LEVEL UP: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF SEXUALIZED VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS

Characters in video games, especially female characters, are often designed or depicted to be sexually attractive. These characters are sexualized by exaggerated body proportions, revealing clothing, and behavior. There are a variety of methods by which players could be impacted by these sexualized characters, including the mere exposure effect, Proteus effect, and avatar identification. The increase of video game usage and sales in recent years, specifically among the COVID-19 pandemic, brings a greater need to understand the effects of these video games. Little research currently exists on the topic, and often provides conflicting data. The current study enlisted volunteers to take self-objectification, objectification of others, and sexism inventories after playing a video game condition. The goal of this study was to discover if playing a game with a sexualized female avatar resulted in statistically significant score differences when compared to a nonsexualized and control condition