Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming

Griffiths, Mark D.; Davies, Mark N. O.; Chappell, Darren

doi:10.1089/109493103321167992

Cited by 369 publications

(330 citation statements)

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“…Although various studies have investigated game players' stereotypical attributes (e.g., Griffiths, Davies, & Chappell, 2003;Kowert et al, 2013), few studies have looked at the attitudes of players themselves towards gaming stereotypes. Moreover, given that these studies mostly deploy a qualitative approach (e.g., Hayes, 2005;Royse et al, 2007), we are interested to provide a quantitative empirical account of internalized general and gender-specific gaming stereotypes by players.…”

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confidence: 99%

“I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players

Vermeulen

Looy

2016

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media

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Over the past decade, a growing number of women have started playing digital games. However, stereotypes are still prevalent in game culture. This study aims to gain insight into these practices by looking at gaming stereotypes on two different, yet interrelated, levels. First, we inquire into perceptions of gamers regarding gender-related and general gamer stereotypes and how these relate to playing frequency. Second, game genre choice is investigated in light of player's gender and how this is associated with playing motivations. Results of a survey study (N = 962) suggest that high frequency male players hold the least stereotypical ideas about digital gamers, while high frequency female players disagree the most with gender-related stereotypical beliefs. Additionally, we found that high frequency female players are more strongly drawn towards specific game genres, suggesting that playing motives of these gamers are higher than their beliefs that gaming is a typically male pursuit.Keywords: digital games, game genres, game motivations, gender, stereotypes GAMER STEREOTYPES AND GENDER 3 "I Play So I Am?" A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players As digital games become more widespread in the lives of many people, game culture persists to hold and distribute several stereotypical beliefs about who counts as a gamer and who does not (Shaw, 2011). Many of these stereotypical practices, in which differences are articulated and thus reproduced, are based on the player's gender (Hayes, 2005). This is rather odd given that gaming as a pastime is now more or less equally distributed across gender. The annual report of the Entertainment Software Association (2013), for example, demonstrates that the American gamer population consists of 47% female and 53% male players. The Interactive Software Federation Europe (2012) further notes that 43% of all women aged 16 to 64 are playing digital games. What these growing numbers do not explicate, however, is how cultural and social contours of game culture are defining the game experience of female players. Throughout this paper, we discuss how and which stereotypes are limiting women to play digital games, and look at so-called gender differences in playing styles and preferences from a social constructionist stance. Moreover, we look at the interplay between gender and motivations for playing games. The aim of this study is thus twofold: first, we explore player's gender and playing frequency in relation to perception of gender stereotypes in game culture.Concretely, we argue that stereotypical beliefs about gaming not only depend on player's gender but interact with playing frequency. Second, stereotypical gender preferences are investigated in light of playing motivations and game genre frequencies. We specifically aim to provide a nuanced understanding of gender effects on intrinsic playing motivations for determining game genre frequencies. This further allows us to investigate whether women who often play "masculine" game ...

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“I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players

Vermeulen

Looy

2016

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media

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“…Along with the new technology, the popularity of ICT-enabled gaming has raised attention [26,27,28]. In their literature review, Wattanasoontorn et al [27] analyzed health games and identified children, the elderly and patients with defined diseases as the most important target groups of serious games.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Halonen¹,

Sävenstedt

Hartvigsen

et al. 2018

Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

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“…MMORPGs provide an immersive, dynamic and highly interactive computer gaming experience with a fully developed multiplayer universe (Griffiths, Davies & Chappell, 2003). Furthermore, socialisation in MMORPGs is an important aspect of game play and may provide stimulating experiences for gamers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Analysis of Online Gaming

Hussain

Griffiths

2015

Gamification

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The popularity of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) has risen dramatically over the last decade. Some gamers spend many hours a day in these virtual environments interacting with others gamers, completing quests, and forming social groups. The present study set out to explore the experiences and feelings of online gamers. The study comprised 71 interviews with online gamers (52 males and 19 females) from 11 different countries. Many themes emerged from the analyses of the interview transcripts including (i) relationship with social networking, (ii) social interaction, (iii) the community, (iv) learning real-life skills, (v) reinforcement schedules and operant conditioning, (vi) game design and content, (vii) escaping from real life, (viii) playing longer than intended, and (ix) gamers' obligations towards others in online worlds. These findings specifically showed the social networking capabilities of online gaming, the community aspects and the psychological mechanisms within MMORPGs that can lead to excessive online gaming. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous qualitative and quantitative research in the area.3

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Breaking the Stereotype: The Case of Online Gaming

Cited by 369 publications

References 10 publications

“I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players

“I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players

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A Qualitative Analysis of Online Gaming

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