Bowman, N. D., Schultheiss, D., & Schumann, C. (2011, November). “I’m attached, and I’m a good guy!": How character attachment influences (pro-social and anti-social) usage motivations. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans.

Nicholas David Bowman (WVU)Nicholas David Bowman (WVU)Daniel Schultheiss (TU-Ilmenau)Daniel Schultheiss (TU-Ilmenau)

Christina Schumann (TU-Ilmenau)Christina Schumann (TU-Ilmenau)

Why I do the virtual voodoo that I do!

Background

• Character attachment– Rooted in work on

parasocial interaction and identification

– In gaming, You Are The Character; a “melding of minds”

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Background

PRO-SOCIAL GAMING• Gaming as social experience• Gaming and social capital• Extraversion and gaming

ANTI-SOCIAL GAMING• Gaming and aggression• Gamers as narcissistic• Gaming and grief play

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Research Questions

• Driving question– Are there meaningful relationships between

dimensions of character attachment and pro- and anti-social gameplay (MMO) motivations?

• Controls variables include time spent playing, game skill, demographic variables

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Method

• N = 523 participants (n = 450 played MMOs)– 83% male, avg. age 22.68 (SD = 5.05), 14-49– 62% German, 25% US– 91% at least high school degree– Avg. gameplay of 14.5 hours weekly, Median of 10– Est. total gameplay hours of 3240, Median of 600– WoW was most popular (42%, n = 189)

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Method

• Character Attachment Scale (Lewis, Weber, & Bowman, 2008)

– Identification, Suspension of Disbelief, Responsibility, and Increased Control

• PCA reduction of existing scales (Yee, 2006; 2007)

• Video game self-efficacy (Bracken & Skalski, 2006)

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Pro-Social Factors Anti-Social Factors• Seven items • Factor loadings > .600, cross

loadings < .300• Similar to Yee’s “socializing”,

“relationship”, “teamwork”• α = .82

• Five items • Factor loadings > .600, cross

loadings < .300• Similar to Yee’s “competition”

and “(personal) advancement”• α = .80

r = -.034, ns

Results

• PRO-SOCIAL – Increased sense

of control– Increased time

spent with favorite game

– Increased skill– Lower education

level

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Results

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• ANTI-SOCIAL – Increased

suspension of disbelief

– Decreased sense of responsibility

– Increased skill– Younger players– Male players

Discussion

• Character attachment has been fronted as a multidimensional way to understand the connection between one and his/her avatar

• Different types of attachment can explain self-reported pro- and anti- gaming behaviors

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Discussion

• Anti-social gamers were often:– Suspenders of disbelief– Lack of responsibility for characters– Younger– Male

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Bandura?

Discussion

• Future research should– Replicate and refine the pro-/anti-gaming

motivation metric (CFA, more dimensions, etc.)– Experimental control for causality – Extending beyond MMOs (yet acknowledging

MMOS place heavy(ier?) emphasis on character development/character attachment

– Extend beyond games (trolling, AR studies, etc.)

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Conclusion

“The relationship between individuals and their virtual interactions seems to be related to the strength of the relationship between individuals and their virtual selves.”

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Thank you!

• In progress research, so for information:Nicholas David Bowman, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Communication StudiesWest Virginia UniversityNicholas.Bowman@mail.wvu.edu@bowmanspartan

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