Abstract
The present study investigated how task demand (cognitive load and interactivity) and avatar sexualization in a video game influenced rape myth acceptance (RMA), hostile sexism, and self-objectification. In a between-subjects design, 300 U.S. college students either played or watched someone else play a videogame as either a sexualized or non-sexualized female avatar under high (memorize 7 symbols) or low (memorize 2 symbols) cognitive load. Hypotheses were derived from the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP) and perspectives on stereotype processing. Results contradicted hypotheses that greater task demands and sexualization would produce greater RMA, hostile sexism, and self-objectification. Instead, we found that sexualization did not affect these variables. Greater cognitive load reduced rape myth acceptance and hostile sexism for those in the sexualized avatar condition, but it did not affect self-objectification. We discuss these results with respect to the LC4MP and suggest that the processing of stereotype-inconsistent information might be the underlying cause of these unexpected findings. These results provide tentative evidence that cognitively demanding video game environments may prompt players to focus on stereotype-inconsistent, rather than stereotype-consistent, social information.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice: 25th anniversary edition. Reading: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co..
Beasley, B., & Standley, T. C. (2002). Shirts vs. skins: Clothing as an indicator of gender role stereotyping in video games. Mass Communication and Society, 5, 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0503_3.
Beck, V. S., Boys, S., Rose, C., & Beck, E. (2012). Violence against women in video games: A prequel or sequel to rape myth acceptance. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27, 3016–3031. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512441078.
Behm-Morawitz, E., & Mastro, D. (2009). The effects of the sexualization of female video game characters on gender stereotyping and female self-concept. Sex Roles, 61, 808–823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9683-8.
Bethesda Game Studios. (2012). Skyrim creation kit [computer software]. Rockville: Bethesda Softworks, LLC.
Bodenhausen, G. V. (1988). Stereotypic biases in social decision making and memory: Testing process models of stereotype use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 726–737. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.726.
Bodenhausen, G. V., & Lichtenstein, M. (1987). Social stereotypes and information processing strategies: The impact of task complexity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 871–880. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.5.871.
Bohner, G., Jarvis, C. I., Eyssel, F., & Siebler, F. (2005). The causal impact of rape myth acceptance on men’s rape proclivity: Comparing sexually coercive and noncoercive men. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 819–828. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.284.
Britton, B. K., & Tesser, A. (1982). Effects of prior knowledge on use of cognitive capacity in three complex cognitive tasks. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 21, 421–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(82)90709-5.
Daviault, C., & Schott, G. (2013). Looking beyond representation: Situating the significance of gender portrayal within game play. In C. C. Carter, L. Steiner, & L. McLaughlin (Eds.), The Routledge companion to media and gender (pp. 440–449). Didcot: Milton Park.
Dietz, T. L. (1998). An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games: Implications for gender socialization and aggressive behavior. Sex Roles, 38, 425–442. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018709905920.
Dill, K. E., & Thrill, K. P. (2007). Video game characters and the socialization of gender roles: Young people’s perceptions mirror sexist media depictions. Sex Roles, 57, 851–864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9278-1.
Dill, K. E., Brown, B. P., & Collins, M. A. (2008). Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1402–1408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.06.002.
Entertainment Software Association. (2017). 2017 essential facts about the computer and video game industry. Retrieved from https://www.theesa.com/article/2017-essential-facts-computer-video-game-industry/.
Feather, N. T., & McKee, I. R. (2012). Values, right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and ambivalent attitudes toward women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42, 2479–2504. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.00950.x.
Ferragut, M., Ortiz-Tallo, M., Blanca, M. J., & Bendayan, R. (2017). Sexist attitudes and beliefs during adolescence: A longitudinal study of gender differences. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14, 32–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2016.1144508.
Fox, J., & Bailenson, J. N. (2009). Virtual virgins and vamps: The effects of exposure to female characters’ sexualized appearance and gaze in an immersive virtual environment. Sex Roles, 61, 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9599-3.
Fox, J., & Potocki, B. (2015). Lifetime video game consumption, interpersonal aggression, hostile sexism, and rape myth acceptance: A cultivation perspective. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 1912–1931. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515570747.
Fox, J., & Tang, W. (2014). Sexism in online video games: The role of conformity to masculine norms and social dominance orientation. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, 314–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.014.
Fox, J., Bailenson, J. N., & Tricase, L. (2013). The embodiment of sexualized virtual selves: The Proteus effect and experiences of self-objectification via avatars. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 930–938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.027.
Fox, J., Ralston, R. A., Cooper, C. K., & Jones, K. A. (2015). Sexualized avatars lead to women’s self-objectification and acceptance of rape myths. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39, 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/036168434553578.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Harrison, K. (2005). Throwing like a girl: Self-objectification predicts adolescent girls’ motor performance. Journal of Sports and Social Issues, 29, 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723504269878.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification theory: Towards understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x.
Fredrickson, B. L., Roberts, T., Noll, S. M., Quinn, D. M., & Twenge, J. M. (1998). That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 269–284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.1.269.
Gilbert, D. T., & Hixon, J. G. (1991). The trouble of thinking: Activation and application of stereotypic beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 509–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.509.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1997). Hostile and benevolent sexism: Measuring ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00104.x.
Grodal, T. (2000). Video games and the pleasures of control. In D. Zillmann & P. Vorderer (Eds.), Media entertainment (pp. 197–213). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hamilton, D. L., & Sherman, J. W. (1994). Stereotypes. In R. S. Wyer, Jr., & T. K. Srull (Eds.), Handbook of social cognition (Vol. 2, 2nd ed., pp. 1-68). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Hartmann, T. (2011). Users’ experiential and rational processing of virtual violence. In S. Malliet & K. Poels (Eds.), Vice city virtue: Moral issues in digital game play (pp. 135–150). Leuven: Acco.
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Hickman, S. E., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (1997). College women’s fears and precautionary behaviors relating to acquaintance rape and stranger rape. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 527–547. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00129.x.
Jansz, J., & Martis, R. G. (2007). The Lara phenomenon: Powerful female characters in video games. Sex Roles, 56, 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9158-0.
Johnson, W. A., Greenberg, S., Fisher, R., & Martin, D. (1970). Divided attention: A vehicle for monitoring memory processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 83, 164–171. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0028554.
Krcmar, M., & Eden, A. (2017). Rational versus intuitive processing: The impact of cognitive load and moral salience on in game aggression and feelings of guilt. Journal of Media Psychology, 0, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000215.
Lang, A. (2000). The limited capacity model of mediated message processing. Journal of Communication, 50, 46–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02833.x.
Lang, A. (2006). Using the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing to design effective cancer communication messages. Journal of Communication, 56, S57–S80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00283.x.
Lang, A. (2009). The limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing. In R. L. Nabi & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), The sage handbook of media processes and effects (pp. 193–204). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Lanis, K., & Covell, C. (1995). Images of women in advertisements: Effects on attitudes related to sexual aggression. Sex Roles, 32, 639–649. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544216.
Lin, J. H. (2013). Do video games exert stronger effects on aggression than film? The role of media interactivity and identification on the association of violent content and aggressive outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 535–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.11.001.
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Rape myths: In review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 133–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00448.x.
Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years. Journal of Communication, 66, 564–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12237.
Macrae, C. N., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2000). Social cognition: Thinking categorically about others. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 93–120. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.93.
Macrae, C. N., Hewstone, M., & Griffiths, R. J. (1993). Processing load and memory for stereotype-based information. European Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420230107.
Macrae, C. N., Milne, A. B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (1994). Stereotypes as energy-saving devices: A peek inside the cognitive toolbox. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.1.37.
Matthews, N. L. (2011). Skill gap: Quantifying violent content in video game play between variably skilled users [Master’s thesis]. Indiana University. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2smC7q1.
Matthews, N. L., Lynch, T., & Martins, N. (2016). Real ideal: Investigating how ideal and hyper-ideal video game bodies affect men and women. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.026.
Milburn, M. A., Mather, R., & Conrad, S. D. (2000). The effects of viewing R-rated movie scenes that objectify women on perceptions of date rape. Sex Roles, 43, 645–664. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007152507914.
Miller, M. K., & Summers, A. (2007). Gender differences in video game characters’ roles, appearances, and attire as portrayed in video game magazines. Sex Roles, 57, 733–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9307-0.
Miller, D. T., & Turnbull, W. (1986). Expectancies and interpersonal processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 37, 233–256. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.37.020186.001313.
Moskowitz, G. B. (2005). Social cognition: Understanding self and others. New York: The Guilford Press.
Noll, S. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). A meditational model linking self-objectification, body shame, and disordered eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 623–636. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1998.tb00181.x.
Payne, D. L., Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1999). Rape myth acceptance: Exploration of its structure and its measurement using the Illinois rape myth acceptance scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 27–68. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1998.2238.
Pendry, L. F., & Macrae, C. N. (1999). Cognitive load and person memory: The role of perceived group variability. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 925–942. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199911)29:7<925::AID-EJSP973>3.0.CO;2-O.
Pennell, H., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2015). The empowering (super) heroine? The effects of sexualized female characters in superhero films on women. Sex Roles, 72, 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0455-3.
Polman, H., de Castro, B. O., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). Experimental study of the differential effects of playing versus watching violent videogames on children’s aggressive behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34, 256–264. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20245.
Posner, M. I., & Snyder, C. R. R. (1975). Facilitation and inhibition in the processing of signals. In P. M. A. Rabbitt & S. Dornic (Eds.), Attention and performance V (pp. 669–682). New York: Academic.
Potter, R. F., & Bolls, P. D. (2012). Psychophysiological measurement and meaning: Cognitive and emotional processing of media. New York: Routledge.
Pratto, F., Cidam, A., Stewart, A., Zeineddine, F., Aranda, M., Aiello, A., ... Henkel, K. (2012). Social dominance in context and in individuals: Contextual moderation of robust effects of social dominance orientation in 15 languages and 20 countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 587–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612473663.
Ratan, R. A., Taylor, N., Hogan, J., Kennedy, T., & Williams, D. (2015). Stand by your man: An examination of gender disparity in league of legends. Games and Culture, 10, 438–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412014567228.
Roberts, T., & Gettman, J. Y. (2004). Mere exposure: Gender differences in the negative effects of priming a state of self-objectification. Sex Roles, 51, 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000032306.20462.22.
Royse, P., Lee, J., Undrahbuyan, B., Hopson, M., & Consalvo, M. (2007). Women and games: Technologies of the gendered self. New Media & Society, 9(4), 555–576. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444807080322.
Rudman, L. A., & Glick, P. (2001). Prescriptive gender stereotypes and backlash toward agentic women. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 743–762. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00239.
Rudman, L. A., Glick, P., & Phelan, J. E. (2008). From the laboratory to the bench: Gender stereotyping research in the courtroom. In E. Borgida & S. T. Fiske (Eds.), Beyond common sense: Psychological science in the courtroom (pp. 83–102). Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Sherman, J. W., Lee, A. Y., Bessenoff, G. R., & Frost, L. A. (1998). Stereotype efficiency reconsidered: Encoding flexibility under cognitive load. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 589–606. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.589.
Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: 2. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127–190. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.127.
Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (2001). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stangor, C., & Duan, C. (1991). Effects of multiple task demands upon memory for in-formation about social groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 357–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(91)90031-Z.
Stangor, C., & McMillan, D. (1992). Memory for expectancy-congruent and expectancy-incongruent information: A review of the social and social developmental literatures. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 42–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.42.
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12, 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4.
Swim, J., Mallett, R., Russo-Devosa, Y., & Stangor, C. (2005). Judgments of sexism: A comparison of the subtlety of sexism measures and sources of variability in judgments of sexism. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 406–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2005.00240.x.
Szymanski, D. M., Moffitt, L. B., & Carr, E. R. (2011). Sexual objectification of women: Advances to theory and research. The Counseling Psychologist, 39, 6–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010378402.
Tyler, L. K., Hertel, P. T., McCallum, M. C., & Ellis, H. C. (1979). Cognitive effort and memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 5, 607–617. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.5.6.607.
Vandenbosch, L., Driesmans, K., Trekels, J., & Eggermont, S. (2017). Sexualized video game avatars and self-objectification in adolescents: The role of gender congruency and activation frequency. Media Psychology, 2, 221–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2016.1142380.
Wigboldus, D. H. J., Sherman, J. W., Franzese, H. L., & van Knippenberg, A. (2004). Capacity and comprehension: Spontaneous stereotyping under cognitive load. Social Cognition, 22, 292–309. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.22.3.292.35967.
Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). The virtual census: Representations of gender, race and age in video games. New Media & Society, 11, 815–834. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444809105354.
Yao, M. Z., Mahood, C., & Linz, D. (2010). Sexual priming, gender stereotyping, and likelihood to sexually harass: Examining the cognitive effects of playing a sexually-explicit video game. Sex Roles, 62, 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9695-4.
Yee, N., & Bailenson, J. (2007). The Proteus effect: The effect of transformed self-representation on behavior. Human Communication Research, 33, 271–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
There were no sources of funding or conflicts of interest to report.
Informed Consent
The research involved human participants and included an informed consent that was approved by Indiana University’s Institutional Review Board.
Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM 1
(DOCX 427 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Read, G.L., Lynch, T. & Matthews, N.L. Increased Cognitive Load during Video Game Play Reduces Rape Myth Acceptance and Hostile Sexism after Exposure to Sexualized Female Avatars. Sex Roles 79, 683–698 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0905-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0905-9