Rabindra A. Ratan

Schmoozing and Smiting: Trust, Social Institutions, and Communication Patterns in an MMOG

This study examines how trust is related to online social institutions, self-disclosure, mode of communication, and message privacy in a popular MMOG, Everquest II. The findings, based on survey and behavioral data from over 3,500 players, illustrate how MMOGs may support trust development. Trust was higher within closer social circles: trust was highest in teammates, followed by other players across the game, followed by others online. Self-disclosure was positively related to trust of teammates and others in the game, while voice chat was only related to teammate trust. These findings indicate that social structures and communication processes contribute to trust development in MMOGs, supporting the claim that these online spaces provide social support that is unavailable in other societal realms.

Stand by Your Man An Examination of Gender Disparity in League of Legends

Although video gaming is becoming a more widespread activity beyond its historically core demographic of young males, participation in competitive gaming remains largely male dominated. Addressing this issue, this research examines the experience of female players in one of the world’s most popular games, League of Legends. Two studies—one qualitative (with 15 participants) and the other quantitative (with 16,821 participants)—confirm that although female players accrue skill at the same rate as males, there remains a dearth of female players in this community. Moreover, those females who play with a male partner are less confident in their skills and often focus on supporting their partner’s advancement, not their own. This work suggests that one way to address the gender gap in gaming is to better understand and improve the social dynamics within popular games.

Virtual muscularity: A content analysis of male video game characters

The 150 top-selling video games were content analyzed to study representations of male bodies. Human males in the games were captured via screenshot and body parts measured. These measurements were then compared to anthropometric data drawn from a representative sample of 1120 North American men. Characters at high levels of photorealism were larger than the average American male, but these characters did not mirror the V-shaped ideal found in mainstream media. Characters at low levels of photorealism were also larger than the average American male, but these characters were so much larger that they appeared cartoonish. Idealized male characters were more likely to be found in games for children than in games for adults. Implications for cultivation theory are discussed.

Why We Distort in Self-Report: Predictors of Self-Report Errors in Video Game Play

Using Cognitive Dissonance and Balance Theory, this study investigates factors that predict how and why MMO players inaccurately report their game playing time. It was hypothesized that players belonging to categories other than the stereotypical game player e.g. younger, less educated, male would be likely to underreport playing time. It was also hypothesized that those players who held less positive attitudes toward the game would be more likely to underreport their playing time. Comparing peoples self-reported weekly usage of an MMO, EverQuest II, with their actual average weekly usage of the game, data showed that age, education, lack of enjoyment playing the game, and lack of an online sense of community predicted greater levels of underreporting.

Leveling up on stereotype threat

We examined post-game stereotype threat effects of avatar gender experimentally.Use of a customized male (vs. female) avatar led to better math scores.The less avatar embodiment during avatar use, the stronger this effect.Main implication: psychological connection to avatar influences stereotype threat.Main caveat: some types of psychological connection may reduce such effects. Digital games often benefit players, whether in learning, health, or simply entertainment, but some game design elements (e.g., avatars) potentially disadvantage certain social groups (e.g., women). To counteract such potential effects, we explore the moderating role of avatar self-relevance in avatar-induced stereotype threat effects. Specifically, we examine how avatar customization (i.e., designing an avatar) and avatar-body connection (i.e., the perception that the avatar is incorporated into body schema) interact with avatar gender to influence users post-game behavior in ways that conform to gendered stereotypes. In an experimental study (N=64, all female), participants completed a competitive math task after playing a digital sword-fighting game. For participants who customized an avatar and experienced low avatar embodiment, those who used male avatar performed better at the math task than those who used a female avatar. These findings extend our understanding of avatar use effects, especially as they relate to avatar self-relevance, avatar customization, avatar embodiment, and stereotype threat, thereby providing insights into the ways that digital games can be designed to maximize positive outcomes for players in a variety of meaningful contexts.

When Mii Is Me A Psychophysiological Examination of Avatar Self-Relevance

The present research examines the processes involved in the psychological and behavioral effects of avatar use. We offer and explore a new concept, avatar self-relevance, which potentially moderates avatar use effects and thus may help explain why such effects are augmented by using (compared with viewing) an avatar. Results from an experimental study suggest that avatar self-relevance after avatar use, as reflected by physiological responses to observing (without controlling) the avatar get beaten up, is higher for people who maintain a psychological connection to the avatar, while lower for people for whom the disconnection from the avatar is highly salient, with avatar gender consistency and an avatar-emotion connection contributing to the former and an avatar-body connection contributing to the latter. This research offers a middle ground between self-perception and priming-oriented explanations of the theoretical mechanisms involved in avatar use effects.

Experiencing Autonomous Vehicles: Crossing the Boundaries between a Drive and a Ride

Autonomous vehicles have gained attention recently since research organizations and companies have presented (semi-) autonomous vehicles driving in public traffic. This workshop covers the crossover between driving/riding in (semi-) autonomous vehicles and user experience (UX) research. The focus lies in an in-depth discussion on challenges and potentials for UX in autonomous vehicles. We will explore various areas such as, user experience factors, interaction design issues, entertainment potentials, social driving, and methodological issues. Additionally, we envision building a bridge between the automotive community and the human-robot-interaction community, since we believe autonomous vehicles can be regarded as a very specific kind of a robot. The overall aim of the workshop is to discuss the future landscape for research within and across each of these areas.

2nd Workshop on User Experience of Autonomous Driving

Autonomous Driving has gained attention from academia and industry over the last decades. Research organizations and companies have developed (semi-) autonomous vehicles and first in-situ studies have been conducted. This workshop follows last years first AUI workshop on user experience (UX) and autonomous driving (AD). We would like to widen the conversation on UX and AD based on the results from last year. The focus lies in an in-depth discussion on challenges and potentials for UX and AD among experts and researchers. We will explore various areas such as methodological issues, human factors, entertainment, social driving, and novel user interface approaches. The overall aim of the workshop is to discuss the future landscape for research within and across each these areas.

HCI and Autonomous Vehicles: Contextual Experience Informs Design

The interaction between drivers and their cars will change significantly with the introduction of autonomous vehicles. The drivers role will shift towards a supervisory control of their autonomous vehicle. The eventual relief from the driving task enables a complete new area of research and practice in human-computer interaction and interaction design. In this one-day workshop, participants will explore the opportunities the design space of autonomous driving will bring to HCI researchers and designers. On the day before workshop participants are invited to visit (together with workshop organizers) Google Partnerplex and Stanford University. At Google participants will have the opportunity to explore Googles autonomous car simulator and might have the chance to experience one of the Google Cars (if available). At Stanford participants are invited to ride in a Wizard-of-Oz autonomous vehicle. Based on this first-hand experience we will discuss design approaches and prototype interaction systems during the next days workshop. The outcome of this workshop will be a set of concepts, interaction sketches, and low-fidelity paper prototypes that address constraints and potentials of driving in an autonomous car.

Playing by the Rules: Parental Mediation of Video Game Play:

This study examined parental mediation of children’s video game play in an Internet survey of 433 parents of children aged 5 to 18 years. We assessed the valence of active mediation (i.e., positive, negative, neutral) and the relationship between parental involvement and mediation techniques. Furthermore, we explored whether parental mediation was associated with child delinquency. Our results demonstrate that active mediation is generally negative or neutral in nature. Involved parents were more likely to use each mediation strategy than less involved parents; however, parental involvement did not predict negative mediation. Restrictive and negative mediation were significantly related to child delinquency. In sum, the findings show that parents are involved in monitoring their children’s use of this medium, just as they are with television.