One More Reason for Women Not to Play: Gender Differences in the Perceptions about Video Game Influences on Body Image

This study examined young women and men’s perceptions about the influence of hypermuscular and hypersexualized male and female images on others of same and opposite gender. The role of gender in the third-person perceptions has been examined in three ways. As the subject of perception, women’s estimate of the influence on other men was higher than men’s estimate. In terms of the object of perception, the perceived influence of male and female video game images was higher when the influence was assessed on young adult males than on young adult females. As the source of influence, female images, as opposed to male images, increased the perceived influence perception. The third-person gap was also higher for women than men. Regression analyses confirmed that the gender difference was significant even after controlling for time spent on video games, video game self-efficacy, and perceived frequency of game play by the comparison target group. Based on these findings, implications for the third-person effect research were provided, along with recommendations for the industry, parents, and educators.

Publisher: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Marriott Downtown, Chicago, IL, Aug 06, 2008
Year of Publication: 2008