Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impact of the Social Context of Video Games on the Self Efficacy, Motivation and Learning Outcomes of Female Players, and Its Implications

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this research is to understand how the social context within and surrounding video games affects boys and girls' abilities to participate in games, and how educational games can be more effectively designed, not only for cognitively appropriate outcomes, but also to reach learning outcomes across genders. In particular, the researcher aims to investigate how motivation, self-efficacy and learning outcomes are affected by gaming environments and communities. The researcher will examine whether stereotype threat occurs in game play environments and whether or how a community that supports female game players provides a protective factor for players. Stereotype threat is the theory that the concern of being evaluated based on a negative stereotype can undermine your performance through impacting your belief in your own capabilities. Research has shown that stereotype threat can be activated by women in fields and domains where they are typically outnumbered by men, such as math, science and technology. Video gaming spaces are similar domains for women and girls, where they are not only seen as underrepresented but often also subject to harassment, which typically forces them to go "underground" by avoiding online play or gender disclosure. To investigate these issues, the researcher will conduct interviews, an ethnographic investigation of online and offline gaming community spaces, such as discussion boards, online gaming environments and conventions, and an experimental study to conceptualize how the broader context around video games affect players across gender. By empirically assessing how video games affect females and males who are gamers and non-gamers, the proposed research will have a broader impact on game design and literatures in psychology, internet studies, and gender studies. Ultimately, the study seeks to inform the literature on effective educational video game design, by testing theories that hypothesize games can situate and motivate players while making learning content meaningful, and exploring how to design and develop gender-equitable educational games.