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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Brock University Digital Repository Players and Avatars: The Connections between Player Personality, Avatar Personality, and Behavior in Video Games By Narnia Worth A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Department of Psychology BROCK UNIVERSITTY St. Catharines, Ontario June 2015 © Narnia C. Worth, 2015 Abstract The increasing variety and complexity of video games allows players to choose how to behave and represent themselves within these virtual environments. The focus of this dissertation was to examine the connections between the personality traits (specifically, HEXACO traits and psychopathic traits) of video game players and player-created and controlled game-characters (i.e., avatars), and the link between traits and behavior in video games. In Study 1 ( n = 198), the connections between player personality traits and behavior in a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (World of Warcraft) were examined. Six behavior components were found (i.e., Player-versus-Player, Social Player-versus-Environment, Working, Helping, Immersion, and Core Content), and each was related to relevant personality traits. For example, Player-versus-Player behaviors were negatively related to Honesty-Humility and positively related to psychopathic traits, and Immersion behaviors (i.e., exploring, role-playing) were positively related to Openness to Experience. In Study 2 ( n = 219), the connections between player personality traits and in-game behavior in video games were examined in university students. Four behavior components were found (i.e., Aggressing, Winning, Creating, and Helping), and each was related to at least one personality trait. For example, Aggressing was negatively related to Honesty-Humility and positively related to psychopathic traits. In Study 3 ( n = 90), the connections between player personality traits and avatar personality traits were examined in World of Warcraft. Positive player-avatar correlations were observed for all personality traits except Extraversion. Significant mean differences between players and avatars were observed for all traits except Conscientiousness; avatars had higher mean scores on Extraversion and psychopathic traits, but lower mean scores on the remaining traits. In Study 4, the connections between i player personality traits, avatar traits, and observed behaviors in a life-simulation video game (The Sims 3) were examined in university students ( n = 93). Participants created two avatars and used these avatars to play The Sims 3. Results showed that the selection of certain avatar traits was related to relevant player personality traits (e.g., participants who chose the Friendly avatar trait were higher in Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, and Agreeableness, and lower in psychopathic traits). Selection of certain character- interaction behaviors was related to relevant player personality traits (e.g., participants with higher levels of psychopathic traits used more Mean and fewer Friendly interactions). Together, the results of the four studies suggest that individuals generally behave and represent themselves in video games in ways that are consistent with their real-world tendencies. Keywords: personality, video games, avatars, psychopathy, aggression. ii Acknowledgements I am grateful to many people for their support throughout my PhD. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Angela Book, for her patience and support. I am very grateful to her for letting me run with the topic of my choosing and for having confidence in my abilities. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Carolyn Hafer, Dr. Teena Willoughby, and Dr. Nancy DeCourville, who have been very helpful in providing expertise, feedback, and advice. I also thank Dr. Gordon Hodson, Dr. Kathy Belicki, Dr. Tanya Martini, and Dr. Stan Sadava, for their encouragement. I would especially like to thank my friends and family for supporting and encouraging me throughout my graduate career. I am so thankful to my extended family, my parents-in-law, my sister-in-law and her family, and most particularly, to my dear parents and my brother and his family. You have all been so helpful and understanding, and I appreciate your interest in my work. Last, and most importantly, I would like to thank Mike and Nathan. Nathan, thank you for being a sweetheart and an inspiration. Mike, thank you for being interested in my correlation matrices and for listening to me talk about video games. Your unfailing patience, consideration, advice, and support have meant so much to me. Thanks for surviving this with me! iii Table of Contents Page CHAPTER 1: General Introduction 1 Overview 1 Personality 3 HEXACO Model of Personality 4 Psychopathy 6 Video Games 9 Avatars 12 Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games 14 Online Virtual Worlds and Life-Simulation Games 16 Previous Research 17 Player Personality and Behavior in Video Games 18 Player Personality and Avatar Characteristics 21 Content of this Dissertation 23 References 26 CHAPTER 2: Study 1 35 Introduction 35 Personality and Behavior in Online Game 37 Personality Traits 42 Methods 44 Participants 44 Measures 45 Procedure 47 Results 47 Principal Components Analysis of the In-Game Behavior Questionnaire 47 Descriptive Statistics 51 Correlational Analyses 51 Multiple Regression Analysis 53 Discussion 55 Player-versus-Player 55 Social Player-versus-Environment 57 Working 58 Helping 58 Immersion 59 Core Content 60 Conclusions and Directions for Future Research 60 References 63 CHAPTER 3: Study 2 66 Introduction 66 Video Games 66 Personality and Behavior in an Online Video Game 69 iv Personality and Behavior in Other Video Games 70 The Current Study 72 Methods 74 Participants 74 Measures 75 Procedure 77 Results 78 Principal Components Analysis of the Video Game Behavior Questionnaire 78 Sample Characteristics and Data Management 80 Correlational Analyses 81 Discussion 86 Aggressing 86 Winning 88 Creating 89 Helping 89 Limitations and Conclusions 90 References 93 CHAPTER 4: Study 3 97 Introduction 97 Avatars 97 Players and Avatars: Previous Research 98 Player-Avatar Similarity 102 Personality and Behavior in Video Games 105 The Current Study 106 Methods 109 Participants 109 Measures 110 Procedure 112 Results 113 Descriptive Statistics 113 Sample Characteristics 116 Principal Components Analysis of the Avatar Connection Scale 117 Similarity between Player and Avatar 120 Identification and Attachment 123 Avatar Personality and In-Game Behavior 125 Discussion 125 Player and Avatar Personality 125 Identification and Attachment 128 Avatar Personality and In-Game Behavior 130 Limitations and Conclusions 131 References 133 CHAPTER 5: Study 4 138 Introduction 138 v Player Personality and In-Game Behavior 140 Player and Avatar Personality Similarity 141 Connection with the Avatar: Identification and Attachment 144 Personality 146 Research Questions 148 Methods 151 Participants 151 Measures 151 Procedure 155 Results 156 Descriptive Statistics 156 Connection with Self-Character 158 Player and Avatar Personality Traits 161 Personality and In-Game Behaviors 166 Discussion 168 Player and Avatar Personality Traits 169 Player Personality and In-Game Behaviors 171 Connections between Players and Avatars 172 Limitations and Conclusions 173 References 176 CHAPTER 6: General Discussion 180 Player Personality and Behavior in Video Games 180 Player Personality and Avatar Personality 187 Connections with Personality Research 190 Connections with Video Game Research 192 Limitations and Future Research 194 Conclusions 196 References 199 APPENDICES 203 vi List of Tables Page Table 2-1 In-Game Behavior Questionnaire Component Names and Items 48 Table 2-2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 50 for In-Game Behavior and Personality Scales Table 2-3 Correlations between HEXACO Personality Scales, SRP-III 52 Scales, and In-Game Behavior Scales Table 2-4 Standard Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting In-Game 54 Behavior Scales from HEXACO Personality Traits Table 3-1 General Video Game Behavior Scale Component Names and Items 79 Table 3-2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 82 for General Video Game Behavior Scales, Online Frequency, and Personality Scales Table 3-3 Zero-order Correlations and Partial Correlations (Controlling for 83 Participant Sex) between Video Game Behavior Scales, HEXACO Personality Scales, and SRP-III Scales Table 4-1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 115 for Player Personality, Identification, and Attachment, Avatar Personality, and In-Game Behavior Table 4-2 Univariate Results for MANOVA for Group (Group 1: Did Not 118 Complete Avatar HEXACO (n = 126) vs. Group 2: Completed Avatar HEXACO (n = 72)) on Player HEXACO Traits Table 4-3 Avatar Connection Scale Component Names and Items 119 Table 4-4 Correlations between Player HEXACO and Avatar HEXACO 121 Scales, Identification, and Attachment (n = 71) Table 4-5 Correlations between Player SRP-III and Avatar SRP-III Scales, 121 Identification, and Attachment (n = 70) Table 4-6 Univariate Results for MANOVAs Comparing Player and Avatar 122 HEXACO and SRP-III Scores Table 5-1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 157 for Player Personality Traits, Self-Character Connection Variables, and Game Enjoyment vii Table 5-2 Avatar Connection Scale Component Names and Items 159 Table 5-3 Number of Participants Selecting
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