Addressing the theoretical implications of this
study, some subjects’ reports indicate that they had
a reaction formation concerning the needs for
power and achievement in the unconscious level,
resulting in the compulsive use of online games. In
other words, unconsciously, these addicted online
game players should be motivated to avoid pursuing
achievements, power, and sense of superiority.
Although this avoidance could not be detected in
the conscious level, the censorship of the superego
triggers the defensive mechanism of reaction formation,
which results in the pursuit of the virtual
satisfaction of achievements and power in the online
games. In online games, the players might be
pursuing the satisfaction of achievement and
power on the surface; however, in real life, they are
not able to face these challenges, hence leading to
contradictions between their surface motivations
and source motivations.