A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture

Abstract

Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.). However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members. The present article uses an individual differences approach to examine three theoretical accounts of geek culture. Seven studies (N = 2354) develop the Geek Culture Engagement Scale (GCES) to quantify geek engagement and assess its relationships to theoretically relevant personality and individual differences variables. These studies present evidence that individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis), to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis), and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis). Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being across multiple samples. These data lay the groundwork for further exploration of geek culture as well as provide a foundation for examining other forms of subculture participation.

Minecraft and Personality Manuscript Pre-print

“…Narcissism, a personality trait associated with grandiosity, self-enhancing behaviors, and entitlement (e.g., Miller et al, 2011), may be a particularly relevant trait for gamers. It has been found to be higher in participants of "Geek" culture, who also showed a higher rate of online gaming (McCain, Gentile, & Campbell, 2015).…”

“Other psychotherapies”: Healing interactions across time, geography, and culture

“…Even where psychiatric investigation suggests salutogenic effects, subculture is often framed as an ‘illicit means’ to culturally sanctioned goals—an analysis that has its roots in interwar sociology of delinquent urban youth (Merton, 1938). For instance, McCain and collaborators pursue various hypotheses in their psychological investigation of geek subculture, including the “great fantasy migration hypothesis” whereby “narcissistic individuals who are unable to receive the admiration and praise to which they feel entitled [ … ] may turn to a fantasy world where such praise is more easily obtained” (McCain et al., 2015, p. 3). They relate this hypothesis to a rather casual sociocultural analysis whereby:[i]n the United States, narcissism has been increasing since the 1970s, while traditional ways of supporting narcissism such as prestigious jobs and credit (e.g., the debt bubble collapse) are becoming less viable for the majority of Americans.…”

Narcissism and Social Media

“…Preliminary data on this model are somewhat encouraging. Narcissism, both grandiose and vulnerable, does reliably predict engagement in geek culture (Mccain, Gentile, & Campbell, 2015). And some data show that the highest rates of engagement in social media and geek culture are reported by those both high in grandiose narcissism and high in beliefs that the real world is providing fewer opportunities (Weiler, 2017).…”