Relationship Between Personality and Video Game
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND VIDEO GAME PREFERENCES A Thesis Presented to the faculty of the Department of Psychology California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Psychology (Counseling Psychology) by Joseph B. Borders SUMMER 2012 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND VIDEO GAME PREFERENCES A Thesis by Joseph B. Borders Approved by: , Committee Chair Dr. Lee Berrigan , Second Reader Dr. Lawrence Meyers , Third Reader Dr. Marya Endriga Date ii Student: Joseph B. Borders I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. , Graduate Coordinator Dr. JianJian Qin Date Department of Psychology iii Abstract of RELATIONSHIP BETEEN PERSONALITY AND PREFERENCES IN VIDEO GAME PLAY by Joseph B. Borders Video games are a popular form of media that are enjoyed by individuals with a wide range of ages. However, to date there has been very little research conducted examining the relationship between personality and preferences for different types of video games. The majority of studies have focused on preferences for violent or prosocial games and have failed to demonstrate empirically distinct video game types. The current study examined the relationships between several personality traits as measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory and the California Psychological Inventory and preferences for different types of video games as measured by a modified version of Zammitto’s (2010) Gaming Preferences Questionnaire. Principal components analysis yielded three types of video games that were found to be related to sex and a narrow set of personality traits. , Committee Chair Dr. Lee Berrigan Date iv DEDICATION To Pat Floyd, my mother, for saving me. There was a time when I knew I wouldn’t amount to anything in life. Thank you for giving me the foundation that enabled me to reach for the stars and become the person I am today. Orin Borders, my father, for creating in me an appreciation of education and psychotherapy. Chloe Borders, my sister, who gives me hope for the future and provided positive reinforcement to help me work on completing this thesis. My wife, Angela Mae Borders, who encourages me daily with her strength and bravery. This thesis is for her and the dreams we will pursue together now that I am done with school. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to my thesis chair, Dr. Lee Berrigan, without whom this thesis would have been significantly less substantive and detailed. His enthusiasm and weekly guidance enabled me to complete this thesis in a timely manner and for that I am thankful. I am also grateful to Dr. Lawrence Meyers who guided me in the data analysis of this study. Throughout construction of the results and discussion section of this thesis, Dr. Meyers was constantly available to elucidate statistical concepts that were confusing to me. I would also like to thank Dr. Marya Endriga for being my third reader, and for providing words of support and encouragement. Also, many thanks to my friend E Ting Lee who gave me a lot of encouragement and assistance with the statistics involved in this study. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication ............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 Children and Adolescents ....................................................................................... 2 Differences between the Sexes ................................................................................2 Violent Video Games ...............................................................................................4 Positive Effects of Video Game Play ......................................................................5 Classification of Video Game Types .......................................................................7 Personality and Video Game Preferences .............................................................16 The Affect-Dependent Theory of Stimulus Arrangement .....................................19 Measures of Personality .........................................................................................20 The Five-Factor Model of Personality .......................................................21 The California Psychological Inventory ....................................................26 The Present Study .................................................................................................31 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................34 2. METHOD ....................................................................................................................36 Participants ............................................................................................................36 Materials ................................................................................................................36 vii Procedure ...............................................................................................................42 3. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................44 Invalid Packet Exclusion........................................................................................44 Preliminary Data Analysis ....................................................................................44 Principal Components Analysis ............................................................................49 Canonical Correlations...........................................................................................63 Analysis of Variance .............................................................................................67 Differences between the Sexes .............................................................................72 Relationships Not Addressed by the Study Hypotheses .......................................80 4. DISCUSSION ...............................................................................................................86 Hypothesis One .....................................................................................................86 Hypothesis Two......................................................................................................90 Hypothesis Three ..................................................................................................93 Relationships Not Addressed by the Study Hypotheses .......................................96 Limitations and Implications of this Research.......................................................98 Appendix A. Descriptions of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Ratings .......................................................................................................102 Appendix B. Demographic Sheet ...................................................................................103 Appendix C. Gaming Preferences Questionnaire ...........................................................104 Appendix D. Gaming Patterns Questionnaire .................................................................107 Appendix E. Consent Form............................................................................................. 110 viii Appendix F. Debriefing.................................................................................................... 111 References ........................................................................................................................ 113 ix LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Ethnicity of Participants .........................................................................................45 2. Reported Frequency of Video Game Play .............................................................46 3. Age When First Played Video Games ....................................................................46 4. Genres of Reported Top 3 Favorite Games ............................................................48 5. Variance Accounted for by the Eight Factor Solution Yielded by Principal Components Analysis of the 52 items From the Gaming Preferences Questionnaire with a Promax Rotation ..................................................................50 6. Correlations of the Eight Components Yielded by Principal Components Analysis of the 52 Items from the Gaming Preferences Questionnaire with a Promax Rotation.....................................................................................................51 7. Structure Coefficients Based on Principle Components Analysis with a Promax Rotation for the 52 Items from the Video Game Preferences Questionnaire .........52 8. Reliability and Descriptive Statistics for the Eight Video Game Preference Scales Resulting from a Principal Components Analysis of the 52 Items from the Gaming Preferences Questionnaire ..................................................................57 9. Variance Accounted