Gaming roles versus gender roles in online gameplay

ABSTRACT

The research presented here examines gender roles and differential experiences of men and women associated with gaming, a multi-billion-dollar industry (Entertainment Software Association, 2016). Using social role theory (Eagly, 1987) and role congruity theory (Diekman & Eagly, 2008) as theoretical frameworks, it is proposed that attitudes and beliefs related to traditional gender roles account for differences in the way that games are played and experienced by women compared to men. World of Warcraft (WoW), one of the most popular, best-selling computer games (Entertainment Software Association, 2016), was chosen to investigate gender roles in gaming. Using controlled observations of actual WoW gameplay, the current study (N = 229 observations) examined the amount of negative feedback player characters received from other online players based on the character’s gender and role type. Findings indicated that female characters playing in masculine roles did not receive more negative feedback than comparable male characters in masculine roles, counter to role congruity theory. However, female characters in feminine roles received significantly less negative feedback than female characters in masculine roles. Together, these results suggest that stereotypical gender roles have an impact on gameplay and future research needs to examine the explanatory factors behind this.

KEYWORDS:

• gender roles
• gaming roles
• online gaming
• video games
• World of Warcraft
• women in gaming

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of the first author’s dissertation at the University of Alabama. The authors would like to thank the undergraduate students McKenna McCracken, Amal Khan, and Joseph Welty for all of their help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelsey C. Chappetta

Kelsey Chappetta, PhD, is a Research Associate at the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Alabama. Her research interests include gaming, computer mediated communication, online dating, and gender stereotypes.

Joan M. Barth

Joan Barth, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Alabama. She has research interests in gender roles and gender stereotypes and their impact on children’s and adults’ career interests.