New research published in Marketing Science investigates the effects of gender identity on competition in online video games. The findings indicate that concealing gender identity in online video games can help women compete better by mitigating the dominance effect, a phenomenon observed in the study where men increase their effort when competing against female characters, even if their opponents are actually men.
The researchers behind the new study are interested in better understanding the impact of gender stereotypes on interpersonal competition. Video games were chosen as the context for the study because they have historically been male-dominated but have seen an increasing number of female players.
The researchers focused on a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in China, where player versus player (PVP) fights occur. They believed that gender stereotypes could affect the competition in this context, as general stereotypes suggest that men are aggressive and women are passive.
“Given the competitive nature of video games, we wanted to explore the similarities and differences between the aggressiveness of men versus women,” said study author Xinlei (Jack) Chen of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance. “Common stereotypes assume that men tend to be more aggressive, while women are more passive, and that in a competitive environment, men would strive more for dominance while women would not. This is the ‘dominance effect.’”
In the game, each player can register up to four characters and choose one of four standard roles: archer, cleric, sorceress, or warrior. Players control their characters and engage in player versus player (PVP) fights either for practice or enjoyment. The PVP fights are organized through a central system, where players create fights by specifying the number of participants, level requirements, game mode, and conditions for winning. The fights can involve different numbers of players and can last from a few minutes to a couple of hours.
The researchers obtained the data from the game company’s survey. The data include information on players’ gameplay activities, such as the number of fights they engage in and their performance in those fights. The researchers also collected information on players’ identity, such as their gender and age.
The researchers focused on one versus one PVP fights with information on both players’ birth gender and virtual name. They excluded players at the highest level in the game, as their objectives and skill levels might differ from other players. The final sample included 79,957 PVP fights among 20,144 unique players.
Data analysis revealed men tended to perform better in mixed-gender competition and women tended to perform worse compared to single-gender competition. The researchers found that when men perceived their opponents as female, they tended to exert more effort and perform better, while women were unaffected by their opponent’s gender. This finding supports the existence of a gender gap in competition.
“It’s important to note that the reason for this is not that women are submissive, but rather, when men perceive their opponent to be female, they are more likely to exert increased effort than they would if they perceive their competitor to be a man,” Chen said. “Women don’t change their approach regardless.”
Overall, the study suggests that concealing gender identity in online video games can benefit women by helping them compete better. Men tend to adjust their effort levels depending on the perceived gender of their opponents, which can disadvantage women. The researchers argue that concealing gender identity can mitigate this effect.
“Through our research, we found that women did perform better when they actively concealed their gender identities in online video games,” Chen explained. “To understand these findings, you have to know that online video games can be a toxic environment for women. According to a Pew Research Center survey on online harassment in 2014, compared with male players, female players experience more severe harassment, such as stalking, sexual harassment and sustained bullying.”
The study highlights the implications of the findings for platform managers and regulators. The researchers suggest that the findings can help improve the customer environment and maintain online gender equality. The discussion also notes that the findings have broader implications for addressing gender gaps in competitive environments beyond online video games. The researchers suggest that the findings can inform interventions that aim to reduce the impact of gender stereotypes on women’s performance in competitive environments.
The study has several limitations that the researchers acknowledge. First, the study focuses on a single online video game, which limits the generalizability of the findings. Second, the study relies on self-reported data, which may be subject to biases. Finally, the study did not examine the effects of other factors that may affect competition, such as skill level and experience.
The study contributes to the literature on gender stereotypes and competition by examining the effects of gender identity on gameplay and performance in online video games. The results of this study may inform interventions that aim to reduce the impact of gender stereotypes on women’s performance in competitive environments.
The study “Does concealing gender identity help women win the competition? An empirical investigation into online video games“, was authored by Xinlei (Jack) Chen, Xiaohua Zeng, and Cheng Zhang.