Jack Lipei Tang, Ph.D.

Video games serve as virtual spaces where members from different social groups encounter each other and interact. This study (N = 3,612) tests intergroup contact theory in the context of a global prosocial mobile game, leveraging unobtrusive in-game behavioral data alongside survey measures. Findings indicate that a higher proportion of interaction with foreign players is related to lower levels of future contact intentions. However, interacting with a diverse pool of foreign players significantly predicts an increased willingness for future contact with foreigners. Additionally, cross-group friendship is linked to lower levels of xenophobia. A three-way interaction shows that when high-contact heterogeneity is combined with fewer cross-group friends, intergroup contact can significantly mitigate xenophobia. Extending contact theory to the mobile gaming context, this study provides evidence from a global player base, highlighting the potential of video games, when designed to foster prosocial interactions, to promote positive intergroup relationships at both international and intercultural levels for billions of players engaging in the virtual world.

Youth online engagement and well-being are especially important in emerging countries, but they tend to be understudied. Rather, the existing research tends to be more on the United States. This study examined third place theory of virtual spaces on individual-level well-being among the Generation Z from Brazil and China, especially comparing them to their U.S. counterparts. Well-being, both related to realizing your full potential and lowering psychopathology, is relevant to youth engagement in online spaces, because the spaces can help the youth express their true selves and engage in supportive online communities. The participants were players of a mobile video game whose three months of pre-survey gameplay data and survey data (N = 986) were analyzed. We compared countries on several third place characteristics, on well-being, and how the third place characteristics predicted well-being. We found that players from the three countries were significantly different in several third place characteristics (i.e., neutral ground, leveler, and conversation). Well-being was also higher among the Chinese players. Moreover, the leveler characteristic–commonality of game levels among players and their in-game friends–significantly predicted well-being. These findings from a mobile game help better understand youth online perceptions and behaviors in different countries, correlates to well-being, and contribute to the theory development of virtual third places and digital public spheres.

Disruptive behaviors in online gaming communities are a growing concern, affecting player experience, retention, and well-being. While previous research has primarily focused on the victims’ experiences, this study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying the attitudinal and behavioral responses to both encountering disruptive behaviors and being flagged for such behaviors, as well as the effects on retention. The study retrieved longitudinal telemetry records of player reporting and gameplay data from the North American server of a popular competitive PvP (Player vs. Player) multiplayer online game, coupled with a psychometric survey of a randomly selected sample of 1,217 players. Based on the Rejection-Disidentification Model, this research identifies a shared pathway for both reporting and being reported for disruptive behavior. Our findings support a serial mediation model where both experiences are linked to decreased player engagement. This reduced engagement, reflected in diminished participation in game battles over time, is mediated by perceived discrimination and a reduced sense of community. Moreover, drawing on the concept of procedural justice from the Group Engagement Model, the study delineates unique pathways for the disengagement process for reporters and those reported. Being flagged for disruptive behavior leads to a significant drop in sustained engagement through a decreased sense of community, which is not the case for reporting disruptive behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.