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Uni International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 8526226 ETHNOGRAPHY OF A VIDEO ARCADE: A STUDY OF CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR AND THE LEARNING PROCESS. Meadows, Linda Kay, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1985 © 1985 Meadows, Linda Kay All rights reserved U-M-I 300 N. ZeebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a Vcheck . mark 1. Glossy photographs or_____ pages 2. Colored illustrations, paper or______ print 3. Photographs with dark background____ 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original______ copy 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides_______ of page 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages. ✓ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements_____ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost_______ in spine 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct______ print 11. Page(s)___________lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 279 12. Page(s)_ seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 13. Two pages numbered . Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages______ 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received_________ 16. Other_____________________________________________________________________ UMI ETHNOGRAPHY OF A VIDEO ARCADE: A STUDY OF CHILDREN'S PLAY BEHAVIOR AND THE LEARNING PROCESS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School The Ohio State University By Linda K. Meadows, B.A., M.A. The Ohio State University 1985 Reading Committee D r . 0j o Arewa Approved By Dr. Suzanne Damarin Dr. Elisa Klein Dr. C. Ray Williams Dr. C . Departmfe Educational Theory and Practice Copyright by Linda K. Meadows 1985 To my dearest friend, B.J. and in memory of my mother ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have supported my pursuit of the doctoral degree. Without their encouragement my studies might not have been completed at all. Among those who have helped make it possible for me to fulfill this personal goal are the following people to whom I gratefully pay tribute. My good friend Brenda Stearns has been a sage and understanding counselor. My colleague and friend Mac Woody gave me thoughtful suggestions and was a wonderful resource. One of the kindest and most sensitive people to whom so many graduates are beholding is Nancy Graham, who solves all problems and lends a warm, very human dimension to the program. I am indebted to my rapier - witted friend Jim Finkelstein without whom my course of study would not have been initiated. Many thanks are due the participants in the study and Aladdin's Castle for their cooperation. My precocious informant, Dave, was an invaluable aid. My family has always been a positive and stabilizing influence in my life. Thanks Dad, Tuff, Darrell, and Mike. I am especially grateful to my dissertation committee: Ojo Arewa, whose genius and humanness formed the foundation of my work; Suzanne Damarin, whose keen intellect sharpened my outlook; Elisa Klein, whose brillance in interpreting Piaget enlightened my observations; and Ray Williams, my iconoclastic advisor and humanistic scholar, whose balance of affect and intellect shaped my world view and served as a model of academic excellence. I can't thank Betty and Lynn enough for helping me produce this document. They're word processing magicians. There are so many others who sustained me - all my wonderful friends and associates. Some of them have no way of knowing how they touched my life. I pay homage to them all. iv VITA Linda K. Meadows 1509 Westminster Drive Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221 Education: BA, Marshall University MA, The Ohio State University Employment History: 1985-Present Deputy Director for Development The Ohio State University, Research Foundation 1980-1985 Associate Director for Development The Ohio State University Research Foundation 1975-1980 Assistant Director for Development The Ohio State University Research Foundation 1974-1975 Staff Associate, The Ohio State University, Research Foundation 1972-1974 Information Specialist, The Ohio State University, Research Foundation 1971-1972 Copywriter, E& E Insurance, Columbus, Ohio 1969-1971 Statistician, Wholesale Tours, New York, New York 1968-1969 Spanish and English Teacher Huntington, W. Va. Fields of Study: Early Childhood Cognitive Development Second Language Acquisition Qualitative Research Methodology Policy Studies in Educational Research v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................. iv VITA . vi LIST OF CHARTS ............................................. ix LIST OF T A B L E S .............................................. x SUMMARY ..................................................... xi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 Problem Statement ............................ 3 Significance ................................ 7 Limitations ................................... 7 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................. 9 Learning and P l a y ...............................9 Video Games .................................... 18 The Metaphysical Computer ................... 28 Videogames, Television and Violence ......... 32 Sexism in Videogames ........................ 38 Video Game Design ..............................41 Educational Attributes of Video Games .... 53 III. METHODOLOGY...................................... 69 Naturalistic Inquiry ........................ 69 Research Design .............................. 72 Participant/Observation . • ...................77 Schedule of Observation ...................... 83 Data Analysis .................................. 85 M a p ............................................. 92 IV. RESULTS ...........................................93 How Children Learn the G a m e s .................94 One Player Versus Two Player ................109 Why Children Like the G a m e s ..................112 V i o l e n c e ..................................... 127 Gender Differences .......................... 150 Game Preferences .............................158 Arcade Games and Home G a m e s ..................177 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) P a r e n t s ........................................ 179 Attendants...................................... 187 Rules of P l a y ............... 192 The Corporate Arcade........................... 198 Demographics ................................ 202 V. CONCLUSION ...................................... 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................... 228 APPENDICES A. Game Descriptions.......................... 238 B. Questionnaire.............................. 276 C. Complete Survey Response Tables ......... 286 vii LIST OF CHARTS 1. Schedule of Observation................................ 83 2. Domain Analysis ......................................... 85 3. Rule Summary .......................................... 195 4. Game Classification Sc h e m e ............................ 239 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Survey Question Number 38 How Do You Learn Arcade Video Games? ............ 99 2. Survey Question Number 51 When Someone's Playing Your Favorite Video Game What Do You D o ? .................... 107 3. Survey Question Number 56 What Do You Do When You See A New Game? . .109 4. Survey Question Number 37 Preference for Playing Alone or With Another P e r s o n .......................... 112 5. Survey Question Number 31 Reasons