Exploring online and gaming communities through community psychology Item Type Dissertation Authors Steltenpohl, Crystal N. Download date 28/09/2021 06:47:28 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12419/448 Exploring online and gaming communities through community psychology A Dissertation Presented in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Community Psychology By Crystal N. Steltenpohl, MA November 2017 Department of Psychology College of Science and Health DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Dissertation Committee Dr. Christopher B. Keys, chair Dr. Bernadette Sánchez Dr. Leonard Jason Dr. Michael Blight Dr. Paul Booth Acknowledgements I would like to thank my dissertation chair and advisor, Dr. Christopher Keys, for his support and guidance throughout various highs and lows, both personally and professionally. I would also like to thank friends and members of the fighting game community who completed our online survey, shared the survey with others, and continued to give feedback on our findings. Thank you to my dissertation committee members—Drs. Bernadette Sánchez, Leonard Jason, Michael Blight, and Paul Booth—for their patience and wisdom. I am deeply indebted to the love and support of my fiancé, Ryan Young; my parents, Anja and Glen Steltenpohl; my grandmothers Rosie Albach and Mary Steltenpohl; my future family-in law, Joni, Larry, and Emma Young, Joey Thomas, and Glenn Clifton; and my mentors and friends, Drs. Amie McKibban, Julie Evey, Kimberly Quinn, Pablo Gomez, Garret Merriam, Mary Lyn Stoll, Michael Kearns, Sunny Hawkins, and Dane Partridge. Last but certainly not least, a tremendous thank you to the psychology department staff, who were instrumental in my attempts to navigate various administrative systems. Thank you for supporting me in my career pursuits and providing opportunities to explore a variety of perspectives. Biography Crystal N. Steltenpohl was born in Gieβen, Germany. Growing up with her German mother and father in the U.S. Army, she had the pleasure of spending her childhood in Germany, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, and the Netherlands, and visiting many more countries. She graduated from AFNORTH International School in Brunssum, the Netherlands, in 2007. Crystal graduated magna cum laude and as a University Honors Scholar with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and English in 2011 from the University of Southern Indiana. She then earned a Master of Arts in applied psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2011. Crystal has accepted a tenure-track position in the psychology department at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana, where she began working in August 2017. Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Exploring online and gaming communities through community psychology ................................ 2 Community Psychology and the Internet .................................................................................... 2 Gaming as a Growing Interest-Based Community ..................................................................... 3 The Fighting Game Community ................................................................................................. 6 Community Meaning-Making ..................................................................................................... 7 A Natural Tension ....................................................................................................................... 8 This Dissertation ......................................................................................................................... 9 Paper 1 .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 39 References ................................................................................................................................. 52 Paper 2 .......................................................................................................................................... 71 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 77 Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 80 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 81 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 90 References ................................................................................................................................. 98 Paper 3 ........................................................................................................................................ 109 ii Method .................................................................................................................................... 113 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 114 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 115 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 121 References ............................................................................................................................... 126 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 133 References ............................................................................................................................... 142 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 145 iii List of Tables Table 1. Articles Included in Review............................................................................................xx Table 2. Demographic Information on FGC Members.................................................................xx Table 3. Demographic Information on FGC Members.................................................................xx iv List of Figures Figure 1. Number of Articles on Online Communities Published in Community Psychology Journals..................................................................................................xx Figure 2. FGC Members’ Perceptions of Mis/Understanding of the FGC....................................xx Running head: ONLINE AND GAMING COMMUNITIES 1 Abstract Through three manuscripts, this dissertation explores the potential for understanding online and hybrid gaming communities through a community psychology perspective. The first manuscript reviews literature on online communities in major community psychology journals. Historically, community psychologists have focused on community building and maintenance, community support, communication norms, and advocacy. There are opportunities, however, to explore other topics relevant to community psychologists’ interests and collaborate with researchers in other fields. The second manuscript reports the findings of a mixed-methods survey of 496 fighting game community (FGC) members. It explores FGC members’ metastereotypes, explanations for why certain portrayals of the community exist, and their effects on the FGC. Generally, FGC members believe inaccurate stereotypes about the FGC specifically and the gaming community more generally exist, due in part to a lack of understanding and/or ulterior motives. Negative portrayals of the community are largely seen as harmful to the community. This study emphasizes understanding how communities believe others see them and how that can affect community dynamics. The final qualitative manuscript examines perspectives of the social identity of people who play games, emphasizing the importance of understanding the “gamer” identity through more than unidimensional measures like gaming habits. The variance in identity centrality, required behaviors, player motivations, and perceptions about the label highlight the complexity of the “gamer” identity label. Taken together, these manuscripts offer a rationale for and exemplars of studying online and hybrid gaming communities through a community psychology perspective. They also argue for an increased attention to opportunities for interdisciplinary work.