The Video Gamer Persona: A Five Factor Study Exploring Personality Elements of The Video Gamer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12974/2313-1047.2022.09.7Keywords:
Video gamers, Video games, Big five inventory, Personality, Introversion, Extroversion, Ambiversion, Video game aggression, Typology, Video gamer personalityAbstract
This research explored personality traits of video gamers utilizing the Big Five Inventory (BFI) totaling 19,416 video gamer participants across seven genres of video game play. The purpose was to uncover personality differences among the different preferred genres of video gamers. Different personality profiles were explored by employing t-tests and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Mapping of the BFI elements of video gamers across video game genres was conducted using latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify video gamer personality profiles, personality formations across preferred genres of play, examine the pattern of relationships among the variables, and to determine whether different personalities gravitate to specific genres of play. Results found four distinct and different personality profiles: Introversive, Extroversive, Secure Ambiversive, and Insecure Ambiversive; indicated no support for the different classification of video gamers possessing statistically different personality traits (i.e. causal, regular, hardcore); or different genres of video game play did have different personality types playing each genre. As such, evidence is provided for different personalities gravitating towards different genres of play and Carl Jung’s (1921) idea of the introversion/extroversion continuum. Limitations observed were some findings becoming statistically significant with small effect sizes and the BFI possibly not being nuanced enough to detect smaller personality traits. Strengths were the large participant base, generalizability of the study to the video gamer population, and this study providing a basis for personality playing a role in virtual worlds.
References
Anderson CA, & Bushman, BJ. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353-359. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00366
Anderson CA, & Dill KE. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772-790. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.772
Apperley TH. (2006). Genre and game studies: Towards a critical approach to video game genres. Simulation & Gaming, 37(1), 6-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878105282278
Arriaga P, Esteves F, Carneiro P, & Monteiro MB. (2006). Violent computer games and their effects on state hostility and physiological arousal. Aggressive Behavior, 32(4), 358371. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20134
Atkinson RL, Atkinson RC, Smith EE, Bem DJ, & Nolen- Hoeksema S. (2000). Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology (13 ed.). Orlando, Florida: Harcourt College Publishers.
Bartle RA. (2003). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: players who suit MUDs. The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, 754-787.
Bartle RA. (2004). Designing virtual worlds. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
Bean A, & Groth-Marnat G. (2014, March 10). Video gamers and personality: A five-factor model to understand game play ing style. Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Advance online publication.
Benet-Martinez V, & John OP. (1998). Los cinco grandes across cultures and ethnic groups: Multitrait multimethod analyses of the big five in Spanish and English. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 729-750. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.729
Carver C, & Scheier M. (2004). Perspectives on Personality (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471264385.wei0508
Cohen D, & Schmidt JP. (1979). Ambiversion: Characteristics of Midrange Responders on the Introversion-Extraversion Continuum. Journal of Personality Assessment, 43(5), 514-6. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4305_14
Collins LM, & Lanza ST. (2013). Latent class and latent transition analysis: With applications in the social, behavioral, and health sciences. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Crawford C. (1997). The art of computer game design. Retrieved from http://book.huihoo.com/the-art-of-computergame-design/Coverpage.html.
Dewey C. (2015). This is what happened when you create and online community without any rules. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theintersect/wp/2015/01/13/this-is-what-happens-when-youcreate-an-online-community-without-any-rules/.
Dill KE, & Dill JC. (1998). Video game violence: A review of the empirical literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3(4), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(97)00001-3
Entertainment Software Association (ESA). (2021). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. Retrieved from: http://www.theesa.com/.
Erikson EH. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
Erikson EH. (1968). Identity: youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Eysenck HJ. (1971). Readings in Extraversion-Introversion. New York: Wiley.
Ferguson CJ. (2013). Violent video games and the Supreme Court: Lesson for the scientific community in the wake of the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association. American Psychologist, 68, 57-74. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030597
Ferro LS, Walz SP, & Greuter S. (2013). Towards personalised, gamified systems: An investigation into game design, personality and player typologies. In Proceedings of The 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death (pp. 7:1-7:6). New York, NY, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/2513002.2513024
Field A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Funk JB, Buchman DD, Jenks J, & Bechtoldt H. (2003). Playing violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation in children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24(4), 413-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(03)00073-X
Gee JP. (2007). Good video games plus good learning. New York, NY: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-1162-4
Geiser C. (2013). Data analysis with MPlus. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Goldberg LR. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment 4: 26- 42. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.26
Goode L. (2013, January, 11). Oculus rift virtual-reality headset puts you right in the game. All Things Digital. Retrieved from http://allthingsd.com/20130111/oculus-riftvirtual-reality-headset-puts-you-right-in-the-game/.
Graham LT, & Gosling SD. (2013). Personality profiles associated with different motivations for playing world of warcraft. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(3). 189-193. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0090
Granic I, Lobel A, & Engels RCME. (2013). The benefits of play ing video games. American Psychologist, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034857
Gravetter FJ, & Wallnau LB. (2008). Essentials of statistics for the behavioral sciences (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cenage Learning.
Grimm LG. & Yarnold PR. (2003). Reading and understanding multivariate statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Grucza RA, Goldberg LR. (2007). The comparative validity of 11 modern personality inventories: Predictions of behavioral acts, informant reports, and clinical indicators. Journal of Personality Assessment 89(2): 167-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890701468568
Hilgard J, Engelhardt CR, & Bartholow BD. (2013). Individual differences in motives, preferences, and pathology in videogames: The gaming attitudes, motives, and experiences scales (GAMES). Frontiers In Psychology, 4, 113. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00608
Huesmann LR. (2007). The impact of electronic media violence: Scientific theory and research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S6-S13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.005
Jeng SP, & Teng CI. (2008). Personality and motivations for play ing online games. Soc ial Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 36(8), 1053-1060. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2008.36.8.1053
John OP, Naumann LP, & Soto CJ. (2008). Paradigm shift to the integrative big-five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and conceptual issues. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 114-158). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
John OP, Donahue EM, & Kentle RL. (1991). The Big Five Inventory-Versions 4a and 54. Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Personality and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.1037/t07550-000
Jung CG. (1921). Psychological types. The collected works of C. G. Jung, Vol. 6, Bollingen Series XX.
Kato PM. (2010). Video games in health care: Closing the gap. Review of General Psychology, 14(2), 113-21. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019441
Kaufmann DA. (2016). Personality, Motivation, & Online Gaming (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest. (10246131).
Koster R. (2005). A theory of fun for game design. Scottsdale, AZ: Paraglyph Press.
Markey PM, & Markey CN. (2010). Vulnerability to violent video games: A review and integration of personality research. Review of General Psychology, 14(2), 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019000
McAdams DP. (2009). The person: A new introduction to personality psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
McAllister S. (2013). Video game genres. Ebook: OxBo Publishing.
McCrae RR. & Costa PT. (1991). Adding liebe und arbeit: The full five-factor model and well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17(2): 227-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616729101700217
Muthen LK, & Muthen BO (2012). Mplus: Statistical analysis with latent variable: User's guide. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Nylund KL, Asparouhov T, & Muthén BO. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 535-569. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701575396
Phares EJ, Chaplin WF. (1997). Introduction to personality (4th ed.). New York, NY: Longman.
Przybylski AK, Ryan RM, & Rigby CS. (2009). The motivating role of violence in video games. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(2), 243-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208327216
Romano A. (2014). The battle of gamergate and the future of video games. Retrieved from http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issuesections/11195/battle-of-gamergate-2014/.
Rammstedt B. & John OP. (2007), Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 203-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001
Redd WH, Jacobsen PB, Die Trill M, Dermatis H, McEvoy M, & Holland JC. (1987). Cognitive-attentional distraction in the control of conditioned nausea in pediatric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 391-395. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.55.3.391
Ryckman R. (2004). Theories of Personality. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Sheff D. (1993). Game Over. New York, NY: Random House.
Shen J, Brdiczka O, Ducheneaut N, Yee N. and Begole B. (2012). Inferring personality of online gamers by fusing multiple-view predictions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 7379/2012, pp. 261-273. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31454-4_22
Squire K, & Barab SA. (2004). Replaying history: Learning world history through playing Civilization III. Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved from http://website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/REPLAYING%20 HISTORY.doc
Stuart K. (2014). Zoe Quinn: 'All gamergate has done is ruin people's lives'. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/03/zoe- quinn-gamergate-interview.
Tabachnick BG, & Fidell LS. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Turkle S. (1994). Constructions and reconstructions of self in virtual reality: Playing in the MUDs. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 1(3), 158-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039409524667
Vasterling J, Jenkins RA, Tope DM, & Burish TG. (1993). Cognitive distraction and relaxation training for the control of side effects due to cancer chemotherapy. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 65-79. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00844755
Wolf MJP. (2002). The medium of the video game. Austin, TX: Univers ity of Texas Press. https://doi.org/10.7560/791480
Yee N. (2005). Motivations of play in MMORPGs. Retrieved from http://summit.sfu.ca/item/212.
Yee N. (2006). Motivations of play in online games. Journal of CyberPsychology and Behavior, 9, 772-775. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.772
Yee N, Ducheneaut N, Nelson L, & Likarish P. (2011). Introverted elves and conscientious gnomes. The expression of personality in world of warcraft. Proceedings of CHI 2011, 753-762. https://doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1979052
Yee N, Harris H, Jabon M, & Bailenson JN. (2011). The expression of personality in virtual worlds. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 2, 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550610379056
Zachary J. (2015). Game of fear. Retrieved from http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2015/04/28/ga mergate/.
Zammitto VL. (2001). Gamers' personality and their gaming preferences. Communication, Art & Technology: School of Interactive Arts and Technology. Retrieved from http://summit.sfu.ca/item/11349.
