[casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a psychological study TBD.... input? ideas? - specific reference?

[Philip Michael Zeman]

Hi Andrea,

can you provide me with a citation for the paper so that I can download and 
read it?

Phil


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrea Lewis" <helloandrea at gmail.com>
To: "IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List" <casual_games at igda.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 3:07 AM
Subject: Re: [casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a psychological 
study TBD.... input? ideas? - specific reference?



> Hi Phil

>

> My study's aim was to uncover the motivations of women who actively

> play games to better understand this demographic.

> I found the research lacking in a focus on female players (often

> citing a lack of participants) and so I really wanted to explore

> female gamer experiences.  I saw it as a starting point for further

> exploration, hence the qualitative study to develop themes and the

> small n.  The focus on casual-gamers was an attempt to secure avid

> female gamers, but about half of my participants also played console

> games, so it was not entirely exclusive to casual gamers.

>

> Not sure if that helps, but happy to answer any questions you might have.

>

> best,

> Andrea

>

>

> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 6:13 PM, Philip Michael Zeman

> <pzeman at alumni.uvic.ca> wrote:

>> Hello Andrea

>>

>> can you provide some specific reference to your study? Our own research

>> investigates spatial navigation ability in a video game environment and 

>> we

>> find distinct differences between how males and females (on average)

>> interact with allocentric information. The data show that in some cases,

>> females respond as typical males do while in other cases, females do

>> something different.

>>

>> Best

>>

>> Phil Zeman

>>

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: Andrea Lewis

>> To: IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List

>> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2011 8:00 AM

>> Subject: Re: [casual_games] Girls/women and casual games - a 

>> psychological

>> study TBD.... input? ideas?

>> Hello all,

>>

>> Nearly 2 years ago I "crowdsourced" my research question for my MSc 

>> research

>> topic on female gamers and casual games. I received many replies and

>> helpful suggestions on the topic as well as assistance in finding studies 

>> on

>> female gamers.

>>

>> In a bit of self-promotion (please excuse and forgive me), I happy to say

>> that the study has been published. I have included the abstract below and

>> should you find the topic of interest, I am quite happy to share a copy 

>> (no

>> restrictions on distribution) with you directly (off list).

>>

>> I write especially to the IGDA because I believe there is some insightful

>> information in the data for game developers.

>>

>> I thank you all once again for the help.

>>

>> very best,

>> Andrea Lewis

>>

>> ----

>>

>>

>> Confronting gender representation: A qualitative study of the experiences

>> and motivations of female casual-gamers

>>

>> Andrea Lewis & Mark D. Griffiths

>>

>> Abstract: Women are playing video games in ever increasing numbers. 

>> However,

>> the empirical literature has consistently shown that males play video 

>> games

>> more frequently than females, that males play for longer periods, and 

>> that

>> both genders are equally likely to view game playing as a masculine 

>> pursuit.

>> As a consequence, a study was carried out to examine salient themes in 

>> the

>> experiences and motivations of females who frequently play ‘casual’ video

>> games. The participants comprised 16 adult female casual-gamers who

>> completed two self-report online interviews (at the beginning and at the 

>> end

>> of the study) and participated in an online blog/diary and discussion 

>> forum

>> over a four-week period. The data were analysed for salient themes using

>> Thematic Analysis. Results showed areas that were important to female

>> casual-gamers included knowledge peripheral to games, domestic 

>> commitments

>> and personal priorities influenced by gaming, and the social, financial, 

>> and

>> emotional investment of games. By exploring the prominent themes 

>> underlying

>> women’s motivations to play casual games, the results provided potential 

>> new

>> research directions for future research on women gamers from positively

>> gendered perspectives.

>>

>> Key words: video game playing, gender, thematic analysis

>>

>>

>> On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 4:41 PM, Andrea Lewis <helloandrea at gmail.com> 

>> wrote:

>>>

>>> Hi all -

>>>

>>> First, I did check the archives before making this post and decided that

>>> it would be worthwhile to poll opinion.

>>>

>>> I am currently pursuing an MSc in CyberPsychology in the UK and would 

>>> like

>>> to do my thesis research on women and gaming, specifically casual 

>>> gaming.

>>> My main issue/problem is that I have yet to carve out a clear research

>>> question... however, I know the issues that have led me to this topic 

>>> and so

>>> I thought I would share and see if others might have opinion or insight 

>>> that

>>> would help me to get closer to my topic...

>>>

>>> 1) I am tired of hearing that women/girls dont play video games

>>> 2) I am bothered that when I do hear discussions that acknowledge that

>>> women play casual games, the next sentence often dismisses casual games 

>>> as

>>> "not real games"

>>> 3) I dont think that women only play "fluffy cute" games and are opposed

>>> to killing, shooting, competitive games

>>> 4) I am curious about the biological differences in men and women that 

>>> may

>>> make one gender more inclined to a certain type of socialization, but I

>>> think everyone is unique

>>> 5) I would like to uncover something profound about women and gaming

>>> culture

>>> 6) I would like to approach casual games and casual game play with a

>>> seriousness that may have been overlooked in the past

>>> 7) I am interested in in-depth interviews with female gamers as well as

>>> with uncovering broader statistics

>>> 8) I am very interested in women and game addiction and how it might

>>> differ from male game addiction (the predominant population currently

>>> studied).

>>> 9) While my access may be limited, I am definitely interested in

>>> cross-cultural and cross-generational aspects of female gamers

>>> 10) I think casual games kick ass.

>>>

>>> So far, that is my personal hot list of why I want to explore this area.

>>> If it sparks something in you and you are moved to reply, comment, 

>>> argue,

>>> dismiss... by all means please do so -- whether here publicly or 

>>> privately

>>> to me... Also, if you have come across research, articles, books, please

>>> share as I am amassing an enormous list of resources.

>>>

>>> Thank you,

>>> Andrea

>>>

>>> ps - I am a digital media project manager and recruiter, lived in NYC

>>> and worked in the media industry for 10+ years before returning for my

>>> masters... Now living in the UK, just ran into some old friends at

>>> www.gamecity.org... and, among other things, games are a passion but I 

>>> am by

>>> no means a "gamer" - I am a bit more interested in the business and 

>>> culture

>>> of games. I also focus on women as a population because, well, I am one.

>>>

>>>

>>

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