This study examined male and female sexuality in video game characters. The top 20, best selling console (Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation2, and Nintendo GameCube) video games from the U.S. market for fiscal year 2003 were content analyzed. The 60 video games yielded a total of 489 separate characters with an identifiable sex for coding. Chi-square analyses indicated that female characters (n=70) were underrepresented in comparison to their male counterparts (n=419) as hypothesized. In comparison to male characters, females were significantly more likely to be shown partially nude, featured with an unrealistic body image, and depicted wearing sexually revealing clothing and inappropriate attire as also predicted. Implications for these findings are discussed using social cognitive theory as a theoretical anchor.

Identification is understood to be central to player–avatar relations in digital games however, extant literature is fragmented. Scholars tend to either treat discrete features of identification as equivalent to the broader construct or use a rigid, monothetic measurement architecture that potentially excludes some who may actually identify with a game avatar. Toward a more inclusive model, then, this study integrated different factors culled from the literature to develop a more comprehensive measurement scheme in which physical similarity, value homophily, wishful identification, perspective-taking, liking, and embodiment are all subconstructs that fall under the larger umbrella of the player–avatar identification construct. The second-order factor structure suggests the construct to be more complex than is currently engaged in the literature, and a polythetic approach to measuring identification is proposed for understanding gamers’ connections with their avatars.

Using a representative sample of television content featuring 2,227 programs across different genres and 18 different channels, the frequency and context of altruistic actions were content analyzed. A social cognitive theory approach was taken to guide the selection of contextual variables. The results showed that 73% of the programs in the sample featured instances of helping/sharing at a rate of 2.92 incidents per hour. Further, the actions were most likely to be initiated by adult White males and many acts were depicted in a humorous, realistic, and rewarding context. In terms of channel differences, shows on children's basic cable featured not only the highest proportion of programs with one or more instances of altruism but also the highest rate per hour (4.02 acts). Differences in contextual features and channel type are discussed in terms of social cognitive theory below.

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