Reconceptualizing Physical Sex as a Continuum: Are There Sex Differences in Video Game Preference?

Abstract

With video games representing a rapidly growing media platform, recent events have highlighted conflicts surrounding gender and games. Previous research has established sex-typed cognitive advantages and game genre preference. Potential explanations of how these align have been inconclusive. Concurrently, research on sex development has suggested that binary categorizations of sex (physical sex; male or female) don’t capture the full variation of individuals and are thus inferior measures of sex. Two studies (one replication study) were conducted which use two continuous markers of physical sex (hormonal 2D:4D finger ratio, and continuous skill-based performance) to predict game preference and playing. Using both statistical effect- and equivalence tests, we present a series of p-curves and several possible interpretations based on meta-analytical cutoffs. In general, we find that binary markers of sex significantly predict game preference, while continuous markers significantly do not. These findings challenge the notion of binary sex differences and suggest a more complex relationship between physical sex and video game preferences. Implications for future research on video game playing and sex are discussed.

Acknowledgments

This paper was strengthened considerably through the diligence, patience, and invaluable feedback from four anonymous reviewers and the editors. We also wish to thank Frederic Hopp and Jacob Fisher for their valuable feedback and our undergraduate research assistants who helped collect data for these several studies over several years: Elizabeth Hong, Ryan Perry, Kristie Reed, Melanie Searles, Sarah Seese, Maddie Stoothoff, and Mable Truong.

Notes

¹ The 2017 Entertainment Software Association report does not present these exact statistics.

² The study received IRB approval on December 9, 2016.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chelsea Lonergan

Chelsea Lonergan (M.A., University of California Santa Barbara, 2016) is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. Her research interests include cognitive communication science and interactive media. Specifically, her research focuses on the relationship between cognitive sex differences, media usage, and media effects.

René Weber

René Weber (M.D., RWTH University of Aachen, 2008; Ph.D., University of Technology Berlin, 2000) is a Professor in the Department of Communication and principal researcher at UC Santa Barbara’s Media Neuroscience Lab (https://medianeuroscience.org). His research interests include cognitive responses to mass communication and new technology media messages, including video games. He has published more than 120 journal articles and book chapters and has written 3 books. He is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and past chair of ICA’s Mass Communication Division and ICA’s Communication Science and Biology Interest Group.