Psychosocial and Sociocultural Determinants of Video Gamer Typology
In: Cultural Perspectives of Video Games: From Desiger to PlayerSearch for other papers by Benjamin Čulig in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Izvor Rukavina in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
A scientific face-to-face survey was carried out on a quota sample of students from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 2011, with the intention to empirically establish a typology of video gamers/non-gamers (N=314; 54.1% males). The questionnaire consisted of 65 topics with approximately 450 variables covering psychosocial, sociocultural, sociodemographic and behavioural features of participants. The primary purpose of the research was to set up a psychosocial and sociocultural profile of video gamers/non-gamers. This chapter focuses exclusively on gamers (N=217; 72.4% males). On the basis of preliminary interviews conducted with hardcore gamers, as well as relevant scientific and specialised literature, we devised a research questionnaire examining gaming preferences, comprising 70 items with an ordinal 5-point assessment scale. The principal component analysis under GK criteria with varimax rotation extracted 9 types of gamers. The types obtained partly correspond to the accepted classification of game genres: RPG, FPS, RTS, TBS, real life simulations (RLS), online gaming, racing games, horror games and casual & family games. The content validity of the conceptualisation and of the final multi-item questionnaire tool was additionally confirmed by comparing the results with answers to questions explicitly targeting preferred games and game genres. The analysis of psychosocial profiles encompassed correlations with respect to the following: personality traits (a modified five-factor model), main life goals, leisure values, some aspects of computer and internet usage, gaming habits, video game ‘addiction,’ computer literacy, and basic individual and social characteristics of participants. Statistical procedures included chi-square test, t-test, ANOVA, multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation. Statistically significant findings of hypothesised relationships among the gamers’ types and the predictor set confirmed the relevance of our model. The determinants of psychosocial and sociocultural profile represent firm grounds for future investigation of criterion validity of the proposed video gamers’ typology.