Not Only for the (Tom) boys: Gender Variables as Predictors for Playing Motivations, Passion, and Addiction for MMORPGs

Background. Research on playing motivation and passion for MMORPGs and gender has so far mainly focused on biological sex and neglected variables related to social gender such as masculinity and femininity. As some playing motivations and obsessive passion are assumed to be related to problematic game play, problematic game play is still considered a male phenomenon, often based on mainly male samples and disregarding underlying causes in problematic tendencies that could explain or extent findings on biological sex difference. Method. This survey based quantitative study investigated the impact of masculine and feminine personality on game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) players (N = 375, 44.3% female) were recruited via Facebook and online games. Feminine and masculine personality traits were assessed along with game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Results. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that gender traits add significant value for almost all variables of interest. Negative masculine traits were positive predictors for achievement as game play motivation while positive feminine traits predicted social interaction. Harmonious passion was predicted by positive masculine traits. Negative feminine traits were found to predict immersion as well as obsessive passion and were also important for problematic game play. Conclusion. Gender traits add valuable information to mere biological sex concerning different game related concepts such as motivation, passion, and problematic game play. Despite the idea that problematic game play is a male phenomenon, negative feminine traits seem to be linked to problematic tendencies. We suggest including gender and personality variables for future games and/or media studies