Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study identifies attitudinal effects of playing a health education video game on pairs of young adults where one member of the pair plays the video game and the other member watches the game being played. The effects of social interaction and gender during video game play are tested by a 2 (experimemtal condition: player/observer) x 2 (participant gender: male/female) x 2 (gender of partner: male/female) experimental design (N = 106). The gender of players and their observers significantly predicts attitudinal outcomes after playing a cancer education video game entitled Re-Mission. Re-Mission teaches players about cancer and its medical treatments while they control a character who travels through the bodies of cancer patients to deliver chemotherapy treatment. The gender of players and their observers did not predict the strength of participants’ intentions to prevent cancer in the future. However, male players experienced increased optimism about chemotherapy outcomes when considering potential cancer diagnoses in the future, but only when being observed by a female partner. Male players rated the game’s appeal more highly than did female players, but only when they had been observed by another male. There was no effect of gender among female players and observers, however. The distinct influences of female observers versus male observers on male players seem to be consistent with stereotypic gender roles, where female observers may be considered a nurturing presence and male observers seem to be a competitive presence during video game play. More research is needed in order to confirm this trend.