Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Psychology
Advisor
Deborah Tolman
Committee Members
Michelle Fine
Jessie Daniels
Katie Cumiskey
Brett Stoudt
Subject Categories
Social Psychology
Keywords
role play, Black cyberfeminism, video games, gender studies
Abstract
This study had participants play the modern role-playing video game Skyrim as a female character with one of three different body types: an idealized feminine body typically found in video games, a tall muscular body that more realistically represents a warrior woman, and a lizard body that is hard to gender stereotype using human gender role attitudes. Participants were given a pretest and posttest measure that checked their gender role attitudes and were allowed to play the game with no restrictions on the role-play choices they make within the game itself. A lens of Black cyberfeminism was applied to critique and enhance traditional social psychological theories to hypothesize that playing as the more realistically represented warrior woman could produce significant change in their attitudes about gender role. Their change on the scale was examined quantitatively, and their video gameplay was analyzed qualitatively to determine different themes of role-play that took place and their connection to various experimental conditions and change in gender role attitudes. Implications for the gaming industry and community are discussed, including what steps would have to be taken to provide more realistic representations of gender, race, and sexuality in gaming.
Recommended Citation
Kincaid, Hunter, "The Impact of Playing as a Non-Stereotypical Woman in a Role-Playing Video Game on Players’ Real World Gender Role Attitudes" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5799
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