AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Laura Kane for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Design and the Human Environment presented on March 10, 2017. Title: Why cosplay? Motivations behind participation and use of social media among cosplayers who maintain Facebook Artist Pages. Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Brigitte Gaal Cluver The purpose of this study was to explore motivations behind participation in cosplay and the use of social media among cosplayers who maintain Facebook Artist Pages. Further focus was placed on investigating the role of Facebook Artist Pages in building fame. To explore such motivations, two theories were referenced: Deci and Ryan’s (2000) Self- Determination Theory, which addresses motivations associated with needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence, and Gountas et al’s (2012) Desire for Fame theory and scale, which addresses the motivation of one’s desire for fame. Part 1 of the study consisted of a content analysis of 155 cosplay Facebook Artist pages. Part 2 of the study consisted of an Aspirations Index and Desire for Cosplay Fame online survey, as well as - semi-structured interview completed by 20 cosplayers who maintain Facebook Artist Pages. Results suggest that cosplayers with Facebook Artist Pages choose to participate in cosplay because of the creative challenge of making a costume (competence), to build new skills (competence), as a bonding activity (relatedness), to be able to don the persona of another character (autonomy), to express their fandom (relatedness), and to receive positive feedback on something they create (competence). Using social media allows cosplayers to share their work (competence), interact with other fans (relatedness), keep up to date on the work of other cosplayers (relatedness), make friends (relatedness), and promote themselves (relatedness and competence). Only two participants indicated they wish to be famous cosplayers, while most others expressed that becoming a famous cosplayer required too much extra time, effort, and money to make it worthwhile. ©Copyright by Laura Kane March 10, 2017 All Rights Reserved Why cosplay? Motivations behind participation and use of social media among cosplayers who maintain Facebook Artist Pages. by Laura Kane A DISSERTATION submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Presented March 10, 2017 Commencement June 2017 Doctor of Philosophy dissertation of Laura Kane presented on March 10, 2017 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Design and Human Environment Associate Dean of the School Design and Human Environment Department Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my dissertation will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my dissertation to any reader upon request. Laura Kane, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Brigitte Cluver, for her endless patience, enthusiasm, and support throughout the years it took to complete this work. You have pushed me to become a better writer, researcher, teacher, and person. I would also like to thank Dr. Leslie Burns, Dr. William Loges, Dr. Kathy Mullet, Dr. Elaine Pedersen, and Dr. Hsiou-Lien Chen for their support, mentorship, and encouragement both in and out of the classroom. Special thanks to Dr. Casey Stannard, Dr. Kelly Reddy-Best, and Dr. Kristen Morris for being the best colleagues and friends a girl could ask for. Your support and friendship has kept me going in the toughest of times. You are all an inspiration to me. I’d like to thank my students at Mount Mary University for their enthusiasm, excitement, and inspiration to make coming to work every day a joy. Thank you to all the cosplayers I have met throughout the years and for inspiring me to complete this project. A huge thank you to my family for pushing me to fulfill my passions and dreams. Finally, endless thanks to my husband, Henry Trimbach, for being my rock. Without you I would not be where I am today. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Chapter One-Introduction….…………………………………………. 1 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………. 1 1.2 Statement of Purpose………………………………………... 4 1.3 Research Questions…………………………………………. 4 1.4 Disclosure……………………………………………………... 4 1.5 Assumptions and Limitations……………………………….. 5 1.6 Significance…………………………………………………… 8 1.7 Definition of Terms…………………………………………… 10 2. Chapter Two-Review of Literature…………………………………… 13 2.1 Motivational Theory………………………………………….. 13 2.2 Fandom………………………………………………………... 21 2.3 Fame…………………………………………………………... 39 2.4 Online Social Media………………………………………….. 52 2.5 Cosplay, Fame, and Social Media………………………….. 68 3. Chapter Three-Methods………………………………………………. 69 3.1 Research Procedures………………………………………... 69 4. Chapter Four-Results…………………………………………………. 90 4.1 Content Analysis……………………………………………… 90 4.2 Comparison of Participants in Part 2 to Content Analysis.. 93 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 4.3 Aspirations Index, Desire for Cosplay Fame Scale, and 95 Interview……………………………………………………………. 4.4 Research Question 1: What motivates cosplayers that 111 maintain Facebook Artist Pages to participate in cosplay as they do?.................................................................................... 4.5 Research Question 2: To what do cosplayers that 122 maintain Facebook Artist Pages attribute the level of fame they have achieved thus far?.................................................... 4.6 Research Question 3: How do cosplayers that maintain 140 Facebook Artist Pages believe social media can be used to develop and maintain cosplayer fame?.................................... 4.7 Research Question 4: How and why do cosplayers that 150 maintain Facebook Artist Pages use their Facebook Artist Page?....................................................................................... 5. Chapter Five-Discussion……………………………………………… 157 5.1 What motivates cosplayers that maintain Facebook Artist 159 Pages to participate in cosplay as they do?............................. 5.2 Participating in cosplay and the fulfillment of basic 160 psychological human needs…………………………………… 5.3 Fame and the Fulfillment of Basic Human Needs………… 179 5.4 How and why do cosplayers that maintain Facebook 200 Artist Pages use their Facebook Artist Page?.......................... 5.5 Gender Differences…………………………………………... 207 5.6 Comparisons to other studies……………………………….. 207 5.7 Implications for further study………………………………... 209 5.8 Limitations of the study………………………………………. 212 5.9 Conclusion…………………………………………………….. 215 6. References……………………………………………………………... 217 LIST OF APPENDICES Page APPENDIX ……………………………………………………………... 233 7.1 Appendix One: IRB Approval Notice: Part 1 of Study……. 234 7.2 Appendix Two: IRB Approval Notice: Part 2 of Study……. 236 7.3 Appendix Three: IRB Approved Recruitment Message….. 238 7.4 Appendix Four: IRB Approved Online Consent Guide for Survey……………………………………………………………… 239 7.5 Appendix Five: IRB Approved Verbal Consent Guide for Interview…………………………………………………………… 241 7.6 Appendix Six: IRB Approved Aspirations Index and Desire for Fame Scale……………………………………………. 243 7.7 Appendix Seven: IRB Approved Interview Guide………… 261 7.8 Appendix Eight: Content Analysis Codebook and Results. 264 7.9 Appendix Nine: Descriptions of Interview Participants…… 269 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Total number of likes by user………………………………………….. 91 2. Interview participants versus content analysis data………………… 93 3. Content analysis data of part 2 participants…………………………. 95 4. One day I would like to cosplay famous……………………………… 108 5. I love the idea of being a famous cosplayer…………………………. 109 6. The lifestyle of a famous cosplayer appeals to me a lot……………. 110 7. The lifestyle of a famous cosplayer appeals to me a lot (repeated)……………………………………………………………… 183 8. If I were a famous cosplayer I would be happier……………………. 184 9. I would like to be a famous cosplayer because I would have a higher social status…………………………………………………… 188 10. I would like to be a famous cosplayer because people would perceive me as having more power and influence………………….. 198 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Percentage of Yes answers in Content Analysis………………………... 96 2. Results of the Aspirations Index…………………………………………... 102 3. Results of the Desire for Cosplay Fame Scale………………………….. 101 1 Chapter One Introduction In the summer of 2016 over 100,000 people gathered together at the Anaheim Convention center for the annual Anime Expo convention, a three day celebration of all things anime, manga, and Japanese culture (Delahanty, 2017). Many attendees were dressed as characters from their favorite shows, video games, and comic books. This activity is called cosplay, “a portmanteau word that combines both elements ‘costume’ and ‘play’ together. While ‘play’ represents that it is one sort of performing activity, ‘costume’ implies that people need particular outfits and accessories to be a specific character” (Wang, 2010, p. 18). Cosplayers choose their characters from a multitude of sources, including Hollywood movies, Japanese animation, video games, comic books, and television shows (Lotecki, 2012). Fans who participate in cosplaying often make their own costumes or purchase ready-made costumes of their favorite characters and “perform” as the characters at conventions and meet ups. In addition, some post photos online of themselves in costume (Okabe, 2012). Conventions such as Anime Expo and DragonCon “offer entertainment, contests, celebrity