TY - CONF T1 - How's your game? AU - Kerr, Angela AB - Although females account for part of the gaming population, video games are still viewed as a male activity (Williams, Conslavo, Caplan, & Yee, 2009). Several studies in the past have focused on gender stereotypes found in video games; however, there has been little research on the effects of gender stereotypes amongst players. In a previous study, researchers examined class selection in World of Warcraft based on gender to confirm or disprove gender stereotypes. Researchers found experience, not gender was the main determinant in class selection (DiGiuseppe & Nardi, 2007). Our current study seeks to further this research by studying whether or not negative remarks made about a female’s game skill can affect one’s decision in choosing an avatar to reflect one’s true identity or disguise it. We will test this by having participants create an avatar and play Neverwinter Nights with someone that either likes playing with females or dislikes playing with females. We believe female players that hear negative remarks about their gender will be more likely to choose a male character to mask their true gender. We also predict females high in gender centrality will be less likely to change their character. We are currently collecting data and plan on analyzing our results in May 2013. We will use an Independent samples T test to measure the difference of gender scores based on the number of times participants change their character. In addition we will use analysis of variance to examine gender and racial differences amongst character selection. DA - 2013-4-4 PY - 2024 PB - unav N1 -

Acknowledgements:

Bryan Dawson

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