525
Views
15
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Online and On My Mind: Temporary and Chronic Accessibility Moderate the Influence of Media Figures

, &
Pages 210-226 | Received 08 Oct 2007, Published online: 19 May 2009
 

Abstract

To investigate the influence of media figures on self-perception, online gamers reported how central their main videogame character (avatar) is to their own identity and answered questions about their avatar's body size either before or after questions about their own body size. When the avatar was not central to the gamer's identity, the avatar's body size influenced gamer's own body judgments only when the avatar was brought to mind by preceding questions. When the avatar was central to the gamer's identity, it influenced gamers' own body judgments independent of question order. In both cases, accessible avatars elicited assimilation effects on self-judgment. We conclude that media figures exert a chronic influence on self-judgment when they are central to the self.

Notes

1. Note that the term chronic accessibility is sometimes used to refer to the baseline likelihood of a concept coming to mind, independent of context. Here, we follow its use in much of social cognition research where chronic accessibility is context sensitive and implies that the information comes to mind whenever the person thinks about an object to which it is linked in memory without requiring additional situational cues.

2. Gamers who used different sex avatars did not differ in age, reported income, the number of avatars they currently used, how long they had used their avatar, and how many hours per week they reported using their avatar, Fs < 1. They did however, report that their avatar was somewhat less central to their identity (M = 3.13) than gamers who used same-sex avatars (M = 3.64), F(1, 427) = 3.46, p < .07.

3. Eighteen participants did not report their height (N = 1), weight, (N = 5) or height and weight (N = 12). In addition to these participants, 1 did not report their body image and 3 did not report their avatar's body. Where possible, these participants were included in our analyses. Results do not change if they are excluded.

4. These results are the same regardless of whether the data are analyzed using regression or analysis of variation (ANOVA). ANOVA results are presented for ease of interpretation.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.