Players and Avatars: The Connections between Player Personality, Avatar Personality, and ...

236 Pages·2015·0.89 MB·English

Players and Avatars:
The Connections between Player Personality, Avatar Personality,
and Behavior in Video Games

By
Narnia Worth

A thesis
submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Psychology
BROCK UNIVERSITTY
St. Catharines, Ontario

June 2015

© Narnia C. Worth, 2015
Abstract
The increasing variety and complexity of video games allows players to choose how to
behave and represent themselves within these virtual environments. The focus of this
dissertation was to examine the connections between the personality traits (specifically,
HEXACO traits and psychopathic traits) of video game players and player-created and
controlled game-characters (i.e., avatars), and the link between traits and behavior in
video games. In Study 1 (n = 198), the connections between player personality traits and
behavior in a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (World of Warcraft) were
examined. Six behavior components were found (i.e., Player-versus-Player, Social
Player-versus-Environment, Working, Helping, Immersion, and Core Content), and each
was related to relevant personality traits. For example, Player-versus-Player behaviors
were negatively related to Honesty-Humility and positively related to psychopathic traits,
and Immersion behaviors (i.e., exploring, role-playing) were positively related to
Openness to Experience. In Study 2 (n = 219), the connections between player
personality traits and in-game behavior in video games were examined in university
students. Four behavior components were found (i.e., Aggressing, Winning, Creating,
and Helping), and each was related to at least one personality trait. For example,
Aggressing was negatively related to Honesty-Humility and positively related to
psychopathic traits. In Study 3 (n = 90), the connections between player personality traits
and avatar personality traits were examined in World of Warcraft. Positive player-avatar
correlations were observed for all personality traits except Extraversion. Significant
mean differences between players and avatars were observed for all traits except
Conscientiousness; avatars had higher mean scores on Extraversion and psychopathic
traits, but lower mean scores on the remaining traits. In Study 4, the connections between
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player personality traits, avatar traits, and observed behaviors in a life-simulation video
game (The Sims 3) were examined in university students (n = 93). Participants created
two avatars and used these avatars to play The Sims 3. Results showed that the selection
of certain avatar traits was related to relevant player personality traits (e.g., participants
who chose the Friendly avatar trait were higher in Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, and
Agreeableness, and lower in psychopathic traits). Selection of certain character-
interaction behaviors was related to relevant player personality traits (e.g., participants
with higher levels of psychopathic traits used more Mean and fewer Friendly
interactions). Together, the results of the four studies suggest that individuals generally
behave and represent themselves in video games in ways that are consistent with their
real-world tendencies.

Keywords: personality, video games, avatars, psychopathy, aggression.

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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to many people for their support throughout my PhD. First, I would
like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Angela Book, for her patience and support. I am very
grateful to her for letting me run with the topic of my choosing and for having confidence
in my abilities. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Carolyn Hafer,
Dr. Teena Willoughby, and Dr. Nancy DeCourville, who have been very helpful in
providing expertise, feedback, and advice. I also thank Dr. Gordon Hodson, Dr. Kathy
Belicki, Dr. Tanya Martini, and Dr. Stan Sadava, for their encouragement.
I would especially like to thank my friends and family for supporting and
encouraging me throughout my graduate career. I am so thankful to my extended family,
my parents-in-law, my sister-in-law and her family, and most particularly, to my dear
parents and my brother and his family. You have all been so helpful and understanding,
and I appreciate your interest in my work.
Last, and most importantly, I would like to thank Mike and Nathan. Nathan,
thank you for being a sweetheart and an inspiration. Mike, thank you for being interested
in my correlation matrices and for listening to me talk about video games. Your unfailing
patience, consideration, advice, and support have meant so much to me. Thanks for
surviving this with me!

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Table of Contents
Page

CHAPTER 1: General Introduction 1
Overview 1
Personality 3
HEXACO Model of Personality 4
Psychopathy 6
Video Games 9
Avatars 12
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games 14
Online Virtual Worlds and Life-Simulation Games 16
Previous Research 17
Player Personality and Behavior in Video Games 18
Player Personality and Avatar Characteristics 21
Content of this Dissertation 23
References 26

CHAPTER 2: Study 1 35
Introduction 35
Personality and Behavior in Online Game 37
Personality Traits 42
Methods 44
Participants 44
Measures 45
Procedure 47
Results 47
Principal Components Analysis of the In-Game Behavior Questionnaire 47
Descriptive Statistics 51
Correlational Analyses 51
Multiple Regression Analysis 53
Discussion 55
Player-versus-Player 55
Social Player-versus-Environment 57
Working 58
Helping 58
Immersion 59
Core Content 60
Conclusions and Directions for Future Research 60
References 63

CHAPTER 3: Study 2 66
Introduction 66
Video Games 66
Personality and Behavior in an Online Video Game 69
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Personality and Behavior in Other Video Games 70
The Current Study 72
Methods 74
Participants 74
Measures 75
Procedure 77
Results 78
Principal Components Analysis of the Video Game Behavior
Questionnaire 78
Sample Characteristics and Data Management 80
Correlational Analyses 81
Discussion 86
Aggressing 86
Winning 88
Creating 89
Helping 89
Limitations and Conclusions 90
References 93

CHAPTER 4: Study 3 97
Introduction 97
Avatars 97
Players and Avatars: Previous Research 98
Player-Avatar Similarity 102
Personality and Behavior in Video Games 105
The Current Study 106
Methods 109
Participants 109
Measures 110
Procedure 112
Results 113
Descriptive Statistics 113
Sample Characteristics 116
Principal Components Analysis of the Avatar Connection Scale 117
Similarity between Player and Avatar 120
Identification and Attachment 123
Avatar Personality and In-Game Behavior 125
Discussion 125
Player and Avatar Personality 125
Identification and Attachment 128
Avatar Personality and In-Game Behavior 130
Limitations and Conclusions 131
References 133

CHAPTER 5: Study 4 138
Introduction 138
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Player Personality and In-Game Behavior 140
Player and Avatar Personality Similarity 141
Connection with the Avatar: Identification and Attachment 144
Personality 146
Research Questions 148
Methods 151
Participants 151
Measures 151
Procedure 155
Results 156
Descriptive Statistics 156
Connection with Self-Character 158
Player and Avatar Personality Traits 161
Personality and In-Game Behaviors 166
Discussion 168
Player and Avatar Personality Traits 169
Player Personality and In-Game Behaviors 171
Connections between Players and Avatars 172
Limitations and Conclusions 173
References 176

CHAPTER 6: General Discussion 180
Player Personality and Behavior in Video Games 180
Player Personality and Avatar Personality 187
Connections with Personality Research 190
Connections with Video Game Research 192
Limitations and Future Research 194
Conclusions 196
References 199

APPENDICES 203

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List of Tables
Page

Table 2-1 In-Game Behavior Questionnaire Component Names and Items 48

Table 2-2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 50
for In-Game Behavior and Personality Scales

Table 2-3 Correlations between HEXACO Personality Scales, SRP-III 52
Scales, and In-Game Behavior Scales

Table 2-4 Standard Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting In-Game 54
Behavior Scales from HEXACO Personality Traits

Table 3-1 General Video Game Behavior Scale Component Names and Items 79

Table 3-2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 82
for General Video Game Behavior Scales, Online Frequency, and
Personality Scales

Table 3-3 Zero-order Correlations and Partial Correlations (Controlling for 83
Participant Sex) between Video Game Behavior Scales, HEXACO
Personality Scales, and SRP-III Scales

Table 4-1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 115
for Player Personality, Identification, and Attachment, Avatar
Personality, and In-Game Behavior

Table 4-2 Univariate Results for MANOVA for Group (Group 1: Did Not 118
Complete Avatar HEXACO (n = 126) vs. Group 2: Completed
Avatar HEXACO (n = 72)) on Player HEXACO Traits

Table 4-3 Avatar Connection Scale Component Names and Items 119

Table 4-4 Correlations between Player HEXACO and Avatar HEXACO 121
Scales, Identification, and Attachment (n = 71)

Table 4-5 Correlations between Player SRP-III and Avatar SRP-III Scales, 121
Identification, and Attachment (n = 70)

Table 4-6 Univariate Results for MANOVAs Comparing Player and Avatar 122
HEXACO and SRP-III Scores

Table 5-1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliabilities 157
for Player Personality Traits, Self-Character Connection
Variables, and Game Enjoyment
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Table 5-2 Avatar Connection Scale Component Names and Items 159

Table 5-3 Number of Participants Selecting Each Self-Character Trait 162

Table 5-4 Results of t-tests Comparing Participants Who Did and Did Not 163
Select Character Traits on HEXACO Personality Traits and SRP-
III Total Scores

Table 5-5 Means and Standard Deviations for Interaction Categories 167

Table 5-6 Univariate Results for MANOVA for Mean Interaction Category 169
(Low Scorers (n = 78) versus High Scorers (n = 12)) on HEXACO
Traits

Table 5-7 Results of t-tests Comparing Low and High Scorers on Interaction 170
Categories on SRP-III Total Scores

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List of Appendices
Page
Appendix A Study 1 and Study 3: In-Game Behavior Questionnaire 203
Appendix B Study 2: General Video Game Behavior Questionnaire 205
Appendix C Study 3 and Study 4: Avatar Connection Scale 207
Appendix D Study 4: Game Enjoyment and Competence 209
Appendix E Study 4: Preference for Self-character over Other-character 211
Appendix F Study 4: Details regarding Procedure 212
Appendix G Study 4: Script 215
Appendix H Study 1 and Study 3: Research Ethics Board Approval 222
Appendix I Study 2: Research Ethics Board Approval 224
Appendix J Study 4: Research Ethics Board Approval 225

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