are, many consider that they are not responsible for resolving cyberbullying issues. Therefore, it is fundamental to develop resources based on human-machine collaboration to attain several milestones in designing serious games to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying by providing teachers with know-how through interactive training with artificial intelligence. The game presented, along with its face validity (n = 290 units for content analysis), offer technology professionals the necessary knowledge to develop future interventions to counter cyberbullying.