Hello I am Dr. Marie Jarrell from Clemson University.
I will be presenting our paper
Using Intersectional Representation and Embodied Identification
in Standard Video Game Play to Reduce Societal Biases.
Now our paper is primarily concerned with
the psychological phenomenon of Identification.
Which is found in all types of media
and expresses the closeness one may feel to a character.
However, in interactive experiences
like fully immersive virtual reality and video games
this unique connection between player and character
can result in players adopting properties of the characters they play as.
For example, one study found that when players identified with soldier characters
they reported feeling more brave patriotic and strong.
Past research has explored using identification with virtual characters
to reduce biases against real world people.
However, this research is largely limited
to fully immersive vr body swapping experiences.
Which are vastly cognitively different from most 2d video games.
And when more common 2d games
are used for identification and bias research
they are mainly empathy or serious games
whose narratives are soley focused on combatting bias with education.
Many of these studies often only look at one aspect of identity.
They may only research gender bias or racial bias
and not look at how these two aspects can interact.
Which is important because we know from Intersectional Theory Research
the real world biases people face
are an amalgamation of multiple aspects of their identity.
So, rather than focus on how identification with a player character
could affect bias based on race
or bias based on gender.
In our paper we use an intersectional framework
to specifically examine the interaction between these two aspects of identity.
And see how identification with a black and female character
affects biases against black female job applicants
compared to other character options.
So, here is what we did and what we found.
We had a sample of 265 white male participants
recruited from amazon Mturk from the United States.
These participants played a single level of a video game
with one of four player characters
and then evaluated one of four LinkedIn job applicant profiles.
These applications were identical to each other
save for the image and name of the applicant.
The participants answered several questions about the game
regarding level of identification via embodiment.
As well as several other factors related to embodiment
such as immersion and similarity to the character.
Participants evaluated the applicants based on their
level of perceived technical skill and overall likability.
Now, when it came to the black female applicant
we did find that intersectionality affected the biases that they faced.
As black applicants were rated lower in technical skill
compared to white applicants.
And participants who did not play as a female character
rated female applicants lower in technical skill than male applicants.
Meaning the black female applicant
had to deal with both negative biases
due to their race and gender.
However, when participants played as
and highly identified with the black female player character
they rated the black female applicant the highest
in terms of technical skill and likability.
So, here are some key take-aways.
We found that the effects from biases
and identification with characters were not uniform
but were intersectional.
As we found that identifying with the black female character
produced the largest reduction in bias
against the black female applicant
We believe this offers several lessons for future game development
as our study revealed that identification alone could reduce bias
but that the effect is not guaranteed.
As we did not use an empathetic narrative
and we found that experiencing low levels of identification
could actually increase biases.
I would like to thank my co-authors
Reza, Bart, and Erin.
You may contact us with the information provided.
Thank you and we hope you enjoy our paper.