Digiplay Initiative

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

Researchers interested in the associations of gender with spatial experience and spatial ability have not yet focused on several activities that have become common in the modern digital age. In this study, using a new questionnaire called the Survey of Spatial Representation and Activities (SSRA), we examined spatial experiences with computers and videogames in a sample of nearly 1,300 undergraduate students. Large gender differences, which favored men, were found in computer experience. Although men and women also differed on SAT scores, gender differences in computer experience were still apparent with SAT factored out. Furthermore, men and women with high and low levels of computer experience, who were selected for more intensive study, were found to differ significantly on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). Path analyses showed that computer experience substantially mediates the gender difference in spatial ability observed on the MRT. These results collectively suggest that the "Digital Divide" is an important phenomenon and that encouraging women and girls to gain spatial experiences, such as computer usage, might help to bridge the gap in spatial ability between the sexes.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

The study investigates the relationship between empathy and attitudes towards violence and real-life exposure to violent films and computer games. It is hypothesised that low empathy and attitudes that predispose people towards violence are more strongly related to exposure to violent films and computer games than to superordinate personality traits (e.g., EPQ psychoticism, extraversion, antisocial personality traits), or subtraits, such as sensation-seeking. Four hundred and thirty-three students in further education completed three personality questionnaires, a questionnaire of attitudes towards violence, and reported on their use of violent computer games, films and videos. Multivariate analyses in the form of ordinary least squares (OLS) models were used to test the primary hypotheses. Acceptance of violence, as measured by the Maudsley Violence Questionnaire (MVQ), was the strongest and most consistent predictor of violent media use. Superordinate personality traits were generally fully mediated by acceptance of violence. The findings emphasise the importance of general acceptance of violence in the consumption of violent games and films. Some gender differences emerged; particularly in relation to the use of violent computer games. Empathy had no significant effects for either males or females.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

This study examined how computer-game preference relates to mental-rotation test (MRT) performance and to gender differences. Subjects were 861 German secondary-school children (mean age = 14.67; range 10-20 years). Latent class analysis with the data of a computer-game preference scale revealed three types of players: "non-players", "action-and-simulation game players" and "logic-and-skill-training game players". Large gender differences were found with respect to class assignment. More females than males were found in the "logic-and-skill-training game player" class (82.9%) and in the class of "non-players" (81.9%). Males in contrast were overrepresented (81.7%) in the class of "action-and-simulation game players". As expected, males on average outperformed females in mental-rotation test performance (d = 0.63). Furthermore, ANOVA results indicated mean differences in mental-rotation ability between action-and-simulation players and non-players (partial eta(2) = .01) as well as age differences (partial eta(2) =.04). With boys, non-players on average had lower MRT scores than action-and-simulation game players. For females, computer-game preference was unrelated to MRT performance. Results are discussed within a nature-nurture-interactionist framework of gender differences in spatial abilities.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

Purpose: To determine what kind of violence-related behavior or opinion is directly related to excessive media use among adolescents in Switzerland. Methods: A national representative sample of 4222 schoolchildren (7th- and 8th-graders; mean age 13.9 years) answered questions on the frequency of television-viewing, electronic game-playing, feeling unsafe at school, bullying others, hitting others, and fighting with others, as part of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international collaborative study protocol. The Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to high-risk groups of adolescents. Results: For the total sample, all bivariate relationships between television-viewing/electronic game-playing and each violence-related variable are significant. In the multivariate comparison, physical violence among boys ceases to be significant. For girls, only television-viewing is linked to indirect violence. Against the hypothesis, females' electronic game-playing only had a bearing on hitting others. Conclusions: Experimental designs are needed that take into account gender, different forms of media, and violence to answer the question of whether excessive media use leads to violent behavior. With the exception of excessive electronic game-playing among girls, this study found that electronic media are not thought to lead directly to real-life violence but to hostility and indirect violence.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

An exploratory survey was undertaken about the appeal of playing video games at a Local Area Network (LAN) event where personal computers are linked in order to play both face-to-face and online. First, we wanted to know who the visitors of a LAN event were, because there is hardly any research available about this class of gamers. Second, we wanted to know why they participated in a LAN event. The survey showed that LAN gamers were almost exclusively male, with a mean age of 19.5 years. They devoted about 2.6 hours each day to gaming. They were motivated by social contact and a need to know more about games. The competition motive was third in the total sample. A subgroup of heavy gamers obtained a higher score on competition. This article emphasizes the importance of the social context of gaming and interprets its results as a nuance of the stereotype of the solitary, adolescent gamer.