THE EFFECTS OF AVATAR APPEARANCE AND PLAYER-AVATAR INTERACTION ON PROSOCIAL AND ANTISOCIAL GAMEPLAY: A LARGE SCALE FIELD TEST ______
A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of
California State University, Fullerton ______
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
in
Human Communication Studies ______
By
Samuel Bowers
Thesis Committee Approval:
Jon Bruschke, Department of Human Communication Studies, Chair Tenzin Dorjee, Department of Human Communication Studies Daniel Sutko, Department of Human Communication Studies
Spring, 2018
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore how avatar appearance and player-avatar interaction impact prosocial and antisocial online play in World of Warcraft (WoW). The
Proteus effect, a phenomenon where players shift their in-game behavior based on the appearance of their avatars, is well documented in experimental settings. Variable player- avatar interaction (PAX) is a newer concept that seeks to capture the way a player relates to his or her avatar as if it were an extension of self, a mere plaything, or a distinct social other. Analysis of survey data from 1,353 WoW players provided partial support for many hypotheses. Significant correlations were present between self-report measures of play motivations (relationship, socializing, teamwork, and competing motivations) and numerical data representing avatars’ in-game actions (healing-to-damage ratio and player-versus-player kill ratio). Overall, Proteus effect cues such as avatar attractiveness, gender, size, and clothing color had modest yet significant impact on specific measures of prosocial and antisocial play. Regression models showed PAX dimensions as significant predictors of prosocial and antisocial play. This study contributed to the field of game studies in three ways. First, it established correlations between player motivation and concrete measures of in-game behavior. Second, it tested the influence of the Proteus effect in a large-scale naturalistic setting. Third, it examined the influence of PAX variations alongside Proteus effect cues as predictors of prosocial and antisocial play.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...... ii
LIST OF TABLES ...... v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... vi
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
Early Theorizing ...... 1 Virtual Play as Socializing ...... 3 Real Connection in Unreal Worlds ...... 4 Avatar Influence on Relational Development ...... 7 Rationale ...... 8
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 12
Prosocial and Antisocial Online Play ...... 12 Players and Their Avatars ...... 15 Psychological Convergence and the Proteus Effect ...... 16 Psychological Divergence and Player-Avatar Interaction ...... 19 Hypotheses ...... 23
3. METHODS ...... 27
Distribution and Respondents ...... 27 Measurement ...... 28 Gameplay Statistics ...... 28 Play Motivation ...... 28 Player-Avatar Interaction ...... 29 Avatar Traits ...... 29 Character Role ...... 30
4. RESULTS ...... 31
iii 5. DISCUSSION ...... 38
Interpretation of Results...... 38 Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions ...... 45 Conclusion ...... 48
APPENDIX ...... 49
REFERENCES ...... 54
iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Correlations Between Gameplay Statistics, Play Motivations, and Avatar Appearance ...... 32
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Jon Bruschke.
His methodological expertise helped me untangle my own ideas and apply a working structure to them. I left our meetings with a renewed sense of perspective of this project.
What I had convinced myself were mountains he showed me were actually just molehills.
I must also thank him for the consistent and helpful feedback throughout the entire process of this paper.
I would also like to thank my two other committee members, Dr. Daniel Sutko and Dr. Tenzin Dorjee. The brainstorming sessions with Dr. Sutko helped me to articulate the abstract ideas swirling around in my head. His assertion that “cool stuff happens when you smash two things together” was a direct inspiration for this research. It was in
Dr. Dorjee’s courses that I first took interest in unexpected or novel forms of identity and the ways in which people communicate them. Looking back, I see that this project’s roots extend back to the special topics course that was a product of his own passion about the subject. I also wish to thanks Annette Bow and Nikia Hastie for their professional knowledge that helped me navigate the administrative processes of the graduate program.
I would also like to thank my many teachers and mentors from years past, specifically Lisa McClellan, Marlys Davidson, Jerry Burchfield, Paul Paiement, Dr.
Robert Emry, Dr. Stella Ting-Toomey, Dr. Irene Matz, and Dr. Jeanine Congalton. Their
vi lessons may be many years removed from this project but I have relied on their wisdom, skills, philosophies, and creative processes at many points in my educational journey.
Many friends and family members deserve my utmost gratitude for their support throughout my work on this thesis. Thank you to Tim Huffman, Lucy Niess, and Shari
Selnick. Their words of encouragement helped me redouble and refocus my efforts. I would also like to thank Laura Martinez for sharing her time and experience at many stages of this project, and Max Dyckhoff, whose generosity with his knowledge and expertise helped streamline the data collection process. Nabila Bolisay has my endless thanks for keeping me sane throughout my entire time in the graduate program. I cannot express the sheer magnitude of patience, love, and companionship she has shown me through the years but it is safe to say that I would be nowhere near where I am now if not for her. I can only aspire to be as incredible a partner to her as she has been to me.
I will be eternally grateful for the wisdom and guidance of my grandparents,
Rufus and Polly Bowers. Their constant demonstrations of perseverance and optimism have become a central part of who I am in all spheres of my life. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Pam Sheppard and Scott Bowers for remaining firmly convinced of my ability to succeed even when I may have lost sight of it.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Early Theorizing
The rapid growth of communication technology has motivated the study of how technological channels impact the communication process (Dennis et al. 1988; Williams,
Rice, & Rogers, 1988). Early forays into computer mediated communication (CMC) studied it through the lens of social presence theory (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976).
Research from this period focused on CMC’s limitations and deficiencies because of the information-rich channels it disallowed. Rice and Love (1987) labeled this the “cues- filtered-out” approach. Scholars from this movement (e.g., Garton & Wellman, 1995;
Walther, 1996) deemed CMC too impersonal for meaningful relational communication.
Continued “cues-filtered-out” research eventually motivated investigation into how interpersonal communication played out despite the assumed information deficiency.
The renewed focus on interpersonal communication via CMC led to significant theoretical contributions. The social identity model of deindividuation (SIDE) (Postmes,
Spears, & Lea, 1998; Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995; Spears & Lea, 1992) addresses how CMC users make sense of the limited information about other users available to them. Walther’s (1992; 1996) social information processing theory (SIPT) explains how
CMC users engage in hyperpersonal communication and increased self-disclosure to build strong relationships online. These theoretical contributions have remained highly
2 relevant as CMC technologies have evolved from asynchronous email and message boards to instant messaging and video conferencing.
Communication and networking technologies have since intersected with evolving forms of entertainment media, namely video games. The ability of CMC to connect people across great geographical distances has allowed gamers to easily share otherwise solitary experiences. However, the frame through which news and media have discussed video games doomed them to a negative public image (cf. Williams, 2003).
Putnam’s (2001) position on media technology reflects this negative frame. He argues that electronic media such as television and video games isolate and enthrall consumers.
Time spent with television and video games often comes at the expense of time spent socializing face-to-face (FtF) in third places. Third places are spaces outside of home and work where people gather for the primary purpose of socializing (Oldenburg, 1989).
Traditional examples of third places include coffee shops, pubs, and parks. Such social spaces serve as important locations to develop the loose social bonds between people that create the sense of community for which Putnam (2001) pines. Putnam argues that the spread of electronic media such as television and video games has stolen the attention of consumers who would otherwise spend their leisure time forging a sense of community in these third spaces. He concludes that media consumers’ reorganization of their time to incorporate such entertainment technology is a direct contributor to a severely weakened social fabric.
However, this study’s purpose is not to debate Putnam’s critique of digital entertainment. While his concerns are indeed worthy of investigation, scholarly attention must take a pragmatic approach in addition to a critical one. The increasing number of
3 people who play games, especially social ones (Duggan, 2015; Entertainment Software
Association, 2015), demonstrates a need to investigate how communication and relationships play out in environments that are exclusively computer-mediated. To this end, this study will set aside the question of how a shift to CMC relationships may impact
FtF ones. It will “leave the social analysis to headline writers and policy makers,” and instead focus on large-scale observation of potential relationships between existing phenomena to help “provide theory and data on these new phenomena before pundits in the mass media create the stereotypes that will frame thinking on networked games for the next decade,” (Williams, 2006, p. 13).
Virtual Play as Socializing
Williams (2006) contends that the spread of video games, especially multiplayer games, is not the cause of diminished social fabric. The widespread consumption of multiplayer games is in fact a direct response to it. People play online video games specifically because such games can easily connect them with other players (Lazzaro,
2004). The ease with which players can access and participate in large communities via online games allows them to counteract supposed feelings of isolation and disconnection.
Logging into a virtual world is quick and relatively inexpensive compared to some modes of FtF socializing. It requires only a copy of the game and a computer or console to run it.
Players can jump in and out of the world at their leisure allowing them to engage with their friends even if they only have a limited amount of free time. It does not require coordinating plans, arranging transportation, or splitting checks.
Steinkuehler and Williams (2006) argue that online games are just newer forms of third places. People now connect in the persistent virtual worlds of video games where
4 before they would spend time in physical third places. Shared physical presence is no longer a necessity for people to engage in the casual socializing that characterizes a third place. Socializing in online third places may not necessarily cultivate a social fabric between people who are geographically close to one another. However the same type of casual interaction that occurs in physical third places to generate loose social bonds unfolds in online games to build social networks that can span the globe.
Real Connection in Unreal Worlds
Online games can provide welcoming and nonthreatening environments for players to socialize (Kowert, Domahidi, & Quandt, 2014; Kowert & Oldmeadow, 2015;
McGonigal, 2011). The fantastical and otherwordly settings of some massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) offer contrasting realities for players who may wish to escape from an otherwise mundane offline routine (Frostling-
Henningsson, 2009; Yee, 2006). The escapist aspect of online gaming has fuelled the stereotype of the socially isolated gamer who is detached from reality and relationships
(Griffiths, Davies, & Chappell, 2003). However such characterization is a hasty oversimplification of how and why gamers communicate online. Just as in physical third places, online games have proven to be fertile ground for establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships (Cole & Griffiths, 2007; Munn, 2012).
Many scholars have examined dyadic interpersonal communication as it plays out in video games. Cole and Griffiths (2007) studied how unique forms of self-expression in video games help create friendships that might not have developed in FtF settings. Munn
(2012) extolled the strength of friendships formed in MMORPGs where players bond through direct communication as well as the shared experience of charging into battle
5 against their foes. The addition of a gameplay layer has advanced CMC interaction beyond processes that “largely if not wholly depended on the communication itself” (p.
1). That is, words on a screen no longer comprise the entirety of the relationship between two players. The advent of immersive worlds has created platforms of interaction that shift the primary focus away from solely text-based verbal communication toward shared experience.
Pace, Bardzell, and Bardzell’s (2010) research supports the notion of highly personal relationships formed in the artificial settings of online games. The researchers asked World of Warcraft (WoW) players about relationships they had formed online. An overwhelming majority of respondents supported the belief that truly intimate interpersonal relationships could indeed form in the virtual setting of WoW. Players use the game world to build relationships via shared experience and self-disclosure. They discussed the game at hand as well as troubles in relationships or in school with other players who reassured or sympathized with them. Participants in Frostling-Henningsson’s
(2009) study also exhibited this type of parallel conversation in which they discussed personal or intimate topics interspersed with comments on the current gameplay.
Chen’s (2009) examination of a WoW raiding group provides an example of just how strongly players feel about their online relationships. He observed a group of 40 players attempting a very difficult encounter in the game. Tensions grew between members after repeated failures and finally snapped in a series of heated arguments and personal attacks. Some people left for the night while others remained in stunned silence.
The next day members of the group discussed what had happened. Many of them expressed how much they valued the group of players instead of reopening a heated
6 discussion. One person even likened the group to a family stating that despite the occasional burnout, frustration, and disagreement, “we have all been playing long enough to know that we have a pretty great group of people here and truly we care about and try to do what is best for one another” (p. 67). Members strove to remind one another that
“every last one of these people has feelings” (p. 68). These group relationships had all formed in the artificial setting of WoW yet they did not inherit that worlds’ same artificial quality. Members expressed genuine concern for the relationships they had with one another. Messages between the guild members demonstrated that these relationships held very real meaning and importance to these players despite the fact that that existed entirely in the game. With few consequences that would affect their offline lives, these guild members were free to hurl blame and personal attacks. Instead, the caring, positive, and prosocial approaches these guild members adopted toward one another were instrumental in not only preserving the relationships, but strengthening them as well.
Relationships that exist in the context of online games exhibit a certain self- awareness of their context yet are still meaningful to the people involved. Games, whether online video games, family board games, or professional basketball games, create “a special place in time and space” for the people playing (Salen & Zimmerman,
2003, p. 95). Huizinga (1938) originally called this concept the magic circle. The rules of the game and the presupposition of fun take precedence within the magic circle the game creates. This separation is visible to both players and outside observers. A blocked shot at a basketball game would draw cheers from the crowd. A fan swatting away another fan’s hot dog wrapper as it arced into a trash can would draw confused stares or annoyed groans.
7
Taken together, this body of research demonstrates that despite their separate social space, online games inspire hyperpersonal communication (Walther, 1992; 1996) that builds strong, intimate relationships when combined with shared gameplay. It is such positive, constructive communication that players deem vital to their enjoyment of an online game. Interpersonal relationships emerging from this communication may exist in social spaces that are constructed and artificial yet do not exhibit qualities of diminished intimacy or significance to those involved.
From this the foundation of this study emerges. Investigation is needed into how people’s desire for positive social interaction and connection manifest in the richer, more immersive channels of communication present in online game worlds. The role of online play as a means of relationship building undergirds this study. To explore these mechanics, this study will gather data about social motivations for play from a large player population in a well-established MMORPG, World of Warcraft.
Avatar Influence on Relational Development
The term avatar originates from the Sanskrit term for “incarnation, a bodily manifestation, of an immortal being” (Waggoner, 2009, p. 8). Avatar-based games such as MMORPGs grant the player considerable control over the avatar’s physical traits and appearance. Avatar appearance has shown to influence users’ behavior in virtual settings through a phenomenon known as the Proteus effect (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). Players’ choices about their avatars’ attractiveness, gender, height, and clothing may impact the way these avatars play in the game world. In this way, game-side variables can influence play via a player’s own avatar.
8
Avatar based games also encourage players to fill out backstories for their avatars that include personality traits, desires, quirks, and goals. Recent research (Banks, 2015a;
Banks & Bowman, 2016a, b) has shown that players vary in their degree of player-avatar interaction (PAX). In short, players conceptualize their avatars as extensions of themselves, as distinct social others, or as mere playthings. Such variations determine how strongly the avatar’s personality and psyche mirrors that of the player. This can impact how strongly a player’s own motivations manifest in gameplay (Linderoth, 2005).
The avatar occupies an intermediary position between player and game. However it acts more as a fulcrum than as a simple conduit. Forces of influence act on the player via the avatar and vice versa. The avatar’s position as a locus of influence between player and game warrants investigation into the effects avatar centric forces (i.e., the Proteus effect and PAX) on gameplay.
Rationale
This study will contribute to the growing body of research that has emerged to answer Williams’s (2006) call for scholarly investigation into video games. It will test for connections between motivations for play and prosocial and antisocial gameplay. Further, it will extend the body of Proteus effect research beyond the laboratory and into a naturalistic setting. It will also test for interaction between Proteus effect cues and PAX as they may influence prosocial and antisocial motivations and gameplay.
Video game research is ripe for quantitative social scientific study (Ducheneaut &
Yee, 2013). Laboratory experiments (e.g., Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Yee &
Bailenson, 2007) allow for highly specific manipulation of factors in virtual environments. Games also produce and store specific data about players’ in-game actions
9
(e.g., Ducheneaut, Yee, Nickell, & Moore, 2006a; Peña, Khan, & Alexopoulos, 2016;
Peña & Kim, 2014) that can help paint a detailed picture of how people play. In-game actions are integral to carving out and constructing an avatar’s (and thus a player’s) identity in the game world (De Souza e Silva & Sutko, 2008).
The first step in the study at hand is to compare players’ self-reported motivations for play to recorded gameplay statistics of their avatars. Researchers commonly use self- report instruments (e.g., Yee, 2006) to collect data about players’ in-game behavior
(Bowman, Schultheiss, & Schumann, 2012; Caplan, Williams, & Yee, 2009; Williams,
Yee, & Caplan, 2008). Self report does not necessarily account for the known impacts of the virtual environment (Peña & Blackburn, 2013; Yee & Bailenson, 2007) that function without a player’s conscious awareness. Exploring a potential connection between self- reported data and concreted play statistics recorded by the game could highlight the use of such data for future scholarly research. Relatively little communication research (e.g.,
Ducheneaut & Moore, 2004; Ducheneaut et al., 2006a, 2006b) has mined the vast stores of game data to study in-game interaction. Much of the existing research relies instead on self-report data (Ducheneaut et al., 2006a) and ignores the potential wealth of game- generated data to detail an avatar’s gameplay.
The second step in this study is to test the impact of the avatar appearance as it relates to both self-reported play data and gameplay statistics. The Proteus effect has well documented effects on player behavior in controlled laboratory settings (Fox, Bailenson,
& Tricase, 2013; Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Peña, Khan, & Alexopoulos, 2016;
Peña & Kim, 2014; Van Der Heide, Schumaker, Peterson, & Jones, 2013; Yee &
Bailenson, 2007; Yee, Bailenson, & Ducheneaut, 2009). Comparatively few studies (Huh
10
& Williams, 2009; Lehdonvirta, Nagashima, Lehdonvirta, & Baba, 2013; Yee,
Ducheneaut, Yao, & Nelson, 2011) have investigated the Proteus effect as it plays out in mainstream game settings. Controlled experiments comprise a good first step toward understanding the complexities of highly immersive CMC environments. Consumer data
(Duggan, 2015; Entertainment Software Association, 2015) indicates that games are becoming more engrained as common leisure and socializing activities; they are no longer novel or niche. As online play becomes a normal part of social interaction, it becomes increasingly important to explore how the unique variables inherent to these environments impact the communication that occurs within them.
The final step in this study is to test if dimensions of PAX interact with relationships between Proteus effect cues and gameplay. More specifically, PAX captures players’ perceptions of their avatars as mere digital playthings, extensions of the self, or distinct social others. The degree to which a player feels connected to or removed from his or her avatar may have measurable impact on how that avatar plays in-game and the strength of the unconscious influence from Proteus effect cues. PAX in its current form is still a relatively young concept in the field of game studies (Banks, 2013; 2015a; Banks
& Bowman, 2013; 2016a). Much of the existing PAX research (Banks, 2015b; Banks,
Bowman, & Wasserman, 2016) has studied how other elements of a game affect a player’s PAX experience. Bowman, Schultheiss, and Schumann (2012) have specifically called for investigation into how player-avatar attachment (a conceptual precursor to
PAX) and the Proteus effect both impact prosocial and antisocial play motivations. With the incorporation of player-avatar attachment into the newer PAX scale, Banks and
Bowman (2016a) maintain this position. This study intends to further this line of inquiry
11 by focusing on the impact of PAX in the presence of Proteus effect variables known to impact communication behavior. Furthermore, it will hone in on specific gameplay motivations (Yee, 2006) that comprise the broader “social motivation” used in prior analysis (Banks & Bowman, 2016a, p. 220). To investigate these questions, this study will conduct a large-scale field test of players in the well-established MMORPG World of Warcraft.
12
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Both prosocial and antisocial communication have strong impacts on interpersonal relationships (Amato, 1990; Barry & Wentzel, 2006; Cillessen, Jiang, West,
& Laszkowski, 2005; Crittenden & Zes, 2015; Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1996;
Markiewicz, Doyle, & Brendgen, 2001; Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). Even a brief singular encounter can leave lasting impressions on those involved as the communication takes a strong tack one way (Denson, Pedersen, Friese, Hahm, & Roberts, 2011; Guéguen
& De Gail, 2003; Meineri, Dupré, Guéguen, & Vallée, 2017; Pedersen, Gonzales, &
Miller, 2000; Vrugt & Vet, 2009). Investigation into how this communication operates online becomes increasingly important as players flock to MMORPGs in search of casual socializing (Duggan, 2015; Entertainment Software Association, 2015; Steinkuehler &
Williams, 2006; Williams, 2006) or new friendships (Cole & Griffiths, 2007; Trepte,
Reinecke, & Juechems, 2012; Yee, 2006). This section will focus on how gameplay may take on a prosocial or antisocial air. It will also detail the influence of avatars on gameplay as both sources of unconscious behavioral cues and loci of in-game agency.
Prosocial and Antisocial Online Play
Prosocial behavior is a key contributor to forming and maintaining relationships across all stages of the lifespan (Amato, 1990; Barry & Wentzel, 2006; Crittenden & Zes,
2015; Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015). Children identify prosocial behavior in their
13 friendships and rate such friendships as more satisfying than those without such behavior
(Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1996). Markiewicz, Doyle, and Brendgen (2001) found that prosocial behavior predicts the quality of friendships among adolescents.
Antisocial behavior such as aggression diminishes the quality of friendships and increases the perception of conflict between friends (Cillessen, Jiang, West, &
Laszkowski, 2005). A study of German adults found that an increase in a person’s helping behavior was associated with a higher probability of that person entering a romantic relationship within the next year (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2015).
Players use MMORPGs to form new online relationships (Cole & Griffiths, 2007;
Trepte, Reinecke, & Juechems, 2012; Yee, 2006). Merely playing in the presence of other human players is an attractive quality of online games (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009;
Lazzaro, 2004; McGonigal, 2011; Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006; Weibel et al., 2008).
Positive and pleasant direct interactions are vital to enjoyable MMORPG experiences
(Choi & Kim, 2004). A survey of Everquest players showed that their favorite aspects of the game are socializing, belonging to a guild (an organized group of players with common goals), helping others, and taking leadership roles (Griffiths, Davies, &
Chappell, 2004). These players also reported that their least favorite in-game experiences involved other players being immature or selfish. Yet clearly some players chose to engage in antisocial play in the face of a widespread desire for positive interactions
(Chen, Duh, & Ng, 2009; Foo & Koivisto, 2004; Paul, Bowman, & Banks, 2015).
The anonymity afforded players in online worlds may lead to less inhibited behavior and communication (Suler, 2004). Suler stated that the separation between a person’s offline and online identities leads them to feel less accountable for their online
14 actions. The avatar can serve as a well-defined yet compartmentalized self to which the player can attribute “expressed hostilities and other deviant actions” (p. 322). The ease with which players can separate their online personas from their offline selves reduces feelings of vulnerability or fear of tangible repercussions when interacting with others.
Online disinhibition may take either benign or toxic forms. Benign disinhibition results in behavior in line with Walther’s (1996) concept of hyperpersonal communication where CMC users readily disclose very personal information to one another. Reduced feelings of vulnerability may free users to self-disclose more intimate information about themselves to others online. Conversely, toxic disinhibition results from a feeling of depersonalization. Players recognize that their online behavior will have few if any offline consequences. The player is then free to act out in antisocial ways such as griefing (Foo & Koivisto, 2004) without fear of meaningful repercussions. The PAX dimension of anthropomorphic autonomy reflects this concept of a player’s separation between online and offline selves (Banks & Bowman, 2016a). Sense of control may also be connected with respect to the placement of agency. A player who relinquishes moral agency to the avatar may feel released from his or her own sense of morality and possibly compelled to act outside of it. The avatar would thus serve as a neatly defined scapegoat for negative consequences from antisocial actions. It allows the player to act out negatively while attributing any consequences of his or her actions to the avatar’s morality.
Suler (2004) also presented the concept of solipsistic introjection as a process that fosters disinhibition in players. Solipsistic introjection occurs when a player’s perception of other avatars narrows to the point where he or she may forget that other humans in fact
15 exist behind those avatars. A player’s awareness of the human presence in an MMORPG diminishes. The human-controlled avatars simply become “character[s] within one’s intrapsychic world” (p. 323). This would appear to intersect with suspension of disbelief as it relates to players and their avatars (Banks & Bowman, 2016a). It is reasonable to believe that players who experience high suspension of disbelief accept the other human- controlled inhabitants of the game world as entities independent from the players who in fact control them. This helps solidify the construction of a player’s intrapsychic world where his or her perception severs other human players from their avatars (Suler, 2004).
The player considers the actions of his or her consequences only as far as they impact the avatars in the game world. The player gives little thought to the other human players with whom they share the virtual world. This may in fact prime this population of players for disinhibition during play. In-game actions concurrent with experiences of disinhibition may be reflective of the player’s social motivations for playing. Prosocial or antisocial in- game actions may in fact represent amplified displays or enactments of prosocial or antisocial motivations.
Players and Their Avatars
One area of game studies research focuses on how players use their avatars. The majority of past avatar research has adopted a parasocial interaction approach (PSI;
Horton & Wohl, 1956). PSI analyzes the engagement and relationships between media characters (originally television and film) and audience members (players in this case).
This understanding is built upon the assumption that media consumers do not passively observe characters or actors on screen. Over time viewers may begin to perceive a
“simulacrum of conversational give and take” (p. 215) that more closely resembles a
16 relationship instead of mere observation. However the PSI approach itself is broad and multifaceted (Giles, 2002). Scholars have taken even more specific angles of research with respect to the PSI paradigm. The following sections outline two of these specific approaches.
Psychological Convergence and the Proteus Effect
Character attachment and identification in the context of game studies have addressed the psychological convergence of player and avatar (Cohen, 2001; Hoffner &
Buchanan, 2005; Lewis, Weber, & Bowman, 2008). Scholars who have adopted this approach (e.g., Klimmt, Hefner, & Vorderer, 2009; Klimmt et al., 2010; Trepte &
Reinecke, 2010; Vasalou & Joinson, 2009; Williams, 2011) have maintained the position that the interactive nature of video games sets them apart from more traditional media such as film or television.
According to this position, players do not passively observe a story unfold in a video game. Progression through the story relies on the player taking an active and participative role to drive it forward (Mateas & Stern, 2006). As such, video games demand that players embody their avatars. This moves players toward attachment and eventual psychological merging with the avatar where players eventually merge their own self-perceptions with their avatars and may feel that they themselves are in the game. This is especially true in role-playing games where “gamers immerse themselves into the world and psyche of their character,” (Lewis, Weber, & Bowman, 2008, p.515).
Klimmt, Hefner, and Vorderer (2009) argued that the first person eye-level perspective common to many video games immediately pushes the player toward identification with the avatar. This convergence of both perspective and self-perception can lead a
17 phenomenon where the player shifts his or her behavior to align more with the roles or characteristics of their avatars through self-stereotyping (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). This is called the Proteus effect. A player adopts certain behaviors commonly associated with appearance cues of his or her digital representation. This functions similarly to the way a job applicant may wear a business suit for a phone interview to make herself feel and speak more confidently.
Yee and Bailenson’s (2007) studies approached avatar research from the perspective of player-avatar convergence. They applied self-perception theory (Bem,
1972) to explore how people shift communication behavior based upon characteristics of their avatars. Their first experiment used virtual reality (VR) headsets to place participants in avatars of varying degrees of attractiveness. Participants entered a virtual room and inspected the reflections of their avatars in a mirror. They proceeded to converse with the avatar of a research assistant in the virtual room. Participants with attractive avatars stood closer to the research assistant than those with moderately attractive or unattractive avatars. Participants from the attractive group also self-disclosed more to the assistant than participants from other groups. These results aligned with previous findings regarding interpersonal distance (Burgoon & Walther, 1990), self- confidence (Langlois et al., 2000) and behavioral confirmation (Snyder, Tanke, &
Berscheid, 1977).
Yee and Bailenson’s (2007) second study manipulated avatar height. They changed the angle from which participants viewed the virtual environment to change their perceptions of their own height (Bailenson, 2006). Participants then played a negotiation game with a research assistant’s avatar. Participant and assistant alternated offering splits
18 of a pool of points which the other then accepted or rejected. Participants with taller avatars offered deals that benefited themselves more frequently than shorter or average height avatars. They also more readily rejected uneven deals that favored the assistant.
Again the results aligned with previous FtF studies about communicator height and confidence (Young & French, 1996) and leadership (Stogdill, 1948).
Further Proteus effect research has supported the notion that people unconsciously apply stereotypes to their avatars and subsequently conform to them (Nass & Moon,
2000). Players with obese avatars were more sluggish in their offline movements than players with avatars who appeared to be of an average weight when playing an exercise game (Peña, Khan, & Alexopoulos, 2016; Peña & Kim, 2014). Avatars in dark clothing exhibited more aggressive attitudes toward others and less group cohesion among themselves compared to avatars in white clothing (Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009).
Women who used sexualized, suggestively clad avatars during a virtual conversation reported more body-related thoughts and were more likely to feel self-objectified than women who used more conservatively dressed avatars (Fox, Bailenson, & Tricase, 2013).
The virtual worlds of video games provide players with nearly endless customization options for their avatars. The unconscious influence of avatar appearance cues is indeed well documented in the body of Proteus effect research. The mechanism underlying the Proteus effect relies on a psychological merging of player and avatar. The player perceives the avatar as a direct extension of the self into the game and adopts behaviors associated with traits of his or her avatar. Avatar attractiveness (Yee &
Bailenson, 2007), gender (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao & Nelson, 2011), height (Yee &
Bailenson, 2007), and clothing (Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009) have shown to
19 significantly impact prosocial and antisocial player behavior. This study will test these relationships in a large population of WoW players to investigate their impact in a naturalistic setting. Specifically, it will test for relationships between each of these four trait variables (attractiveness, gender, height, and clothing color) and the overall prosocial or antisocial trend of a player’s gameplay as measured by both social motivations as well as individual avatars’ gameplay statistics.
However not all players conceptualize their avatars as virtual extensions of self.
Some players maintain clear separations between their avatars and themselves, using the game to create independent and autonomous characters. The following section contrasts this approach with the previously described psychological convergence.
Motivation May Explain Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior
The psychological convergence perspective has focused on how the player becomes one with the avatar. This focus has firmly privileged the player experience and diminished the role the avatar plays. The psychological divergence approach has instead acknowledged the independent existence of the video game character (Kavli, 2012) and treated both players and avatars as capable social actors (Banks, 2015a). This approach has thus focused its attention on the relationship between these actors instead of how one actor behaves in the relationship (Banks, 2015a).
A number of scholars (Bogost, 2012; Harman, 2005; Latour, 2005) have argued for objects’ capacity for experience and existence in webs of relationships, whether the object is composed of particles, ideas, or pixels. Bogost (2012) argues that while it may be impossible to understand how an object itself experiences existence (as opposed to human-as-the-object), it is possible for humans to attempt to experience its existence. He
20 proposes the concept of metaphorism - using a known relationship or set of relationships to approximate and appreciate the experience of an object in question. He uses the known relationship between a submarine, sonar, and the ocean to appreciate how a bat uses echolocation to perceive a cave. Bogost also enthusiastically embraces the differences between these two sets of relationships. He acknowledges that even a detailed understanding of how sonar allows a submarine crew to take in its surroundings is an inevitably and inescapably imperfect attempt at truly understanding a bat’s experience as a bat, yet still useful in moving one’s understanding closer to that of a bat.
Similarly, a subset of players conceptualize their avatars as separate digital objects (Banks, 2015a; Banks & Bowman, 2016a) open to the process of metaphorism.
These players imbue their avatars with a sense of moral agency and defer to its perceived autonomy during play. In essence, these players make decisions about their gameplay not by asking themselves “what would I do here?” but rather “what would my avatar do here?” In order to answer this question, these players must attempt to understand an experience that belongs to a digital object. Metaphorism serves as the tool with which these players can reflect on human agency in communication and behavior with other humans and apply their understanding to avatars interacting with other avatars. These players frame and interpret their in-game interaction first and foremost through the avatar’s own experience, thus pushing the avatar into the role of dominant social actor while the player remains only to provide the requisite control input (Banks, 2015a).
Kavli (2012) further detailed this perspective in her distinction between the oft- interchanged terms “player-character” and “avatar.” Player-controlled characters in video games fall into these two categories with unique implications on their relationships with
21 the player. A player-character is indeed just that - a character the player controls. The player-character has a previously established identity within the game’s world and story.
The player merely takes control of the player-character for the portion of its life that spans the events of the game. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Eidos Interactive, 2009) and its sequels all give the player control over a player-character (Batman/Bruce Wayne) to use for play. Batman is already an established persona within the game’s world before the player even starts a new game. The player’s role is to provide control input to determine
Batman’s actions such as punching, jumping, or throwing batarangs. The player has little to no say in defining Batman’s motivations, goals or personality. The player has few if any opportunities to ask “what would I do here?” as the game has determined that all actions are in line with the player-character.
Avatar-based play encourages the player to carve out a place for his or her avatar through moments like these as well as general play, all the while building an identity in the game world. These games give the player direct control over pivotal decisions in the game that allow him or her to act upon and reinforce such constructed personality traits as he or she plays. In this way avatars serve as manifestations of a player’s motivations and goals within a game (Linderoth, 2005).
Banks’ (2013, 2015a) research specifically delved into how meaningful relationships form between players and their avatars. Her qualitative inquiry expanded the understanding of player-avatar relationships (PARs) in MMORPGs. She found that players relate to their avatars with varying degrees of sociality. Some players treated their avatars as mere digital objects, as extensions of oneself, as explorations of one’s identity, or as entirely separate characters. Specifically, players’ varying experiences of emotional
22 intimacy with, self-differentiation from, and sense of control over their avatars help define the individual PAR.
Subsequent quantitative analysis (Banks & Bowman, 2016a) has generated a self- report instrument to measure and help determine a player’s PAR type. This analysis supported the existence of these three discrete dimensions. The researchers acknowledged significant correlations between this PAR scale and an existing measure
(Lewis, Weber, & Bowman, 2008) used to measure players’ attachment to their avatars.
Further exploratory factor analysis of the two instruments resulted in a merged scale that measures player-avatar interaction using four subscales: emotional investment, anthropomorphic autonomy, suspension of disbelief, and sense of control.
Emotional investment reflects a player’s positive feelings of connection with the avatar and care for the relationship. Anthropomorphic autonomy refers to how much a player acknowledges and respects the avatar to be an independent actor with its own sense of agency in the game world. A player’s suspension of disbelief indicates the degree to which a player accepts the avatar and its world as legitimate and real. Sense of control refers to whose sense of agency takes precedence during play - the player’s or the avatar’s. Agency in this sense relates back to how a player makes decisions in-game by asking “what would I do?” or “what would the avatar do?”
Variable player-avatar relationships, especially ones where the player defers to the moral agency of the avatar and frames gameplay through the avatar’s experience (as opposed to his or her own) may provide their own sets of influences on play. Such relationships contrast with the psychological convergence underpinning the Proteus
23 effect. The impact of the Proteus effect in the context of a decidedly separate player and avatar remains to be investigated.
Hypotheses
The first step in this research will be to examine the potential relationship between self-reported motivations (Yee, 2006) and ludic measures of play - concrete statistics generated and recorded by the game itself (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, & Nelson,
2011). Compared to the larger body of video game play research, relatively few studies have used such data (e.g., Ducheneaut & Moore, 2004; Ducheneaut et al., 2006a, 2006b), instead relying heavily on self-report (e.g., Bowman, Schultheiss, & Schumann, 2012;
Caplan, Williams, & Yee, 2009; Williams, Yee, & Caplan, 2008). Video games generate vast amounts of data that can potentially corroborate the self-reported measure of prosocial or antisocial play. In-game death is the ultimate consequence for an avatar aside from being permanently deleted. Avatar death may incur costs such as in-game currency, lost progress, and time to reset to the pre-death state. Any action a player takes to stave off this end could thus be considered prosocial. Deliberately bringing about another player’s death could be considered antisocial. The use of ludic statistics to measure in- game behavior will follow the example of Yee and colleagues (2011).
Blizzard Entertainment maintains a publicly accessible repository of detailed ludic statistics for every avatar called the WoW Armory. This will be the source of the statistics used in the analysis. A ratio of an avatar’s total healing done to total damage done will measure prosocial play. Cumulative healing and damage done increase with time spent playing. A ratio will help normalize comparison between fairly new avatars and older ones. Player-versus-player areas in game allow players to directly fight one
24 another. A ratio of an avatar’s player kills to overall kills will measure antisocial play.
Data analysis will explore how player motivation drives actual gameplay. In so doing, the analysis will help gauge the latter’s efficacy as an accurate analogue to the commonly accepted self-report measure.
H1: A player’s ratio of healing to damage done will positively correlate to self-reported socializing, relationship, and teamwork play motivations.
H2: A player’s ratio of player-versus-player kills to overall kills will positively correlate to self-reported competing motivation.
Second, this study will attempt to add to a growing body of research that observes evidence of the Proteus effect in naturalistic settings. This study will measure established variables shown to significantly influence player behavior in a laboratory setting (Peña,
Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Yee & Bailenson, 2007). It will also gather observational data in attempt to corroborate and strengthen evidence for previously observed relationships between avatar gender and prosocial/antisocial behavior (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao &
Nelson, 2011).
H3: Avatar attractiveness will positively correlate to (A) healing/damage ratio, (B) socializing motivation, (C) relationship motivation, and (D) teamwork motivation.
H4: Avatar attractiveness will negatively correlate to (A) PvP/overall kill ratio and (B) competing motivation.
H5: Female avatars will exhibit higher (A) healing/damage ratio, (B) socializing motivation, (C) relationship motivation, and (D) teamwork motivation than male avatars.
H6: Male avatars will exhibit higher (A) PvP/overall kill ratio and (B) competing motivation than female avatars.
H7: Avatar size will negatively correlate to (A) healing/damage ratio, (B) socializing motivation, (C) relationship motivation, and (D) teamwork motivation.
25
H8: Avatar size will positively correlate to (A) PvP/overall kill ratio and (B) competing motivation.
H9: Avatars in lighter clothing will exhibit higher (A) healing/damage ratio, (B) socializing motivation, (C) relationship motivation, and (D) teamwork motivation than avatars in darker clothing.
H10: Avatars in darker clothing will exhibit higher (A) PvP/overall kill ratio and (B) competing motivation than avatars in lighter clothing.
Third, this study will investigate the roles that PAX dimensions play alongside any Proteus effects hypothesized above to impact prosocial and/or antisocial play.
It is well established that avatar characteristics impact a person’s behavior in a virtual environment via the Proteus effect (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). The Proteus effect has demonstrated its power to specifically impact prosocial and antisocial behaviors
(Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Yee & Bailenson, 2007; Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, &
Nelson, 2011). The underlying mechanism of self-perception theory (Bem, 1972) drives these changes. The source of these behavioral shifts then is psychological convergence between player and avatar. Apparent potential connections exist between the dimensions of player-avatar sociality (Banks & Bowman, 2016a) and disinhibited online behavior
(Suler, 2004). Such behavior may manifest in benign (prosocial) or toxic (antisocial) ways (Suler, 2004). Prosocial and antisocial behavior stem from player-avatar divergence in this case.
Extant research supports the influence of both the Proteus effect and players’ varying PAX experiences on prosocial and antisocial play. The power of the Proteus effect lies in the merging between player and avatar (psychological convergence) whereas the influence of PAX is visible when the player perceives a certain distance
26 between avatar and self (psychological divergence). This study will investigate the interaction between these forces as they relate to prosocial and antisocial play.
RQ1: To what extent do PAX dimensions and Proteus effects influence a player’s inclination toward prosocial or antisocial behavior in MMORPGs?
27
CHAPTER 3
METHODS
Distribution and Respondents
The electronic survey was distributed online via Reddit, specifically, the WoW subreddit (/r/WOW) as well as a smaller subreddit for survey research (/r/SampleSize) with community moderator approval. The survey was open to respondents for an eight- day period in early June of 2017. A subscription code for three months of WoW game time ($41.97 value) was offered as an incentive to participate. Respondents could optionally provide their email addresses to enter a random drawing for the code.
Of 2,538 people who began the survey, 1,353 completed it (52.4% response rate).
Gender distribution was heavily male (n = 1,151, 85.1%) followed by female (n = 187,
13.8%). Eleven respondents (.8%) reported their gender as “other” and four (.3%) provided no answer. Respondents were overwhelmingly young with 725 (53.6%) in the
18-24 age group and 549 (40.6%) in the 25-34 age group. Sixty two respondents (6.6%) were between ages 35-44 and eight (.6%) were between ages 45-54. Seven respondents
(.5%) did not provide ages. Approximately two thirds of respondents (n = 909, 67.2%) played on game servers based in the United States. Approximately one third of respondents (n = 439, 32.4%) played on European servers. Five respondents (.4%) played on Oceanic servers.
28
Measurement
Gameplay Statistics
Respondents provided identifying information about their avatars to make possible the retrieval of gameplay data about those specific avatars. A script written in
Python 3 retrieved the gameplay data from www.wowprogress.com and stored them alongside the corresponding survey responses1. This data included total damage done, total healing done, number of honorable kills (i.e., other players), and number of overall kills (players and non-players). The script also collected basic information about the avatar including race, class, and level. Specifically, two ratios will be calculated and used in analysis: healing-to-damage ratio (total healing done / total damage done) and PvP-kill ratio (number of honorable kills / number of overall kills).
Play Motivations
The 15-item survey included sections of Yee’s (2006) player motivation scale.
Specific items measured respondents’ socializing (four items), relationship (three items), teamwork (four items), and competing (four items) motivations for play. Yee (2006) originally reported acceptable reliabilities for these measures (socializing, α = .74; relationship, α = .80; teamwork, α = .71; competitive, α = .75). Socializing motivation
(α = .78), relationship motivation (α = .77), and competing motivation (α = .75) demonstrated good reliability in this study. The reliability for teamwork motivation was weak (α = .61). This low reliability increases the likelihood of Type II error, potentially
1 WoW Armory, Blizzard Entertainment’s official public repository of avatar statistics was originally intended as the source of avatar data. During the course of this research, WoW Armory underwent a massive overhaul. The updated avatar profiles no longer provided the data necessary for this research. Luckily, www.wowprogress.com, a third party site that collected and reported avatar data directly from WoW Armory, had the requisite data preserved for a period of time after the overhaul and served as the source of avatar data.
29 obscuring significant relationships with other variables that may indeed be present
(Reinard, 2006). The scale remains in this study for consistency with prior conceptualization of prosocial player motivations (Bowman, Schultheiss, & Schumann,
2012).
Player-Avatar Interaction
The 15-item Integrated PAX Scale (Banks & Bowman, 2016a) measured player’
PAX experiences with their favorite avatars. This scale measures the four dimensions of
PAX outlined above. It includes six items for emotional investment (α = .84), four items for anthropomorphic autonomy (α = .88), three items for suspension of disbelief (α =
.82), and two items for sense of control (α = .80). These measures all demonstrated strong reliability in this study (emotional investment, α = .88; anthropomorphic autonomy, α =
.91; suspension of disbelief, α = .86; sense of control, α = .72).
Avatar Traits
This questionnaire collected data on many avatar appearance variables related to the Proteus effect. Respondents used a five-item semantic differential scale to report avatar attractiveness (Ohanian, 1990). This scale has previously exhibited excellent reliability (α = .904 for female target; α = .893 for male target). The scale showed acceptable reliability in this study (α = .761 for male avatars, n = 689; α = .783 for female avatars, n = 659). Avatar gender has shown to have a measurable impact on play (Yee,
Ducheneaut, Yao & Nelson, 2011). Participants reported their avatar’s gender on a single item. Four items devised for this study assessed avatar size relative to other avatars in game (α = .74). These items used a five-point Likert scale to ask respondents about their avatars’ size. The player manual for The Burning Crusade (2007), an expansion for the
30 base WoW game, includes a chart of the relative heights of playable races in the game.
Avatars were also categorized by height (short, average, tall) and results from a one-way
ANOVA comparing mean responses from the four item scale across these categories
[F(2,1345) = 166.567, p = .000) lends validity to the items. Respondents answered a single item to provide simple categorization for the color of their avatar’s clothing (light colored/dark colored/neither light nor dark).
Character Role
Character classes such as priest, paladin, or hunter grant the avatar specific abilities in game. These unique sets of abilities predispose certain classes to specific play styles (Rowlands, 2012). The priest class grants the player access to powerful healing spells where hunter abilities let the player deal high amounts of damage. Such differences in avatar abilities are likely to significantly impact the numerical data an avatar generates during play. Survey respondents will be grouped based upon primary role: tank
(defensive class, n = 206), damage dealer (offensive class, n = 881), and healer (support class, n = 266). Hypotheses were tested for the entire sample population (N = 1353) as
well as within each role category. Character role was used as an input variable for RQ1 because these abilities naturally impact the raw data reflective of that avatar’s behavior.
31
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
Hypothesis 1 predicted positive correlations between an avatar’s healing-to- damage ratio and the player’s self-reported socializing, relationship, and teamwork motivations. Results from bivariate correlations supported this hypothesis. In the total sample, positive correlations emerged between healing-to-damage ratio and socializing motivation, relationship motivation, and teamwork motivation. These results are reported in Table 1. Further analysis based on avatar role yielded several significant relationships.
Among avatars in the tank role, healing-to-damage ratio was positively correlated with teamwork motivation (r = .157, n = 206, p = .025). Among avatars in the healer role, healing-to-damage ratio was positively correlated with socializing motivation (r = .182, n = 265, p = .003) and relationship motivation (r = .206, n = 265, p = .001).
Hypothesis 2 predicted a positive correlation between an avatar’s PvP-kill ratio and the player’s self-reported competing motivation. Results from bivariate correlations supported this hypothesis. These results are reported in Table 1. Further analysis based on avatar role showed a positive correlation between PvP-kill ratio and competing motivation among DPS avatars (r = .126, n = 877, p < .001).
32
Table 1. Correlations Between Gameplay Statistics, Play Motivations, and Avatar Appearance
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. Healing-to-damage ratio --
2. PvP-kill ratio -.026***--
3. Social motivation .143*** -.011***--
4. Relationship motivation .112*** -.004*** .446***--
5. Teamwork motivation .266*** -.123*** .300*** .227***--
6. Competing motivation -.030*** .105*** .025*** .097*** .015***--
7. Avatar attractiveness .081*** -.020*** .102*** .133*** .016*** .096***--
8. Avatar size -.098*** .022*** .020*** .041*** -.127*** .060*** -.133***-- *. Correlation is significant at the .05 level (one-tailed). **. Correlation is significant at the .01 level (one-tailed). ***. Correlation is significant at the .001 level (one-tailed).
32
33
Hypothesis 3 predicted positive correlations between avatar attractiveness and healing-to-damage ratio, socializing motivation, relationship motivation, and teamwork motivation. Results from bivariate correlations provided partial support for this hypothesis. Positive correlations were present between avatar attractiveness and healing- to-damage ratio, socializing motivation, and relationship motivation. The relationship between avatar attractiveness and teamwork motivation was not significant (r = .016, p = .550). These results are reported in Table 1. Further analysis based on avatar role revealed no significant relationships.
Hypothesis 4 predicted a negative correlation between avatar attractiveness and
PvP-kill ratio and competing motivation. Results from bivariate correlations did not support this hypothesis. A positive correlation emerged between avatar attractiveness and competing motivation. The relationship between avatar attractiveness and PvP-kill ratio was not significant. These results are reported in Table 1.
Hypothesis 5 predicted that female avatars would have a higher healing-to- damage ratio than male avatars and that these players would report stronger socializing, relationship, and teamwork motivations than players with male avatars. Independent samples t-tests compared these variables based on avatar gender (male avatars, n = 686, female avatars, n = 657). Results partially supported this hypothesis. Female avatars had higher healing-to-damage ratios [female avatars, M = .455, SD = .813; male avatars,
M = .280, SD = .629; t(1341) = -4.422, p < .001] than male avatars. Players with female avatars also reported stronger relationship [female avatars, M = 2.959, SD = .956; male avatars, M = 2.728, SD = .947; t(1346) = -4.441, p < .001] and teamwork [female avatars,
M = 3.01, SD = .718; male avatars, M = 2.916, SD = .665; t(1346) = -2.627, p = .009]
34 motivations than those using male avatars. Avatar gender had no significant impact on socializing motivation [female avatars, M = 3.766, SD = .810, male avatars, M = 3.714,
SD = .844; t(1346) = -1.161, p = .246]. Further analysis based on avatar role revealed that female avatars had significantly higher healing-to-damage ratios than male avatars
[female avatars, n = 410, M = .084, SD = .096; male avatars, n = 465, M = .071,
SD = .078; t(873) = -2.087, p = .037] among avatars in the DPS role.
Hypothesis 6 predicted that male avatars would have a higher PvP-kill ratio than female avatars and that these players would report stronger competing motivation than players using female avatars. Independent samples t-tests compared these variables based on avatar gender (male avatars, n = 686, female avatars, n = 657). Results from the analysis did not support the predicted relationships between avatar gender and PvP-kill ratio [male avatars, M = .035, SD = .057; female avatars, M = .029, SD = .063; t(1341) = 1.903, p = .216] or competing motivation [male avatars, M = 2.341, SD = .939; female avatars, M = 2.271, SD = .887; t(1346) = .069, p = .165].
Hypothesis 7 predicted negative correlations between avatar size and healing-to- damage ratio, socializing motivation, relationship motivation, and teamwork motivation.
Results from bivariate correlations provided partial support for this hypothesis.
Significant negative correlations were present between avatar size and healing-to-damage ratio and teamwork motivation. No significant relationships were present between avatar size and socializing motivation or relationship motivation. These results are reported in
Table 1.
Hypothesis 8 predicted positive correlations between avatar size and PvP-kill ratio and competing motivation. Results from bivariate correlations partially supported this
35 hypothesis. Avatar size was positively correlated to competing motivation. No significant relationship was present between avatar size and PvP-kill ratio. These results are reported in Table 1.
Hypothesis 9 predicted that avatars in lighter colored clothing would have a higher healing-to-damage ratio than avatars in darker clothing and that these players would report stronger socializing, relationship and teamwork motivations than players using avatars in dark clothing. Results from a one-way ANOVA partially support this hypothesis. Significant between-group effects were apparent for healing-to-damage ratio
[light clothing, M = .541, SD = .908; neutral clothing, M = .410, SD = .721; dark clothing,
M = .261, SD = .609; F(2, 1344) = 18.383, p < .001] and teamwork motivation [light clothing, M = 3.105, SD = .728; neutral clothing, M = 3.013, SD = .625; dark clothing,
M = 2.875, SD = .692; F(2, 1349) = 14.114, p < .001]. Clothing color produced no significant effects on players’ socializing [light clothing, M = 3.802, SD = .830; neutral clothing, M = 3.723, SD = .849; dark clothing, M = 3.713, SD = .815; F(2, 1349) = 1.400, p = .247] or relationship motivations [light clothing, M = 2.854, SD = .960; neutral clothing, M = 2.865, SD = .930; dark clothing, M = 2.827, SD = .970; F(2, 1349) = .199, p = .820].
Hypothesis 10 predicted that avatars in darker colored clothing would have a higher PvP-kill ratio than avatars in lighter clothing and that these players would report strong competing motivation than players using avatars in lighter clothing. Results from a one-way ANOVA partially supported this hypothesis. A significant between-group effect was observed for PvP-kill ratio [light clothing, M = .025, SD = .033; neutral clothing,
36
M = .036, SD = .067; dark clothing, M = .034, SD = .067; F(2, 1344) = 3.224, p = .040].
There was no significant effect of clothing color on competing motivation [light clothing,
M = 2.303, SD = .947; neutral clothing, M = 2.241, SD = .915; dark clothing, M = 2.334,
SD = .897; F(2, 1349) = 1.038, p = .354].
Stepwise regressions were used to explore the impact of PAX dimensions, play motivations, and Proteus effect cues on healing-to-damage ratio as well as PvP-kill ratio
2 (RQ1). For healing-to-damage ratio [F(6, 1340) = 121.757, p < .001, adjusted R = .350], avatar role (β = .522), teamwork motivation (β = .136), relationship motivation
(β = .084), suspension of disbelief (β = -.066), clothing color (β = -.052), and competing motivation (β = -.047) were significant predictors. For PvP-kill ratio
[F(5, 1341) = 11.468, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .037], teamwork motivation (β = -.130), competing motivation (β = .101), emotional investment (β = .100), anthropomorphic autonomy (β = -.090), and avatar role (β = .057) emerged as significant predictors.
Research question 1 was further explored using stepwise regressions to predict play motivations based on PAX dimensions and Proteus effect variables. Emotional investment (β = .176), avatar role (β = .086), suspension of disbelief (β = .081), and avatar attractiveness (β = .054) were significant predictors of socializing motivation
[F(4, 1347) = 22.260, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .059]. Emotional investment (β = .179), avatar gender (β = .137), suspension of disbelief (β = .111), and avatar size (β = .061) were significant predictors of relationship motivation [F(4, 1347) = 28.563, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .075]. Avatar role (β = .150), emotional investment (β = -.109), clothing color (β = -.108), suspension of disbelief (β = -.100), and avatar size (β = -.069) were significant predictors of teamwork motivation [F(5, 1346) = 23.987, p < .001,
37 adjusted R2 = .078]. Avatar attractiveness (β = .123), avatar gender (β = -.085), sense of control (β = .064), and suspension of disbelief (β = .062) were significant predictors of competing motivation [F(4, 1347) = 8.216, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .021].
38
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
This study had three objectives. First, it examined relationships between players’ self-reported motivations for play and concrete numerical records of their in-game actions. Second, it sought evidence for significant Proteus effects in a naturalistic setting.
Third, it explored how PAX dimensions functioned alongside Proteus effects to account for measures of play both game-generated and self-reported.
Interpretation of Results
The first goal of this research was to investigate significant correlations between players’ self-reported motivations for play and concrete measures of actual in-game actions using data recorded by the game. Analysis supports these hypotheses. Significant correlations were present between healing-to-damage ratio and all three prosocial motivations (socializing, relationship, and teamwork). A significant positive correlation was also present between competing motivation and PvP-kill ratio. Taken together, these relationships indicate that player motivations indeed manifest in specific in-game actions.
These actions help establish an avatar’s identity in the game (De Souza e Silva & Sutko,
2008) and can be initiating factors in establishing new relationships with other players
(Kowert, Domahidi, & Quandt, 2014; Munn, 2012; Pace, Bardzell, & Bardzell, 2010) or enhance existing ones (Snodgrass et al., 2011).
39
The second goal of this research was to seek evidence for significant Proteus effects using self-reported play motivations as well as recorded gameplay statistics.
Support was mixed for the impacts of appearance variables on self-reported play motivation and ludic measures of avatar actions. The positive correlations between avatar attractiveness and overall prosocial motivations (socializing, relationship, and teamwork) and in-game actions (i.e., healing-to-damage ratio) echoes findings from the original
Proteus effect research (Yee & Bailenson, 2007) where attractive avatars self-disclosed more information and engaged in more intimate nonverbal communication than unattractive avatars.
As hypothesized, avatar size was negatively correlated with healing-to-damage ratio and teamwork motivation, and positively correlated with competing motivation.
Taller avatars have previously demonstrated inclinations toward self-interest and interpersonal dominance (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). It is fitting that, as this relationship implies, taller avatars would express a weaker teamwork motivation and engage less frequently in gameplay that is distinctly other-focused (i.e., healing). The correlation between size and competing motivation also supports Yee and Bailenson’s (2007) finding that taller avatars adopted a more aggressive strategy in a relatively simple game.
Clothing color had significant effects on healing-to-damage ratio, teamwork motivation, and PvP-kill ratio. Lighter clothing was associated with higher healing-to- damage ratio and stronger teamwork motivation. These results are consistent with prior research on the effects of avatar clothing color (Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009). In the prior study, avatars in lighter clothing exhibited significantly stronger perceptions of group cohesion than those in darker clothing. In the same study, avatars in darker
40 clothing held more aggressive attitudes and indicated a stronger intent to attack unarmed players than avatars in light clothing. The positive relationship between dark clothing and
PvP-kill ratio thus fits neatly alongside this past research.
Female avatars demonstrated significantly higher healing-to-damage ratio, relationship motivation, and teamwork motivation than male avatars. The finding that female avatars have a higher healing-to-damage ratio than male avatars replicates the result of a prior study specifically focused on avatar gender (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, &
Nelson, 2011). Female avatars’ stronger relationship and teamwork motivations align with past findings on the effect of gender and helping behavior in MMOs (Lehdonvirta,
Lehdonvirta, & Baba, 2011; Lehdonvirta, Nagashima, Lehdonvirta, & Baba, 2012).
Quantitatively capturing player motivations to help and connect with others specifically addresses acknowledged limitations of these prior studies yet maintains support for their original findings.
The modest yet significant relationships between appearance cues and responding behavior can be explained as the cultivation of priming models (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan,
Signorelli, & Shanahan, 2002; Jo & Berkowitz, 1994). Specifically, repeated exposure to cues that activate stereotypes based on gender, stature, attractiveness, or clothing color can strengthen the association between cue and stereotype (Jo & Berkowitz, 1994). Each time a player observes one of these appearance cues, it increases the likelihood and magnitude of stereotype activation and subsequent corresponding behavior. Shifts in players’ in-game actions may become more pronounced over time.
The third goal of this research was to investigate how appearance cues and PAX variables work collectively to influence measures of gameplay. Unsurprisingly, a player’s
41 primary role had the strongest influence on healing-to-damage ratio. Avatars’ primary means of mechanical interaction with the game itself as well as other players - be they powerful healing spells, strong defensive boosts, or fearsome weapon abilities - set them up to fill specific roles during play (Rowlands, 2012). These skillsets would naturally shape specific numerical patterns of play based upon the avatar’s role. This effect is clearly visible in the regression analysis with an avatar’s primary role accounting for the overwhelming majority of variance in healing-to-damage ratio.
A stronger pattern emerged between PAX dimensions and the measured output variables. Suspension of disbelief was a significant factor in all regression analyses with the exception of PvP-kill ratio. This is consistent with the original analysis from the development of the PAX measure (Banks & Bowman, 2016a). The positive correlations between suspension of disbelief and socializing and relationship motivations speak to players’ real acceptance of online relationships as truly meaningful (Frostling-
Henningsson, 2009; Kowert, Domahidi, & Quandt, 2014; Munn, 2012; Pace, Bardzell, &
Bardzell, 2010). The positive correlation between suspension of disbelief and competing motivation represents an awareness of the magic circle as it relates to online games
(Huizinga, 1938; Salen & Zimmerman, 2003). Players willfully pause their critical scrutiny of the virtual world for the sake of competitive play (Frostling-Henningsson,
2009). The specific association between suspension of disbelief and competing motivation also echoes Suler’s (2004) notion of solipsistic introjection as a mechanism for online disinhibition.
Suspension of disbelief was also negatively correlated with both teamwork motivation and healing-to-damage ratio. Such non-acceptance of the virtual world could
42 be the result a player’s intense focus on game mechanics (Schell, 2015) instead of narrative or theme. Indeed, highly challenging content in MMORPGs is often designed to be both group oriented and skill intensive. Precise mechanical skill and team coordination are imperative to success in such encounters and demand much of a player’s attention.
Attempting to complete these quests requires players to disregard the thematic or narrative layers of a game to instead focus on and learn the mechanical workings of difficult encounters. Avatars who take on the role of healer are both vital to the success of groups in such challenges and distinctly team-oriented in their skillsets. Thus, as roles with a strong focus on working in a team, it follows that avatars with higher healing-to- damage ratios would experience weaker suspension of disbelief.
Emotional investment was also a significant factor in four of the six regression analyses (socializing motivation, relationship motivation, teamwork motivation, and PvP- kill ratio). This is also consistent with prior research linking emotional investment and play motivations (Banks & Bowman, 2016a). Despite an established correlation between competing motivation and PvP-kill ratio, emotional investment is present in only one of the two models. The positive correlation between emotional investment and PvP-kill ratio as well as the negative correlation with teamwork motivation reflect an emphasis on the power and skill of the individual player. Framing MMORPGs as “reputation games”
(Ducheneaut, Yee, Nickell, & Moore, 2006a, p. 7) can help explain these relationships.
Playing in the presence of others allows players to acquire status and build reputations that have real meaning for the player (Ducheneaut, Moore, & Nickell, 2007;
Jakobson & Taylor, 2003). Players may find themselves in situations where their avatars face the distinct threat of death at the hands of other players. This may cause them to
43 fiercely defend themselves or even go on the offensive. Additionally, players passively communicate status by adorning their avatars with powerful items (Ducheneaut, Yee,
Nickell, & Moore, 2006a). Such powerful items are usually rewards for completing extremely challenging game content. Tackling such challenges with a group adds the additional problem of dividing treasure after the quest is over. Thus there is a chance that a player may not receive his or her desired item even after several grueling attempts.
Players seeking to communicate status via powerful items may seek to venture out alone to ensure that they keep all spoils from their adventures. The reputation aspect of
MMORPGs combined with the passive communication of status via appearance may also help explain the unexpected positive correlation between avatar attractiveness and competing motivation described above (Anderson, John, Keltner, & Kring, 2001).
Interestingly, anthropomorphic autonomy was only a contributing factor to PvP- kill ratio. Further, the effect of anthropomorphic autonomy on PvP-kill ratio was negative. Such a finding is unreceptive to the explanation of behavior based on toxic disinhibition. However Munn (2012) asserts that engaging, difficult, or otherwise intense play can make it difficult for players to maintain alternate in-game personas. The focus required for intense player-versus-player combat thus takes precedence and demands the attention a player might otherwise devote to maintaining a separation between self and avatar (cf. Bogost, 2012).
The findings of this research offer important contributions to the communication field of game studies. Significant relationships between player motivations and recorded in-game actions support the use of objective game-side data for social scientific research
(Ducheneaut & Yee, 2012). Relatively little communication research in the field of game
44 studies (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, & Nelson, 2011) has taken advantage of the vast wealth of data these games produce. Establishing a link between such data and measures commonly used in communication research (e.g., Yee, 2006) prompts the question of the other portraits of communicative play behavior that this data may contain. Online video games have the power to precisely capture and quantify players’ behavior over a sustained period of time. Utilizing such data in future research can add valid corroboration to studies that would otherwise solely rely on self-reported information
(Sanford, 2010).
The relationships observed in this study support the established influence of the
Proteus effect as documented in past research (Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Yee &
Bailenson, 2007; Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, & Nelson, 2011). More importantly, this study advances Proteus effect research beyond the experimental setting into a naturalistic environment. This helps strengthen the generalizability of past Proteus effect research by testing the power of previously studied cues (e.g., Peña, Hancock, & Merola, 2009; Yee
& Bailenson, 2007) in an environment where they may have to compete for measurable influence. The field setting of this research may also explain the absence of significant effects of appearance cues that had been demonstrated in these prior experiments. The significant relationships observed in this study show that exposure to appearance variables changes gameplay in subtle yet measurable ways. The small effect sizes (rather than pronounced ones) in these observed relationships hint that such changes are in line with a cultivation effect priming the association between the appearance cues and prosocial or antisocial behaviors (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorelli, & Shanahan, 2002;
Jo & Berkowitz, 1994).
45
Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions
The large number of respondents (N = 1353) was one strength of this study. The large sample allowed for the detection of significant and stable effects despite their relatively small size (Reinard, 2006). A large sample also lends strength to the results in the form of population generalizability (Neuman, 2014). A second strength of this research was its focus on a naturalistic setting. Such a focus offers broad findings directly applicable to players’ day-to-day experiences while playing.
Another strength of this research is its focus on a communication medium that is increasingly popular and widespread (Duggan, 2015; Entertainment Software
Association, 2015). The increasing prevalence of video games as accepted as normal social spaces (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006) calls attention to the need for scholarly inquiry how communication processes play out in the digital world. This research may merely scratch the surface of the complexities of avatar-based play. Nevertheless, it advances the present understanding of communication processes and settings that are increasingly relevant to everyday life.
This study is not without its limitations. One specific limitation of this study was the low reliability of the teamwork motivation subscale. The scale has demonstrated acceptable reliability in prior research (Banks & Bowman, 2016a; Yee, 2006), however it showed much weaker reliability in the current study, even with a large sample size that could otherwise buffer against less reliable surveys (Reinard, 2006). Despite the increased chance of false negatives due to Type II error, some significant relationships were present. Specifically, teamwork motivation was revealed to be a strong predictor for both ludic measures in the multiple regression models. This implies that the actual impact
46 may be much greater than what was observed here. Such implication invites further inquiry into the expression of teamwork motivation in gameplay as well as into honing the instrument used to measure this motivation with respect to its precision of measurement. Future research should revisit this instrument and seek to revise or update it with respect to precision of measurement. At a glance, two of the four items (“How important is it to you that your avatar can solo well?” and “How important is it to you to have a self-sufficient avatar?”) in the teamwork motivation subscale appear to be less direct measurements than the others (“Do you prefer playing in a group or solo?” and
“How much do you enjoy working with other players and characters in a group when you play?”). Though reverse coded for analysis, it is possible that self-sufficiency and desire to play with teammates are not mutually exclusive. Factor analysis of the teamwork motivation scale could help reveal the culprit and hone the instrument’s reliability.
Retesting this data set with a more reliable instrument may illuminate additional significant relationships between the variables tested that would have otherwise remained hidden.
This study did not account for the amount of time respondents regularly played with their avatars. Calculating ratios from ludic data attempted to accommodate for differences in the amount of time played (Yee, Ducheneaut, Yao, & Nelson, 2011).
However this variable was not directly accounted for in correlation or regression models using other self-report measures. The amount of time spent with an avatar could thus have had confounding or interfering effects on observed relationships. If the observed
Proteus effects are products of longer term cultivation, time spent is an important factor to consider. Additionally, care should be taken with the interpretation of correlational
47 results. Though this study has established significant correlations between variables, this does not necessarily confirm any causal relationships between them.
There are a number of directions to pursue future research in this area of study.
This study established that both appearance cues and PAX dimensions can impact gameplay. The next step in this specific vein of research is to test for mediating effects.
Do players’ differing PAX experiences change how strongly they respond to appearance cues of their avatars? Methodologically, the use of game-generated data remains largely untapped by communication researchers (Ducheneaut & Yee, 2013). Further research can incorporate such data in its design as a form of observation or measurement of participants separate from self-report. Comparison between numerical data and content analysis of verbal communication via text chat (e.g., Lehdonvirta, Lehdonvirta, & Baba,
2011; Lehdonvirta, Nagashima, Lehdonvirta, & Baba, 2012) can help paint a more complete picture of consistencies or discrepancies between player motivations, communicative in-game action, and verbal messages.
Other methods such as gaming interviews (Schott & Horrell, 2000) could capture rich, candid qualitative information from a player as he or she plays with, as, or alongside the avatar (Shaw, 2013). More specifically, a few respondents in this study reported their avatar’s gender as “other.” Investigating how these players create and adorn their avatars could illuminate more complex processes of communicating identity in online worlds.
While video games do allow players to experiment with identities (Banks, 2015a; Banks
& Bowman, 2016a; Gee, 2003), avatar customization commonly limits players to either a male or female avatar. This raises questions about how the Proteus effect may function for a player who has ascribed a non-binary gender identity to an avatar yet must choose a
48 binary representation in game. Focused inquiry at the individual level could document how the cultivation process unfolds as players spend more time with their avatars. This could detail and support the establishment of the large scale effects uncovered in this study.
Conclusion
This study supports the use of game-generated data in future research by presenting significant correlations between players’ prosocial and antisocial motivations for play and quantified measures of in-game actions. This research also supports modest yet significant impacts of PAX dimensions, play motivations, and appearance variables on ludic measures of play. Results also establish specific PAX dimensions and avatar appearance variables as predictors of play motivations. Online disinhibition (Suler,
2004), the magic circle (Huizinga, 1938; Salen & Zimmerman, 2003) as well as conceptual deconstruction of video games (Ducheneaut, Yee, Nickell, & Moore, 2006a;
Schell, 2015) are used as interpretive frames for specific relationships established in these findings.
The study of video games from a communication standpoint is still relatively new.
However the recent recognition of game studies by the National Communication
Association (Bowman, 2015) acknowledges the role that networked entertainment technology plays and will continue to play in communication processes for years to come. The increasing prevalence of video games as avenues for communication positions game studies as a field that is current, fruitful, and future-oriented.
49
APPENDIX
RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE
The questions in this survey will ask about your relationships with one avatar you play. Please enter the information about that avatar in the fields below. Information will be used solely to retrieve play statistics from the Armory database.
Avatar name: Avatar realm / Server region: Avatar gender: (Male / Female / Other, please specify)
What primary role does this avatar play in a group? (Tank / DPS / Healer) What secondary role does this avatar play in a group? (Tank / DPS / Healer)
PAX The following questions will ask about your thoughts and feelings toward your avatar. Please answer these questions as they relate to the avatar you specified at the beginning of this survey.
This avatar is very special to me.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I don’t really care about this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I have no emotional connection to this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
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I would be heartbroken if I lost this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I appreciate this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I love this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
This avatar has its own thoughts and ideas.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
This avatar has its own feelings.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
This avatar is autonomous and acts on its own.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
When I log out of the game, my avatar has its own life.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I pay attention to errors or contradictions in this avatar’s world.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
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It is important to check for inconsistencies in this avatar’s game.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
This avatar does what I want.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
I control this avatar.
Strongly Agree Somewhat Neither Somewhat Disagree Strongly agree agree agree nor disagree disagree disagree
Avatar Appearance The following items will ask about your avatar’s appearance. Please answer these questions as they relate to the avatar you specified at the beginning of this survey.
My avatar is… Attractive ______Unattractive
Classy ______Not classy
Beautiful ______Ugly
Elegant ______Plain
Sexy ______Not sexy
Compared to other avatars in the game, my avatar is…
Significantly Slightly About the Slightly Significantly taller taller same size shorter shorter
Comparted to other avatars in the game, my avatar is…
Significantly Slightly About the Slightly Significantly larger larger same size smaller smaller
Compared to other avatars in the game, my avatar is…
Significantly Slightly (Neutral) Slightly Significantly more imposing more imposing less imposing less imposing
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How intimidating would you rate this avatar’s physical presence?
Very Somewhat (Neutral) Somewhat Very intimidating intimidating unintimidating unintimidating
My avatar’s clothes are mostly…
Light in color Neutral in color Dark in color
Play Motivations The following items will ask about your general gameplay preferences.
How much do you enjoy helping other players and characters in game?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How much do you enjoy getting to know other players and characters in game?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How much do you enjoy chatting with other players and characters in game?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How much do you enjoy being part of a friendly, casual guild?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How often to you find yourself having meaningful conversations with other players and characters in game?
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never
How often do you talk to your online friends about your personal issues?
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never
How often have your online friends offered you support when you had a real life problem?
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never
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Do you prefer to play in a group or solo?
Strongly prefer Slightly prefer In-between Slightly prefer Strongly prefer group group solo solo
How important is it to you that your avatar can solo well?
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all important important important important important
How much do you enjoy working with other players and characters in a group when you play?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How important is it to you to have a self-sufficient avatar?
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all important important important important important
How much do you enjoy dominating/killing other players and characters in game?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How much do you enjoy doing things that annoy other players and characters in game?
A great deal A lot A moderate A little Not at all amount
How often to you purposefully provoke or irritate other players and characters in game?
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never
54
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