1. Ashley Ann Rash
Capstone
Playing Video Games as Positive Deviance
Introduction
Video games have been a part of mainstream society since around the 1960's and has
been a growing industry ever since. From arcade machines to home consoles, it is easier for
people to acquire some type of game and become "gamers" (Cole & Griffiths, 2007). However,
many people are stigmatized in today's society for playing video games. The two major
stereotypes that the media portrays is the virgin man in his mom's basement or as a sociopath
who is a danger to society. Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook shootings, brought
about more attention to the latter stereotype when it was found out he played video games in his
basement (Sandoval, Friedman & Hutchinson, 2013). This case has horribly enhanced the
stereotype with complete disregard for other factors: the fact that he had access to all these
weapons, his being bulled a school, being home-schooled, and other important ideas. People
blame the video games he played as a main reason he committed this tragedy and the
government is trying to use this as fuel to regulate video games. One of the first cases people
used in order to fuel the video game panic was the Columbine shooting on April 20th, 1999.
Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed twelve students and one teacher at Columbine high school
in Littleton, Colorado (Korach, 2012). Pychiatrist Jerald Block claimed the trigger that caused
the two boys to commit their heinous actions was their parents took away their video games.
Soon, parents and researchers focused on a non-existent link between video games and juvenile

2. violence (Korach, 2012). In actuality, gamers are not all the same nor do they all have a desire to
commit crimes. I will actually show how this is the opposite for some gamers.
This paper will examine the ways that people interact with others on online video games,
how video games may be a new influence in classrooms, people who play video games may be a
part of their local community, and how civic engagement affects delinquency. A major aspect to
remember is that this paper focuses on delinquency, not deviance. Because these individuals
spend more hours playing video games, they are already deviant when compared to normal
society. Delinquency will be defined as an offense or misconduct that is in violation of the law.
Also, the games that will be the primary focus will be Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-
Playing Games (MMORPGs), such as Guild Wars or World of Warcraft. Studies that examine
these types of games have only recently been published due to the long period of time that is
needed for proper observations so there are very few data sets. Games that are not multi-player
will not yield the same results simply because it is a single person in the game that has no
interaction with others.
Theoretical Perspective
There are several theories that could support this hypothesis, such as Social Bond theory,
but this paper will focus on Labeling theory and Edwin Sutherland's Differential Association
theory. Labeling Theory, created by Becker, focuses on how it is not the act a person commits
but how the label that person is given early in development can lead to certain problems later on
(Dye). For example, a person who is seen as a "nerd" by others may face ridicule and torment
simply because they play video games. They may feel that they need to match the nerd
stereotype more simply because that is what society is telling that that is what they need to be.

3. For Differential Association theory is based on the idea that people develop based on
their environment. The behaviors and actions of the people around them as well as the
community majorly affect how a person will develop (Matsueda, 1982). They will emulate the
people around them; whether or not they are following the laws or norms of today's society. If
the person grows up in a place where crime is a major part of daily life, they will grow up
believing that this is how people from the area are (Matsueda, 1982).
However, with raising numbers of gamers across the world, people can realize that
"gamers" are not just nerds but an essential part of society. These theories apply to gamers
because society believes it is these theories that best explain why some of them enter into crime.
In fact, these theories can be the reason gamers are instead very social and big parts to society.
Through Social Learning theory, gamers learn through others what is proper etiquette, game-
play, and attitudes. Many online games that have thousands of players will have administrators
and controllers who monitor players of a certain district (Cole & Griffiths, 2007). If a player
begins using foul language, rude behavior, or does not follow the proper game rules, it is grounds
for being banned (Lucas & Sherry, 2004). Some people may only be temporarily banned at first
but a second offense may cause someone to be permanently banned (Lucas & Sherry, 2004).
This is similar to society; if you commit a crime, you get jail time which takes you out of society
for a temporary amount of time. For Labeling theory, being classified as a gamer may seem
negative at first but it is actually a great number of people in today's society. Now there are
countless online communities, forums, and clubs people can join to meet up with other gamers.
Conventions are even held where thousands of people can meet, such as PAX East, and
encourage people to play video games. (Hussain & Griffiths, 2009) Gamers are a classification
that allows people to unify together and not be alone. Many people who identify as a gamer

4. usually will have more friends than their classmates or neighbors. They may not always meet up
at the same bar every Saturday in person, but, in games like World of Warcraft, people can meet
up in the same location online each week and talk and discuss anything they want to. This also
allows for people to feel more open and honest since this is not a face-to-face interaction.
(Smyth, 2007) When in person, someone may feel more awkward or nervous, but in a game,
people can be however they want, as shy or upbeat as they want, as long as they aren't ruining
game-play for others.
Literature Review
In games like World of Warcraft or DC Universe Online, there truly is power in numbers.
Social interaction is a major part of any MMORPG and is needed in order for full gaming
experience. For example, in Guild Wars 2, a player starts out the game by choosing a crafting
profession, no matter what their race or class (Hussain & Griffiths, 2009). Examples include but
are not limited to chef, blacksmith, leatherworker, jeweler, and huntsman. A chef can create
different dishes and items that improve character's attributes for a limited amount of time.
However, a chef cannot create the same items that a jeweler can. The player will then need to
contact other people in the game in order to get the items he or she wants. Players who interact
on a regular basis can join forces and form a guild in order to contact each other faster, locate
each other quicker, and share items the player may have a surplus of (Jang & Ryu, 2011). Many
of the missions, quests, and objectives cannot be completed without characters and players
interacting with one another. Once a guild is formed, it helps unlock extra quests that will yield a
greater reward than other solo missions. Also, by entering into different territories or areas,
random events may show up such as a monster that is on its way to destroy a village. A large
number of players are needed to kill the monster but they will all be rewarded with experience

5. and money (Lucas & Sherry, 2004). By working with others, there is an obvious benefit for
players to try and reach out to others and create networks. Some people may negatively associate
these interactions as ways for predators to find targets but very little real-world interaction is
needed in the game. They can exchange their items but chat functions can be turned off in order
to keep each player to themselves. Also, as stated above, there are administrators and experts
who watch gameplay and ensure that everyone is protected to the best of their capabilities
(Hussain & Griffiths, 2009).
Using Massively-Multiplayer Online Role Playing games in classrooms has been a new
phenomenon around the world. In the Korean culture, there is a far greater amount of people who
consider themselves gamers here than most countries around the world (Suh, Kim, & Kim,
2010). For example, Starcraft, a strategy-based computer video game, is one of the most
predominantly played video games in the world but in Korea it is almost seen as North
Americans look at football. There are channels people can watch in Korea in which they simply
watch other people play Starcraft (Suh, Kim, & Kim, 2010).
Cultures have started to realize that games such as MMORPGs actually may help
language skills, personality development, and critical-thinking. Firstly, the teachers who observe
the students can watch how each child designs their characters. Any indicators of a problem the
child may be having can be seen if the child chooses a character of the opposite gender because
then they could stop something bad in their life (Dickey, 2007). As each child plays, they can be
corrected on how to move or access areas without feeling anxious about grades or catching up to
everyone else. Everyone is on an equal playing field and it helps alleviate any distress. Also, if
the teacher wants, they can choose real-life situations in which the students can learn how to
behave. (Curry, 2010) For example, if the teacher wants to practice “Stranger Danger,” they can

6. set up several Non-Player Characters and have them try to get the children to follow them. By
using this, children can recognize unusual behavior better than just a person speaking in the front
of the room setting. Finally, by listening and following prompts on the screens, children can
learn their specific language better or even other languages (Susaeta, Jimenez, Nussbaum,
Gajardo, Andreu, & Villalta, 2010). Korean culture encourages students to learn English but it
may not always be reinforced at home. With MMORPGs, students may find that they like the
games and want to play them at home. Since most MMORPGs can have players of different
languages playing together, the students can then apply what they learned in class to this game.
Research through the has shown that people who play MMORPGs are more likely to be
a part of their community and complete volunteer work. This may be in part of the social
interactions that are involved on the games. Players may find out that their online friends are part
of organizations that help their community and may want to be a part of their local chapter.
These gamers helps defeat the stereotype that the players are just men who stay in their parent's
basement all day; these players go out and are a bigger part of their community than most people
give them credit for.
Many studies have found that if an individual took part in their community or volunteer
work, there is a decreased likelihood of them being delinquent. By being a part of something
larger than themselves, individuals can develop a sense of pride and accomplishment, feelings
they may not have very often (Warburtona, Bredinb, Horitab, Zbogara, Scotta, Escha, &
Rhodesc, 2007). Civic engagement allows people to reach the goals set by society and gives
them the chance to break away from the wrong path: a path of crime. Organizations can create
awareness in the area for any problems and call other people to action. These organizations not
only help each person feel important and capable of something good, they also heavily influence

7. the community around them (Pattavina, Byrne, & Garcia, 2006; Farkas & Jones, 2007). If a
community is strong and acts together, then there will be a stronger form of social control and
will impact the level of criminal activity. Now, before someone plans to commit a crime out on
the streets, seeing messages or posters from the organizations, or even simply hearing a message
from the television or radio, they may think twice about if committing the crime is worth it.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that a person who spends more time playing video games will have an
increased likelihood of that person being civically engaged in their community.
Methods
Data
This research uses the telephone survey completed from November 1, 2007 to February
5, 2008 by the Princeton Survey Research International called Teens, Gaming, and Civic
Engagement (Lenhart, Kahne, Middaugh, Macgill, Evans & Vitak, 2008).The sample that was
used was generalizable to the public and consisted of 1102 teens between the ages of 12 to 17-
years-old as well as their parents. Questions on the survey were what types of consoles were in
the home, how often the teens or family members were on the internet, what types of civic
engagement the family was in if applicable, and the attitudes people had while playing the
games.
Measurement of Variables
Independent Variables

8. For this study, the independent variable will be frequency of playing video games. This
will be measured by asking the question “How often do you play video games?" (K18).
Response categories were originally 1=several times a day, 2=about once a day, 3= 3-5 days a
week, 4=1-2 days a week, 5= every few weeks, 6=less often, and 7=never. This was recoded so
1=never, 2= less often, 3= every few weeks, 4=1-2 days a week, 5= 3-5 days a week, 6= about
once a day, and 7=several times a day.
Dependent Variables
The dependent variable will be civic engagement. This will be measured by asking the
question K5a “I have volunteered in my community.” The response categories are Yes=1 and
No=0.
Control Variables
My control variables will be respondent’s sex, respondent’s race, respondent’s age, and
family income.
Respondent’s sex was originally coded as males=1 and females=2. It was recoded as a
dummy variable by having males=1 and females=0.
Respondent’s race was originally coded as White=1, Black or African-American=2,
Asian or Pacific Islander=3, Mixed Race=4, Native American/American Indian=5, and other=6.
This was recoded as a dummy variable by having white=1 and non-white=0.
Respondent’s age was coded as age 12=1, age 13=2, age 14=3, age 15=4, age 16=5, and
age 17=6.

9. Family income was coded Less than $10,000=1, $10,000 to under $20,000=2, $20,000 to
under $30,000=3, $30,000 to under $40,000=4, $40,000 to under $50,000=5, $50,000 to under
$75,000=6, $75,000 to under $100,000=7, $100,000 or more=8.
Table I: Descriptive Statistics
Variable Percent
Volunteering in community
Yes 63.5
No 36.5
How Often Do You Play
Video Games?
Never 12.1
Less Often 18.0
Every Few Weeks 21.1
1-2 Days A Week
3-5 Days A Week
About Once A Day
Several Times A Day
22.7
15.8
10.2
.1
Race
White 80.1
Non-white 19.9
Sex
Male 50.5
Female 49.5
Age
12 14.7
13 16.5
14 14.2
15 18.4
16 17.9
17 18.3
Income
Less than $10,000 3.4
$10,000 to under $20,000 5.1
$20,000 to under $30,000 7.6
$30,000 to under 40,000 8.9
$40,000 to under 50,000 8.6
$50,000 to under 75,000 18.8
$75,000 to under 100,000 16.2
$100,000 or more 21.0
N=1102

10. Table II: Bivariate Correlation Matrix
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Gaming 1.000
2 Volunteering .048 1.000
3 Age .117*** .102** 1.000
4 Sex -.352*** -.054 .009 1.000
5 Income .016 .152*** .044 .059 1.000
6 Race -.018 .085** .034 -.009 .188*** 1.000
* p<.05
** p<.01
***p<.001
Results
Bivariate Results
According to the correlation matrix (Table II), Volunteering in the community was
positively correlated to respondents who played video games more often (r=.048, p=n.s). There
was a negative correlation between the control variable of race and frequency of playing video
games (r=-.018, p=n.s). However, the control variable of sex was negatively correlated but
significant to frequency of playing video games (r= -.352, p<.001), which could be interpreted as
females played video games more frequently than males. Respondent's age had a positive
correlation with video game play (r= ..117, p<.001), which means older teens are more likely to
play video games more often than younger teens. However, since this focuses on teens between
the ages of 12-17, there may be some limitations. Income was positively correlated but not
significant to video game play (r=.016, p=n.s).
In other sections of the bivariate correlation, in specifically the volunteering column and
income column. Age had a positive correlation with volunteering in their community (r=.102,
p<.01). This means older teens are more likely to be civically engaged than younger teens.
Income was positively correlated to volunteering in the community (r=.152, p<.001), meaning

11. teens from higher income households were more likely to volunteer in their community than
lower income households. Since the teens would not have to worry about finding a job like a
paper route to support their family, this gives them more time to be civically engaged. Race was
positively correlated with volunteering in their community (r=.085,p<.01) and meant white
people were more likely to be civically engaged than non-whites. For the income column, race
was shown to be positively correlated and significant (r=.188, p<.001). This could be explained
as white people are more likely to have a higher income than non-whites.
Table III: Civic Engagement by Online Games and Control Variables
Males Females
Variable B Exp(b) B Exp(b)
Gaming .048 1.050 -.002 .998
Race .063 1.065 .550* 1.734
Age .104 1.110 .137* 1.1147
Income .169*** 1.184 .119* 1.126
Constant -1.090** .336 -.895* .409
-2 Log Likelihood 645.610
18.286
.049
566.160
19.241**
.057
Model χ2
R2
* p<.05
** p<.01
***p<.001
Regression Results
In order to determine if there was a gender difference between males and females and
civic engagement, I separated the regression into one model for males and one model for females
with all variables.
In the Male Model, the independent variable of how often the respondent plays video
games and control variables of race, age, and income were used. There was no significant
relationship between volunteering and video game play (b=.048, p=n.s). However, only income
was shown to have a significant relationship with volunteering. For every increase in household

12. income (b=.169, p<.001), male teens will be 18.4% more likely to volunteer in their community
than teens of lower income (Exp(b)=1.184). Age had no significance to volunteering (b= .104,
p=n.s). Race was found to have no significant relationship to volunteering (b=.063, p=n.s.).
In the Female model, the independent variable of how often the respondent plays video
games and the same control variables in the Male Model were used. There was no significant
relationship between volunteering and frequency of video game play (b=-.002, p=n.s.). All other
variables had significance. Race was shown to have a significant relationship to volunteering
(b=.550, p<.05). White females were 73.4% more likely than non-white females to volunteer in
their community (Exp(b)= 1.734). For every year older (b=.137, p<.05), female teens were
14.7% more likely to volunteer in their community (Exp(b)=1.147). Income was shown to have a
significant relationship with volunteering (b=.119, p<.05). For each increase in household
income, female teens were 12.6% more likely to volunteer in their community than lower income
female teens (Exp(b)=1.126).
Discussion
The results of the multivariate analysis may not have proven my original hypothesis, that
the more time a person spends playing online video games, there will be an increased likelihood
of them being involved in their community, the results bring about several points. Although not
all of my variables were significant, two of my variables, online video game-playing and sex,
were borderline significant. Furthermore, only one of my variables, sex, was negatively
correlated with civic engagement, meaning females are more likely than males to volunteer in
their community.

13. Some weaknesses of this study are that the questions did not particularly gauge exactly
how often a person does a certain activity, like playing video games or volunteering in their
community. This is most likely due to the fact that there were multiple variables trying to be
measured besides video games, including cigarette use, parent's feelings about the internet, and
all the different types of games being questioned about. In order to ensure there was enough time
to ask all of the questions, other questions may have been thrown out.
Another major weakness of this study was due to the fact that the way of reaching the
participants was through telephone surveys. Firstly, many people may not have allowed
themselves or their family members to be interviewed. If the person on the phone knew it would
take more than half an hour to complete the survey, they may have hung up instead of
participate. Or, if asked whether or not there were children in the house, a parent may say no in
concern about who this person on the phone really was. By saying there were no children, the
family was deemed ineligible and the number was crossed out.
Another problem that deals with this being a phone survey is that many people in today's
society no longer have land lines and instead use only cell phones. If this study was to be
replicated, it may be more beneficial to attempt an online survey accessible to teens or gamers in
general, perhaps through social media websites. This would allow for teens to feel more open
and honest about how many hours they spend playing games, how often they volunteer in their
community, and the truth about how they think about certain issues such as video game
addiction.
One weakness that came about in this research for my interests was that there were no
questions that asked about delinquency or crime. For many of today's youth, video game playing

14. is still carries a negative stigma. Some people may deem the child as "weird" or "nerdy," creating
a feeling of social isolation that could only be fulfilled through online interactions. Other people,
in following popular media's insistence that video game-playing leads to children becoming
serial killers or mass murderers. Millions of people play in these online, virtual worlds but, since
society deems this as being deviant, many people try to hide their hobby.
Lastly, this study was only completed during a three month period. A better way this
study could have been done was by extending the length of time by an additional several months.
By eliminating the telephone survey and opting for an online one, the additional money that
would have been used to have people manage the phone lines could have been used to ensure the
website was up and running for longer. Once a person completed the survey, an email or notice
could be sent to the participant to reinterview them to find out if there were any changes to the
person's feelings, activities, or beliefs.
Policy Implications
As a person could imagine, there is still many negative stereotypes about people who
play video games; they are overweight and live in their mother's basement, they will be unable to
socialize with society if they are in public, or they will grow up and murder people. Then again,
people are becoming increasingly more focused on technology within the last two decades. Now,
in a crowded family restaurant, an airplane, or a bus, parents may pull out an ipad in order to
give their child some type of distraction. When many of our generation were kids, we played
Risk or Sorry with our families and friends. Today, people could be at a party and everyone will
be glued to their phone checking on Facebook or Twitter. Instead of talking with people who are

15. right next to them, they are more focused on celebrities uploading pictures of what they are
eating for dinner.
If we introduced Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) to
children at a younger age, but have teachers instruct them on how to play, many may like the
idea of creating characters on World of Warcraft or going on quests with their friends. This could
create a social bond between the kids and prevent them from teasing or bullying kids who
already to enjoy such games. There are countless different kinds of MMORPGs, not all of them
involving fantasy or science fiction. Everyone could find a game or server that would allow them
to be whoever they want to without fear of judgment or ridicule.
Popular media today enjoys making it seem as though simply playing an online video
game makes you infinitely more likely to be a killer. As a society, we should try to fight against
these negative perceptions and show how successful video game players can be in life. Kazou
Hirai, the current president and CEO of Sony, the corporation responsible for creating the
Playstation video game system, fell in love with video games at a young age and now runs one of
the most successful companies in history. Vin Diesel, the actor most noted for his roles in the
Fast and the Furious movies, spends just as much time in the gym as he does playing World of
Warcraft.If the media would abandon the witch-hunt of trying to deter people from playing
online video games, perhaps people would realize the games are not the cause for people's
delinquency, but the social strain society puts on gamers.

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