Mike Z. Yao

Sexual Priming, Gender Stereotyping, and Likelihood to Sexually Harass: Examining the Cognitive Effects of Playing a Sexually-Explicit Video Game

The present study examines the short-term cognitive effects of playing a sexually explicit video game with female “objectification” content on male players. Seventy-four male students from a university in California, U.S. participated in a laboratory experiment. They were randomly assigned to play either a sexually-explicit game or one of two control games. Participants’ cognitive accessibility to sexual and sexually objectifying thoughts was measured in a lexical decision task. A likelihood-to-sexually-harass scale was also administered. Results show that playing a video game with the theme of female “objectification” may prime thoughts related to sex, encourage men to view women as sex objects, and lead to self-reported tendencies to behave inappropriately towards women in social situations.

Loneliness, social contacts and Internet addiction: A cross-lagged panel study

This study aims to examine the causal priority in the observed empirical relationships between Internet addiction and other psychological problems. A cross-lagged panel survey of 361 college students in Hong Kong was conducted. Results show that excessive and unhealthy Internet use would increase feelings of loneliness over time. Although depression had a moderate and positive bivariate relationship with Internet addiction at each time point, such a relationship was not significant in the cross-lagged analyses. This study also found that online social contacts with friends and family were not an effective alternative for offline social interactions in reducing feelings of loneliness. Furthermore, while an increase in face-to-face contacts could help to reduce symptoms of Internet addiction, this effect may be neutralized by the increase in online social contacts as a result of excessive Internet use. Taken as a whole, findings from the study show a worrisome vicious cycle between loneliness and Internet addiction.

Predicting self-protections of online privacy

An empirical study was conducted to examine the social psychological processes that may influence an individuals adoption of online privacy protection strategies. Building from the theory of planned behavior, a theoretical model predicting self-protection of online privacy was tested in the present study. This model accounted for nearly a quarter of the variability in actual adoption during a ten-day period immediately after participants completed the initial questionnaire. Overall, the present research provided a strong support for the theoretical utility of psychological factors and processes in online privacy related research.

Predicting User Concerns about Online Privacy in Hong Kong

Empirical studies on peoples online privacy concerns have largely been conducted in the West. The global threat of privacy violations on the Internet calls for similar studies to be done in non-Western regions. To fill this void, the current study develops a path model to investigate the influence of peoples Internet use-related factors, their beliefs in the right to privacy, and psychological need for privacy on Hong Kong peoples concerns about online privacy. Survey responses from 332 university students were analyzed. Results from this study show that peoples belief in the right to privacy was the most important predictor of their online privacy concerns. It also significantly mediated the relationship between peoples psychological need for privacy and their concerns with privacy violations online. Moreover, while frequent use of the Internet may increase concerns about online privacy issues, Internet use diversity may actually reduce such worries. The final model, well supported by the observed data, successfully explained 25% of the variability in user concerns about online privacy.

Peep show establishments, police activity, public place, and time: A study of secondary effects in San Diego, California

An empirical study was undertaken in San Diego, California, to test assumptions made by the government and by conservative religious policy advocates that there is a greater incidence of crime in the vicinity of peep show establishments. We asked two questions: (a) Is criminal activity in San Diego particularly acute at peep show establishments compared to surrounding control locations? and (b) Is criminal activity in San Diego disproportionately greater at or near peep show establishments between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. compared to other times of the day? The levels of crime activity and the expenditure of police resources were examined by measuring the number of calls‐for‐service (CFSs) to the police within a 1,000‐ft. area on either side of the peep show establishments and comparably‐sized control areas beyond the immediate 1,000‐foot area. A more focused “late‐night” (2 a.m. to 6 a.m.) analysis was also undertaken. The results showed no reliable evidence of differences in crime levels between the control and test areas, nor was there any evidence of disproportionately greater amounts of crime within the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. time period in the areas surrounding the peep show establishments. We concluded that San Diego does not have a problem with crime at the peep show establishments generally, nor is there a heightened problem with crime during the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. period. We discuss the implications of assuming that peep show establishments are associated with negative effects in the community and the possibility of viewpoint discrimination against sex communication.

Gaming motivations, avatar-self identification and symptoms of online game addiction

This study conducted a survey of 217 adult game players in Hong Kong to explore the effects of gaming motivations and avatar-self identification on symptoms of online game addiction. Results show that avatar-self identification is positively associated with the problems and salience dimension as well as the uncontrollable game-play dimension of game addiction. The motivation to relax is positively related to perceived avatar-self identification and uncontrollable play; the motivation to socialize in online games is positively linked with the avatar-self identification and both symptoms of online game addiction. The motivation to escape is positively related to the symptom of problems and salience. The drive to achieve virtual accomplishment in online games is negatively associated with the problem caused by gameplay and the salience of online games.

Aggressive Political Opinions and Exposure to Violent Media

This study examines the relationship between young peoples exposure to media violence and their aggressive political opinions (APO), which were defined as support for positions that involve forceful resolution to social or political issues. Students from 2 U.S. universities completed surveys assessing their APO, exposure to violent media, authoritarianism, trait aggressiveness, political leaning, personal experience with crime, and demographics. Results revealed that violent television exposure significantly predicted several forms of APO above and beyond the control variables. Playing violent video games, however, predicted only a few aggressive political opinions. The results of this study support the reliability and validity of the APO measure, shed light on the relationship between exposure to violent media content and political opinions, and suggest some important differences between television and video game content in the effects process.

Self-Protection of Online Privacy: A Behavioral Approach

Major shifts in information and communication technologies often reshape the ways in which we produce and share personal information. For example, the development of writing systems allowed personal information to be recorded and stored; the invention of printing technology made it easy to reproduce private information and distribute it to the public; and electronic communications maximized the efficiency and the speed of information sharing. Each of these technological advancements forced human society to redefine the boundaries between the public and private and to re-conceptualize the concept of personal privacy. Not surprisingly, advances in digital communication technologies and the rapid proliferation of social media during the last two decades have once again challenged our views about privacy and privacy protection.

Globalization and people’s interest in foreign affairs: A comparative survey in Hong Kong and Taipei

Globalization signifies the increasing interconnectedness among different parts of the world. But few studies have examined whether and how the processes of globalization relate to people’s interests in foreign affairs. This study tackles the question at the individual level. It identifies transnational social connections, willingness to move abroad, foreign language abilities, and perceived impact of globalization as four factors representing people’s connections with and orientations toward the processes of globalization. These four factors are hypothesized as correlates of people’s interest in foreign affairs. Analysis of a comparative survey (N = 1117) conducted in Hong Kong and Taipei generally supports the hypotheses, but the results also show that social contexts may shape the strengths of the relationships among different factors. The analysis also explores the problematic of causality. The results suggest that some, but not all, aspects of individuals’ connections with globalization can influence interest in foreign affairs.

Peep show establishments, police activity, public place, and time: A response to McCleary and Meeker

First, let us dispel one unseemly insinuation made by McCleary and Meeker (2006) in their response to our article—the notion that because this research was conducted as part of a lawsuit, it is not to be trusted and perhaps not even published, due presumably to some form of conflict of interest. McCleary and Meeker, previously employed by the government of San Diego, are concerned that our research has been funded by plaintiffs bringing a lawsuit against the city. In this suit, the plaintiffs alleged that their right of freedom of speech regarding sexual matters had been abridged in violation of the First Amendment. The research reported in our article was funded by plaintiffs as part of this lawsuit and this is acknowledged. It is agreed among ethicists involved in research of all types that alleged conflicts of interest must be assessed within a specific factual context and not merely presumed to exist in the absence of facts supporting such a conclusion (National Institutes of Health, 2002). The specific context here—research conducted as part of a legal proceeding—renders the work more, not less, credible. Rather than being suspect, as McCleary and Meeker imply, the research conducted in this legal context should inspire greater confidence in the veracity of the study findings than most other situations. As McCleary and Meeker know, we have been required by law to share all data and all written materials associated with our study with city officials. The calls-for-service (CFSs) data used in this study were generated by the city and made available to McCleary and Meeker. Had we been deposed about the study or had the case gone to court (the case was settled) and the findings presented there, we would have been required to present sworn testimony under oath. These features of research within a legal context are arguably more demanding than those associated with most peer-reviewed journals. This said, we do not believe that our findings are methodological artifacts as McCleary and Meeker (2006) claimed. We believe there is ample precedent in the literature for the quasi-experimental design we have employed. Our study is one in a series of studies undertaken by local governments and academics that fail to find adverse secondary effects in the community for commercial enterprises involving sexual speech. McCleary and Meeker’s (2006) reply to our article is an attempt to recast our research in light of questionable statistical procedures and misleading analyses. Specifically, we will address the following problems with their reply: (a) their focus on an unreliable mean difference in CFSs between peep show and control areas illustrates a fundamental error in reasoning with statistics; (b) their application of retrospective power analysis is misleading; (c) they have inappropriately set up a system, wittingly or unwittingly, whereby the government can never lose when attempting to legislate against free speech; (d) their position is logically inconsistent with regard to the use of CFSs as a measure of crime and adverse secondary effects, and they mischaracterize the state of the field regarding the use of CFSs as a valid measure of secondary effects; and (e) their assertion that CFSs have dire consequences for significance tests is based on a set of unjustifiable assumptions.