Video game preferences and their relation to career interests

Abstract The current study used an mTURK sample to determine if there is a relation between video game preferences and career interests. Previous research has found that individual (e.g., personality) differences influence gaming preferences (Zammitto, 2001) and we sought to extend these findings to the domain of career interests. In addition, we examined the potential moderating role of gender. Since researchers have found that gender disparities in spatial attention can be reduced by playing certain types of video games (Feng, Spence, & Pratt, 2007), and it has been demonstrated that spatial ability is an important predictor of success in careers where women are typically underrepresented (Blickenstaff, 2005), we predicted that women with a preference for these types of games (versus a general preference) may have more interest in these careers. We found that gaming motivations were differentially associated with career interests. In addition, gender was found to significantly moderate a number of these relations, such that the association between gaming tendencies and career interests was stronger for women than for men. Findings from the current study should help guide future research that aims to increase the representation of women in STEM careers.

[1]  N. Heilbronner.  The STEM Pathway for Women , 2013 .

[2]  Zhanna Bagdasarov,et al.  The Role of Gender and Sensation Seeking in Film Choice , 2008, J. Media Psychol. Theor. Methods Appl..

[3]  Russell A. Poldrack,et al.  The Interface Between Neuroscience and Psychological Science , 2008 .

[4]  Shirley Matile Ogletree,et al.  College Students’ Video Game Participation and Perceptions: Gender Differences and Implications , 2007 .

[5]  J. Schermer.  The Jackson Career Explorer , 2012 .

[6]  J. McGrath Cohoon,et al.  Attaching Women to the CS Major , 2005 .

[7]  Veronica Zammitto.  Gamers' personality and their gaming preferences , 2010 .

[8]  P. Vernon,et al.  A behavior genetic analysis of vocational interests using a modified version of the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey , 2008 .

[9]  J. Burger.  Desire for control and academic performance , 1992 .

[10]  Jan L. Plass,et al.  Gender and player characteristics in video game play of preadolescents , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[11]  David N. Beede,et al.  Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation , 2011 .

[12]  E. Maccoby,et al.  The Psychology of Sex Differences , 1974 .

[13]  John L. Sherry,et al.  Narrative and interactivity in computer games , 2006 .

[14]  Janet E. Mertz,et al.  Gender, culture, and mathematics performance , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[15]  D. Lubinski,et al.  Gender Differences in Abilities and Preferences Among the Gifted: Implications for the Math-Science Pipeline , 1992 .

[16]  J. H. Steiger,et al.  Accomplishment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Its Relation to STEM Educational Dose: A 25-Year Longitudinal Study , 2010 .

[17]  Ching-I Teng,et al.  Personality Differences between Online Game Players and Nonplayers in a Student Sample , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[18]  Gregory J. Feist.  The Development of Scientific Talent in Westinghouse Finalists and Members of the National Academy of Sciences , 2006 .

[19]  J. Schermer,et al.  The Jackson Career Explorer in Relation to the Career Directions Inventory , 2011 .

[20]  Christoph Klimmt,et al.  Gender and Computer Games: Exploring Females' Dislikes , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[21]  D. Shepherd,et al.  Self-Employment as a Career Choice: Attitudes, Entrepreneurial Intentions, and Utility Maximization , 2002 .

[22]  J. Pratt,et al.  Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial Cognition , 2007, Psychological science.

[23]  John L. Sherry,et al.  Sex Differences in Video Game Play: , 2004, Commun. Res..

[24]  C. Sanchez.  Enhancing visuospatial performance through video game training to increase learning in visuospatial science domains , 2011, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

[25]  Jerry M. Burger,et al.  Desire for control and achievement-related behaviors. , 1985 .

[26]  Janet Shibley Hyde,et al.  Meta-Analysis and the Psychology of Gender Differences , 1990, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

[27]  Xiao-Li Meng,et al.  Comparing correlated correlation coefficients , 1992 .

[28]  C. Schwieren,et al.  Can Personality Explain What is Underlying Women's Unwillingness to Compete? , 2011 .

[29]  J. Blickenstaff.  Women and science careers: leaky pipeline or gender filter? , 2005 .