The Predictors and Consequences of Prejudice in Online Video Games

More than half of the people in North America play video games, and most play often. Despite their popularity, video games are controversial and have been heavily criticized for fostering toxic environments in which racism, sexism, and heterosexism occur frequently. In a series of four studies I explore several possible explanations for why prejudice is more common in video games than in other contexts and what effect prejudice in this environment has on gamers. In Study 1, I test if people perceive online gaming differently from face-to-face interactions. In Study 2, I develop a more nuanced understanding of peopleâ s perceptions of video games by testing whether different genres of games are perceived differently (e.g., puzzle games versus role-playing games). In Studies 1 and 2, I establish that people perceive video games as more prejudiced environments than face-to-face interactions, with action and role-playing games being seen particularly negatively. In Study 3, I explore what might account for why prejudiced behaviour seems to be common in video games. I explore the role of norms and of individual differences in a structural equation model predicting bigoted behaviour. Both norms (how often other gamers make bigoted comments) and individual differences (Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, Empathy and Internal Motivation to Respond without Prejudice) predict self-reported prejudiced behaviour. Study 3 emphasizes the importance of taking a multifaceted approach to understanding prejudiced behaviour. Finally, in my fourth study, I explore the consequences of prejudice in online gaming. Using a daily diary study I found that female gamers experience more bigoted comments than male gamers and are more strongly affected than are male gamers. These four studies provide an introduction to the online gaming environment and lay a foundation for future work to reduce prejudice in online gaming.Ph.D