SELF-PRESENT BY AVATARS IN MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES: THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-ESTEEM, ONLINE DISINHIBITION, AND SELF-DISCREPANCY

Playing Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) is now a popular leisure activity for some people. Players spend significant energy and money on it. In MMORPGs, players can customize their avatars as virtual identities to present themselves in the virtual world. Avatars are important when playing MMORPGs. However, few previous studies focus on the psychological determinates for avatar presentation in MMORPGs. In this study, we used an online questionnaire of 337 participants to explore the antecedent factors influencing avatar presentation. The current study considers the influence of self-esteem, online disinhibition, and self-discrepancy on self-present and the influence of self-present on avatar presentation of idea self, stand out, and following a trend. The empirical survey result reveals the self-discrepancy between virtual and physical self are relative negatively with self-esteem and positive with online disinhibition. The self-present are influence by both self-discrepancy and online disinhibition. Besides, self-present perception will lead to avatar presentation. The current study provides contributions about confirming the antecedents of avatar presentation that may be serve as fundamental for future research on online game behavior

Determinants of harassment in online multiplayer games

Objective. Online multiplayer games allow large numbers of participants to play simultaneously online. Unfortunately, this has also given rise to new forms of harassment and abuse. The current study used the criminological framework of Routine Activity Theory to identify possible circumstantial and individual risk factors that predict both general and sexual harassment victimization in this online context. Method. An online survey of online multiplayer gamers (N = 883) was conducted. Measures included harassment exposure, guardianship, and target suitability. These determinants were used to predict general and sexual harassment victimization in multiple regression analyses. Analyses controlled for social desirability responding. Results. Both sexual harassment victimization (R² = 63%) and general harassment victimization (R² = 57%) were successfully predicted using the determinants. The gender of the gamer is associated with the type of harassment received; women are more likely to encounter sexual harassment, while men are more likely to be harassed in the general sense. Gaming for fewer hours per week, with mostly or exclusively female avatars, and sharing personal information (e.g. gender) predicts sexual harassment victimization, whereas playing in Player-versus-Player game modes predicts general harassment victimization. Harassing other gamers and associating with harassers predicts both general and sexual harassment. Conclusions. Our models explained a sizable percentage of the variation in harassment, indicating for the first time that the Routine Activity Theory can be applied to understand online harassment in gaming. Specifically, it was found that different types of in-game exposure predict different types of victimization, that lacking personal self-guardianship predicts sexual harassment and that gender (or revealing gender) is associated with changes in harassment

Gamers’ Behavior Via Avatars In Online Games

Gamers use avatars to represent themselves to interact with others in online games. However, gamers’ behavior via avatars has received insufficiently attention by electronic commerce scholars, warranting further study on this issue. Positive interactions among online gamers should foster their loyalty to the game. Therefore, this study investigated how avatar design affects gamers’ behavior via avatars. This study obtained responses from more than one thousand online gamers that were used for further analyses. Criteria were set to exclude some invalid responses, so as to increase data validity. Moreover, reliability and validity were checked by using six tests, demonstrating the adequate performance in psychometric properties. Structural equation modeling was conducted for analyses. This study found that avatar design has an important impact on gamers’ behavior via avatars. Specifically, positive perceptions on avatar design motivate the gamers to exhibit positive behavior via avatars. Findings of this study provide feasible means for electronic commerce managers to encourage gamers’ positive interactions and thus should create strong virtual communities and subsequently loyal gamers

Playing in Drag: A Study on Gender In Virtual and Non-Virtual Gaming

This project explores hybrid avatar identities and gender through an analysis of how players navigate gender in games that are popularly considered to be “for girls only” or “for men only”. It also considers the choice of avatar gender that players make in game, and their reasons for making that choice. Finally, it looks at the reported experiences of playing characters of both genders in both online visually rich immersive game environments, as well as leaner table-top RPG play. Using Butler’s gender trouble, we analyze how gender in game play can be both like and unlike drag performance. We also use the frame of gender trouble to consider the question of whether players who openly play games contrary to social expectations, or play an avatar of a different gender, are engaging in a transgressive act. Data was collected through a discourse analysis of online forums, participant observation, and autoethnographic reflection.We find that when the act of play itself is transgressive, there are opportunities to reach a community with a message that challenges dominant ideas of gender. However, the reasons why people choose to play a specific game or avatar within that game are very complex, and the content of the game, along with the reasons people choose a gendered avatar, or how they relate to the avatar both support and subvert dominant gender norms

MMOGs as Emerging Opportunities for Research on Virtual Organizations and Teams

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) offer new promising opportunities to research virtual organizations and teams. The characteristics of MMOGs allow researchers to obtain objective data from a large and multi-national population. Lasting over months or even years, MMOGs facilitate longitudinal studies and ensure a high involvement of participants. Moreover, collecting data from online surveys and game servers keeps the costs of MMOG studies low. In this paper, we illustrate how research in MMOGs can utilize these opportunities to overcome some limitations of traditional research environments. Further we discuss the diverse information and communication technology (ICT) usage in MMOGs and therefore argue that research in MMOGs can provide a glimpse into the future application of ICT in real life organizations

'Turning up to the party uninvited'. Exploring the experiences of female gamers'

"Following on from previous research that has highlighted the difficulties females face whilst playing video games (McLean and Griffiths, 2013), this research aims to explore female gaming experiences, with emphasis placed on societal influences and the visible community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using five female participants to explore their experiences in the gaming community. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and three themes emerged; perceived weakness, overemphasis on gender and feeling unwelcome in the gaming community. The findings suggest that sexist stereotypes surrounding video gaming are internalised by females and have a negative effect on their motivation to play and ability to progress to a higher level. Implications of the research include better policing of online environments and the introduction of initiatives, similar to STEM programmes, to encourage females to play video games and welcome them to progress to up a professional level.

What drives the young generation to swap clothes? The moderating role of culture

As the new generation’s interest in collaborative fashion is rising, the purpose of this study is to explore the motivations that influence their swapping behavior of clothes. The study focuses on self-oriented motives including economic and hedonic factors as well as other-oriented motives including environmental and activist factors. Additionally, Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions are examined as moderators. A quantitative approach was adopted in the research and the data were collected from a worldwide sample through an online questionnaire. Findings reveal that the economic, hedonic, environmental, and activist motivations have a positive relationship with the young generation’s swapping behavior. As for the culture’s role, the results showed that the effect of the economic motivation on the swapping behavior is stronger in masculine cultures, while the relationship between the hedonic motivation and the swapping behavior is stronger in collectivist cultures. Individuals in collectivist, low power distance, and indulgent cultures are more driven by environmental motives to swap clothes. Finally, the effect of the activist motivation is stronger in collectivist, feminine, low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, and indulgent cultures. Accordingly, managerial and theoretical implications are discussed

Community indentification in peer-t-peer collaborative consumption services

Even though collaborative consumption (CC) is gaining economic importance, research in CC is still in its infancy. Consumers’ reasons for participating have already been investigated but little research on consequences of participation has been conducted. This article examines whether interactions between customers in peer-to-peer CC services influence the willingness to coproduce service outcomes. Drawing on social exchange theory, it is proposed that this effect is mediated by consumers’ identification with the brand community. Furthermore, continuance intention in CC is introduced as a second stage moderator. In a cross-sectional study, customers of peer-to-peer accommodation sharing are surveyed. While customer-to-customer interactions were found to have a positive effect on brand community identification, brand community identification did not positively affect co-production intention. Surprisingly, the effect of brand community identification on co-production intention was negative. Moreover, continuance intention of customers did not moderate this relationship. Bearing in mind current challenges for researchers and companies, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed