Forming an Identity
The formation of a person’s identity and behavior can be affected by many things. Are there factors that have stronger impact on this development than others? Videogames, Avatars, and Identity is an article by Zach Waggoner that studies the relationship between virtual and real identity. It elaborates on the connection of people to their virtual avatars and real world stimulation versus stimulation in the virtual world. Do avatars in videogames affect the development of a person’s identity in the real world? Can a person be so involved in their virtual identity that it greatly affects their real world identity and is it affected in a positive or negative matter? Waggoner explains that there is a difference between virtual avatars and agents. Avatars are more than the character you control while playing a videogame, avatars are something that can be customized and are rather another identity for the player (490). These things lead to the conclusion that videogames affect the formation of a person’s identity very greatly and can even change behavioral patterns.
Waggoner believes that people can get very personally involved in videogames. He explains how a person can become immersed and connected to a videogame is through emotional involvement. He describes this with the term “ego-investing” (Waggoner 493). The way that Waggoner proposes that this happens most effectively is when the player is given the opportunity to form their avatars identity and customize exactly who the player wants their avatar to be. He references this to the videogame series The Elder Scrolls (Waggoner 497). This is due to the immense options for customization of the avatar. Through this customization the player becomes emotionally attached to their character and becomes ego-invested. The player gets to decide more than just their avatar’s appearance. They also control the moral decisions that their character faces throughout the game. This doesn’t mean that the player makes those decisions based on their own morals, but based on the set of morals that the player decides for their avatar thus forming a new identity.
Whether a player is using an avatar or an agent, playing as that character affects the person’s identity. A study done by a team of psychologists on adolescent boys showed that by playing aggressive videogames the boy would take on the aggressive traits of the character they played as (Konijn 1). The boys were randomly assigned realistic violent games, fantasy violent games, and non-violent games. After this they were put in a competitive situation where the winner was given the option to blast music in their opponent’s ears with the option of setting the volume to a level that would damage the hearing of the receiver. The boys who were given the violent videogames to play were habitually more aggressive with the volume of music they gave their opponents. Often times, turning the music up loud enough to damage their opponents hearing thus taking on the aggressive nature of the character they controlled in the violent videogames they were given to play. It was also noted that the players were more likely to identify with the aggressive nature of their character when they were playing the realistic violent videogames and with the games that they felt most immersed in.
People are most likely to feel immersed in a game with a world that they can insert themselves into. The Elder Scrolls is a perfect example of this with its massive virtual world where the players can do as they choose. They take on the identity of their avatar in this world and become attached to the various environments and virtual characters with whom they interact. This is described with a term that is used by Jamie Madigan in the article, The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games. The term used by Madigan is richness. Richness consists of multiple channels of sensory information, completeness of sensory information, cognitively demanding environments, and a strong and interesting narrative, plot, or story (Madigan 1). The Elder Scrolls encompasses all of these factors. The game series has a seemingly endless expanse of visually appealing environments coupled with endless amounts of information about characters and events. This causes players to feel like they really are a part of the virtual world.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom asked parents to monitor their children’s behavior growing up with videogames. According to the parents of the children, it was found that videogames did not lead to any negative changes in behavior (Elise 1). In fact, it found that people who play videogames avidly often have better reflexes, better cognitive skills and overall healthier brains (Elise 1). This is an important study because it shows that exposure to videogames does not lead to negative behavioral impacts on the users. However, this study does show that playing videogames does indeed affect the player’s brain. It affects the player’s brain in a positive manner showing that playing videogames does lead to mental changes. Unfortunately, this study does not provide any evidence of change to the player’s identity and how that player’s identity might be affected through playing videogames.
To delve further into the minds of the players who feel affected personally by their avatars Waggoner explores the forums of one of the popular Elder Scrolls titles, Oblivion. What he finds there is interesting, actual testimonies of people who feel that their avatars have affected their own personal identities. Waggoner includes a quote from one such post where a player (Nick) feels like his personal identity has been affected by his avatar (Dante). The final statement in this forum post sums up his belief in the change in his identity, “When I get lost in a virtual reality it is a good thing. Regardless, some of my characteristics influence Dante’s and his influence mine.” (497). This shows that the people whose identities are being affected by playing these games know that their identities are being affected.
People are affected by many virtual identities not just the ones found in videogames. Waggoner references a writer who talks about this phenomena in humans. He writes about how people identify with many identities. In his instance he classifies himself as things like a professor, a linguist, an Anglo American, a middle-age male baby boomer, a parent, an avid reader, a former devout Catholic, and so forth (495). These identities affect how we interact with situations that we run into in everyday life. They also affect how we deal with other people throughout our daily lives. Therefore, people are already susceptible to the manipulative nature of identities and are constantly open to adopting new identities and changes to their own.
The formation of a person’s identity and their behavior is strongly affected by playing videogames. Even if a person is playing a videogame where they are not immersed but only playing as an agent their behaviors can still be affected. If someone is to play a violent videogame, the aggressive nature of the agent that the player controls becomes incorporated into the nature of that person. This is especially true with games that are immersive. Immersive games are much more captivating, therefore the player becomes ego-invested in the game and becomes more attached to their avatar. Additionally, players who have experienced this phenomena know that it is happening and are willing to talk about their experiences with their avatars and how that avatar has changed the players identity. It would be interesting to research how different decisions in videogames differently affect the identities of those playing and how the identities of the player before they start playing affects how they customize their avatar and go about playing the game.
Works Cited
Elise, Abigail. "Video Games Have No Effect On Children's Behavior, New Study Finds." International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Konijn. "I Wish I Were a Warrior: The Role of Wishful Identification in the Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Adolescent Boys." APA PsycNET. Developmental Psychology, July 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Maasik, Sonia. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Boston: Bedford, 1997. Print.
Madigan, Jamie. "The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games." The Psychology of Video Games. Wordpress, 27 July 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Waggoner believes that people can get very personally involved in videogames. He explains how a person can become immersed and connected to a videogame is through emotional involvement. He describes this with the term “ego-investing” (Waggoner 493). The way that Waggoner proposes that this happens most effectively is when the player is given the opportunity to form their avatars identity and customize exactly who the player wants their avatar to be. He references this to the videogame series The Elder Scrolls (Waggoner 497). This is due to the immense options for customization of the avatar. Through this customization the player becomes emotionally attached to their character and becomes ego-invested. The player gets to decide more than just their avatar’s appearance. They also control the moral decisions that their character faces throughout the game. This doesn’t mean that the player makes those decisions based on their own morals, but based on the set of morals that the player decides for their avatar thus forming a new identity.
Whether a player is using an avatar or an agent, playing as that character affects the person’s identity. A study done by a team of psychologists on adolescent boys showed that by playing aggressive videogames the boy would take on the aggressive traits of the character they played as (Konijn 1). The boys were randomly assigned realistic violent games, fantasy violent games, and non-violent games. After this they were put in a competitive situation where the winner was given the option to blast music in their opponent’s ears with the option of setting the volume to a level that would damage the hearing of the receiver. The boys who were given the violent videogames to play were habitually more aggressive with the volume of music they gave their opponents. Often times, turning the music up loud enough to damage their opponents hearing thus taking on the aggressive nature of the character they controlled in the violent videogames they were given to play. It was also noted that the players were more likely to identify with the aggressive nature of their character when they were playing the realistic violent videogames and with the games that they felt most immersed in.
People are most likely to feel immersed in a game with a world that they can insert themselves into. The Elder Scrolls is a perfect example of this with its massive virtual world where the players can do as they choose. They take on the identity of their avatar in this world and become attached to the various environments and virtual characters with whom they interact. This is described with a term that is used by Jamie Madigan in the article, The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games. The term used by Madigan is richness. Richness consists of multiple channels of sensory information, completeness of sensory information, cognitively demanding environments, and a strong and interesting narrative, plot, or story (Madigan 1). The Elder Scrolls encompasses all of these factors. The game series has a seemingly endless expanse of visually appealing environments coupled with endless amounts of information about characters and events. This causes players to feel like they really are a part of the virtual world.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom asked parents to monitor their children’s behavior growing up with videogames. According to the parents of the children, it was found that videogames did not lead to any negative changes in behavior (Elise 1). In fact, it found that people who play videogames avidly often have better reflexes, better cognitive skills and overall healthier brains (Elise 1). This is an important study because it shows that exposure to videogames does not lead to negative behavioral impacts on the users. However, this study does show that playing videogames does indeed affect the player’s brain. It affects the player’s brain in a positive manner showing that playing videogames does lead to mental changes. Unfortunately, this study does not provide any evidence of change to the player’s identity and how that player’s identity might be affected through playing videogames.
To delve further into the minds of the players who feel affected personally by their avatars Waggoner explores the forums of one of the popular Elder Scrolls titles, Oblivion. What he finds there is interesting, actual testimonies of people who feel that their avatars have affected their own personal identities. Waggoner includes a quote from one such post where a player (Nick) feels like his personal identity has been affected by his avatar (Dante). The final statement in this forum post sums up his belief in the change in his identity, “When I get lost in a virtual reality it is a good thing. Regardless, some of my characteristics influence Dante’s and his influence mine.” (497). This shows that the people whose identities are being affected by playing these games know that their identities are being affected.
People are affected by many virtual identities not just the ones found in videogames. Waggoner references a writer who talks about this phenomena in humans. He writes about how people identify with many identities. In his instance he classifies himself as things like a professor, a linguist, an Anglo American, a middle-age male baby boomer, a parent, an avid reader, a former devout Catholic, and so forth (495). These identities affect how we interact with situations that we run into in everyday life. They also affect how we deal with other people throughout our daily lives. Therefore, people are already susceptible to the manipulative nature of identities and are constantly open to adopting new identities and changes to their own.
The formation of a person’s identity and their behavior is strongly affected by playing videogames. Even if a person is playing a videogame where they are not immersed but only playing as an agent their behaviors can still be affected. If someone is to play a violent videogame, the aggressive nature of the agent that the player controls becomes incorporated into the nature of that person. This is especially true with games that are immersive. Immersive games are much more captivating, therefore the player becomes ego-invested in the game and becomes more attached to their avatar. Additionally, players who have experienced this phenomena know that it is happening and are willing to talk about their experiences with their avatars and how that avatar has changed the players identity. It would be interesting to research how different decisions in videogames differently affect the identities of those playing and how the identities of the player before they start playing affects how they customize their avatar and go about playing the game.
Works Cited
Elise, Abigail. "Video Games Have No Effect On Children's Behavior, New Study Finds." International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Konijn. "I Wish I Were a Warrior: The Role of Wishful Identification in the Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Adolescent Boys." APA PsycNET. Developmental Psychology, July 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Maasik, Sonia. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Boston: Bedford, 1997. Print.
Madigan, Jamie. "The Psychology of Immersion in Video Games." The Psychology of Video Games. Wordpress, 27 July 2010. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.