I have vaguely discussed the Video games, MMORPGs in particular, and their contributions to social lives and identity formation. I will now touch upon the psychological concept of immediate gratification and how it applys to video games. Gratification refers to the psychological reward system built into all people. When you eat food to fill your stomach to stop it from hurting. Your brain sends a few neurochemicals to "reward" you for doing the right thing by eating. It reinforces the behavior of eating, which is necessary for survival. And I think most people would agree that such gratifying feelings are even more intense with the act of reproduction. But I digress.... Essentially, in life we do hundreds of little things every day that bring happiness into our lives at varying degrees.
How are video games and gratification related? Most video games instill a goal oriented quest system that rewards you with virtual points or items that contribute to the completion of the game. In most console games there is an end to the quest you have to complete the game. But in the online MMORPG most games are endless. There are always new quests to fulfill, that will make you stronger within the game. Most players feel a small sense of accomplishment with each quest or monster they kill because their efforts are always rewarded. Even though the rewards are virtual, the sense of happiness acquired through these accomplishments, is very real. Players are able to find immediate gratification through the playing of this games. They are able to see the results of their hard work slowly build up through time.
Gamemakers understand this concept very well. They build their games to give their players the satisfaction of become stronger within the game. MMORPGs also build their games to be an endless quest to become the strongest players in the game. So, in a way, you could say that games, even thought they are virtual and have no impact on the real world, can give us happiness and fulfill some deep set needs built into our psychological makeup. This is one factor that can keep players coming back to the game.
Okay, so you are not one of those who is particularly attracted to being a virtual character. The character in the game is just that and nothing more. So what else is attractive about video games. Well like almost everything else on the internet, most MMORPGs create highly social and interactive environments for their users. In fact, MMORPGs encourage players to play with other people. The rewards in game are much greater to those who accomplish quests with larger groups of people. There aren't many things that bring people together more then sharing a common goal or interest.
MMORPGs give people a chance to meet others from all over the world. However they are different from those social networking sites, in that all these player already share a common interest, the game itself. Instantly two or more people have a rich conversation topic and shared interest that brings them together. In addition to that, the shared feelings of striving for a common goal, within the game, also ties random players together in more subtle ways. People can learn about each other through the ways they choose to play the games and demonstrate their skill. Players are also free from the social constraints of physical appearance since your appearance in the game does not in anyway resemble your real appearance.
Once past the intial conversation topic of the game, players have a tendency to discuss their real lives with their in game friends. I have heard numerous stories from fellow gamers where they have met people in the game who they confided in and they take that confidence into the real world. Some couples have met in the game and gotten married in real life. Some people enjoy the opportunity the game allows them communicate with so many different people across the world.
The public has this general stereotype that gamers are for the most parted socially truncated and inept at communicating with people, thus they must turn to the game to hide themselves. This may not necessarily be true, they maybe much more social then the world gives them credit for. Their specialty or focus just happens to be video games instead of politics.
Inspired by an in class presentation on Wed. I began to think about (again) the issue of identity formation in MMORPGs. Recently video game addiction has become a rather hot topic among psychologists. Millions of people are spending hundreds of millions of hours in these online worlds. Now much of the older generation does not seem to understand the draw of a world that seems to have no tangible impact in our daily lives. But yet millions continue to play and pay-to-play, so there must be something that this online virtual world is doing to the fulfill the needs of so many people. I have many theories as to what the video games do for its players, but I will discuss only identity formation here.
The human identity is formed by the interaction of the person's environment and genetics. So one could say that in a way, we do not much have control over how we develop as people. Our genetics are predetermined by our parents and our environment at the earliest stages in life are already set as well. Some people had good experiences and others have not so great ones. There are countless permutations that are demonstrated in both and similarities and differences of all the people you meet today. So how does this relate to video games?
Well these virtual worlds offer players the chance to determine their own identities within a virtual world. This world has its rules and laws like our society, but the people are allowed to control their character from the very beginning of their "virtual life". From there the MMORPG allows them to customize their character to the minutest details to make them unique. Within that world through time and dedication, these players can build themselves up to be powerful players within the game. Former predetermined real world identities such as race, ethnicity, social class etc. do not matter in the game. In the MMORPG you can be whoever you want to be. It is this anonymity coupled with the control over ones identity that brings people to the game. They are freed from the real world's constraints and are playing god over their tiny avatar. Some may feel that within this game they have the chance to be who they want to be.
This can be especially attractive to those who feel uncomfortable in their own real-life identities. These people are the most at-risk of a video gaming addiction. Some recent stories paint a rather grim picture.
So the last time I wrote a blog post was for my Writing 340 class at USC. The teacher wanted us to post on topics from our majors following different prompts. Actually, his purpose for our blogs was probably very similar to what we are doing in this class. He wanted to combine the current technology with our writing class to familiarize ourselves with different outlets for writing. Nowadays we don't need spend hundreds of dollars to go have something published. We can do it right here with a little bit of time and an internet connection. Oh how the times have changed. Anyways, today I'm writing here again for ...
wait for it... . . . . . . Another class! I wonder what random stories I will write this time. I hope you enjoy these old posts. They are rather entertaining and I certainly put a goodly amount of time in them. Have Fun!
From an early age, many young girls in America are presented in films and television with the image that one day a tall, handsome, young prince astride a noble white steed will sweep them off their feet into a fairy tale happy ending. In each of these imaginary stories, all the problems that are so prevalent in real-life relationships, like differences in class or race, were solved with a flick of a magic stick. Cinderella married a Prince, even though she was just a maid in a rich household. The Little Mermaid managed to marry a human Prince, despite the fact that she has a tail instead of legs. If such barriers to relationships in real life were this easy to resolve, many families would be much happier. Unfortunately, we have no magic wands to wish away the circumstances that influence how we live our lives. Many young women begin to realize this as they grow and experience the world. Mate Selection is typically not as simple or glamorous as it appears in the movies. If they want that happy ending, young women must be careful in the traits they choose for their potential mate. Statistics state that in the U.S. one out of five marriages end in divorce within the first five years of marriage, and one out of three marriages end after ten years (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001, p.1).
With so many marriages ending in divorce, it leads me to question how women determine the qualities they want in a potential mate. Are high school girls less discriminating in their mate selection qualities compared to college girls? Do college girls have a more specific view of the good qualities in a potential mate? I hypothesize that high school girls are more idealistic in their mate selection whereas college girls are more specific.
Background Darwin’s theory of evolution states that the primary goal of most living organisms is to reproduce as to ensure the survival of their genes. Organisms over time naturally select the traits that will best help them survive in their environment. Kenrick asserts that mate selection from an evolutionary point of view means to examine the psychological processes that influence how humans choose their potential mates in ways that promotes reproductive success and guarantees the survival of their offspring (as cited in Surra, Gray, Cottle, & Boethcher, 2004, p.62). Much research has been done comparing the mate selection qualities of both men and women; however, we will focus on findings concerning women. Ben Hamida, Mineka, & Bailey found that women have a tendency to value economic status, college or better education, and larger waist-to-hip ratios in men (as cited in Surra et al., 2004, p.63). Many women are looking for a man who has access to a considerable amount of resources and will commit to a stable long-term relationship. The evolutionary perspective supports these qualities as the most useful in reproduction and taking care of the offspring. The economic resources support the family until the children are old enough to sustain themselves and the waist-to-hip ratio is a physical feature that signals strength and attractiveness (Surra et al., 2004, p.63).
As logical as the evolutionary perspective sounds, it does not fully explain all the influences in mate selection. The CL or Comparison Level theory includes more environmental factors, such as unique values and expectations of the selected partner that have been influenced by family experiences and religious affiliations (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2007, p.123). It focuses on the socialization experiences people have gone through to explain why we search for specific qualities in potential mates. According to this theory, people are more likely to be attracted to mates that exhibit qualities with which we are familiar with compared to our family, society, culture, religion, and society (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2007, p.123).
Since my study is comparing college and high school women, a developmental perspective may also explain some of the differences or similarities in mate selection. Erikson’s theory (1950) breaks human psychosocial development into eight difference stages. For the purpose of my study, I focused on the two developmental stages of adolescence and early adulthood. During each of these stages, Erikson predicts that people will encounter social crises that need to be resolved. In the adolescent stage, young women face the Identity versus Confusion crisis, where they attempt to establish their own unique identity in society. In the early adulthood phase, young women deal with the Intimacy versus Isolation phase, where they either learn to form close relationships with others or choose to be isolated (Nolen-Hoeksema, p.61-62).
Returning to my hypothesis with this perspective in mind, I predict that the reasoning behind the idealistic nature of the high school girls’ preference in mate qualities is because these young women are still in the identity development stage. They are beginning to integrate their own views of themselves, which makes it more difficult to decide on a specific quality in their potential mates. College women, on the other hand, have spent more time on this period of identity development, which allows them to focus more on specific qualities in their potential mate that will complement their own identities.
Methodology To gather information on the mate selection, an Internet survey was distributed to high school and college students, through Facebook and e-mail. At the beginning of the survey were basic demographic questions such as age, race, education, background, et cetera. The survey comprised a list of mate selection qualities consisting of physically descriptive words, personality characteristics, and specific personal values. Following the list of qualities, the survey included follow-up short answer questions that allowed the participant to elaborate on the reasoning behind their choices. These questions asked about previous relationships and other factors that might influence the participant’s mate selection. Overall, the survey was kept short to encourage the participants to complete as many of the questions as possible.
The population was limited to friends, classmates, and the high school friends of my younger brother, so some inherent biases accompany the information gathered. The sizes of the populations were moderately small, with twelve participants in the College group and fifteen participants in the High School group. The targeted age range was fourteen to twenty-four years old.
Results The basic demographic information contained the inherent biases I expected to accompany my results. The majority of the participants were Asian, which was anticipated since the high school my brother attends is close to 80% Asian and my own peer group is mostly of Asian descent. However, there were eight participants total in the categories of White, African American, and Hispanic or Latino origin, which added some diversity to the results. Surprisingly, my results demonstrated a wide range of ages from fifteen to twenty-four years old. As a safety precaution the study included a Sex question to separate out any unfortunate male participation in the results. Two male responses were noted but removed, as they were not the target population. In the boyfriend section of the survey, fifteen women had boyfriends or ex-boyfriends, and twelve had none. Of those fifteen, nine considered their boyfriends “marriage material” and six did not.
Following my demographic information was the selection of the top five qualities the participants chose for their potential mates. The most popular qualities were Respectful, Honest, Loyal, Sense of Humor, Intelligence and Family-Oriented. The least popular qualities were Cute, Suave, Stylish, Wealthy, and Athletic, which had no votes. Moderately popular qualities were Religious, Committed, and Affectionate, with less popular qualities of Romantic, Employed, and College Graduate. One participant wrote that “Intelligence is (also) a mitigating factor when looking at the career potential of the person and their capabilities with their job, relationships with others, etc.” For some girls, certain qualities such as Intelligence were considered as indicative of other qualities.
After the quality list, the subject was asked to explain why they choose each quality, which elicited some interesting answers. Generally, most young women chose Respectful because they wanted their partner to see them as one person responded, “equal regardless of my gender, SES, age, or upbringing.” Honesty was just as highly valued as Respectful. Many of the young women cited Honesty as being “key and important in building the vital trust in a relationship.” In relation to Honesty, Loyalty was also seen as another sign of trust, support, and interest in both the relationship and each other. Surprisingly, a Sense of Humor was a very popular choice, since many girls felt it would facilitate communication in the relationship and also entertain each other by “breaking up the seriousness of life.” These four qualities, in particular, both college and high school women agreed were the most desired qualities in a potential mate.
College and High school participants also agreed on Committed as an important quality to a lesser extent, since it showed that their partner was willing to invest in a long-term relationship. However, high school girls preferred that their partner posses the Intelligence quality more than the college women. They thought that Intelligence was important for contributing to multiple aspects of the relationship, such as decision-making, career, communication, and for amusement. Other qualities such as Religion and Family-Oriented showed no particular trend in popularity. A few wayward answers for different less popular qualities were are noted.
Glancing at the effect of boyfriends on the mate selection, most girls stated that having a boyfriend helped them consolidate and identify the qualities they did or did not want in their potential mates. Many who answered with this response were college-aged and seemed to have had ex-boyfriends that contributed to their selection of qualities. High school girls, on the other hand, provided some interesting answers such as, “Before I never had a 'type', but after I have been with my boyfriend for a while, all of his qualities and attributes are what I now consider my 'type’,” and “He's perfect, everything I want in a mate.”. I suspect these girls are currently in relationships. On the other side of the question, most of the girls who were not in a relationship cited their uncompromising high expectations of their mate selection qualities as the main barrier to finding boyfriends.
To conclude the last part of the survey was a general open-ended question that allowed the participants to elaborate further on any other influences on the mate selection qualities. The most common answer across the board was family or parents. Other answers included religion, school, observations of other relationships, and friends.
Discussion My results have yielded some fascinating points for discussion, with respect to the previous theories about mate selection. Honesty, Loyalty, and to a lesser extent, Committed, are all qualities with evolutionarily adaptive explanations that were supported by the responses given by the participants. As one girl frankly put it, “loyal because a [relationship] can only work when he's not thinking of another girl.” These three qualities are related to trust and support, which assures women that their partners will be there for them and their families and in doing so, they promote the survivability of their genes. However, in contrast to these evolutionarily favorable qualities, very few girls chose the resource-related qualities such as Employed, Wealthy, or Ambitious. In place of this, high school girls preferred Intelligence as the general indicator for career success. Within the college group, girls chose Ambition as the resource quality.
Respect and Family-Oriented qualities implicated the CL theory as the main explanation for their choice. Overall, both groups of women wanted their potential mates to respect them as individuals. Particularly in the U.S., the terms “equality” and “respect” are well-socialized values that hold special meaning for women with respect to their constant struggle to be recognized as equal to men. One young high school girl summarized, “they have to respect me in order for me to respect them.” Clearly, such a strong societal influence has made its impact on the young women involved in the study.
To a lesser extent, Family-Oriented was a popular choice, but I expected the value to be even more popular after reading the responses to the last open-ended question. Almost every participant attributed a part of the influence on their mate selection qualities to the influence of their families. The answers to the last question indicated that the women do in fact value their families’ opinions, yet only half of the girls specified Family as an important quality. This lack of family value may have been deemphasized in lieu of other more important qualities. In the sample, about six high school participants chose the Family-oriented quality, compared to five of the college women. This result indicates that neither high school nor college women are more general or specific in their mate quality choices. My hypothesis that the difference in developmental stages would lead to dissimilarity in mate selection between college and high school women was disproved. For the most part, both groups had a tendency to agree on the best qualities a potential mate should have. Such a result has led me to suspect that some young women in the United States are experiencing both of these stages at the same time. Our advances in technology allow people to constantly stay in contact with friends, family, and people they meet over the Internet. In addition to this increased opportunity to form close relationships, some families have dual-income earning parents, which encourages young adolescents to fill their social needs outside of the family. Compared to the College group, the High School women in my study are showing some early signs of maturity in their mate selection qualities, despite their struggle with their own identities. Erikson suggested that people do not always fully resolve all the crises they encounter at each of these stages, which the results of the study have supported in terms of identity and relationship choices.
The applicability of the results of this study is limited by a number of biases within the methodology. Conclusions drawn within the discussion should be considered carefully and specific only to this population. Some limitations included non-response bias, population selection bias, and bias in the wording of the questions. However, this study may serve as a starting point to direct research on this topic for a more in-depth analysis of mate selection criteria by young women.
References Anderson, S. A., & Sabatelli R. M. (2007). Family interaction: A multigenerational developmental perspective (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Bramlett M. D. & Mosher W. D. (2001) First marriage dissolution, divorce and remarriage: United States. Advance data from vital and health statistics, Issue 323, 1-20. Retrieved from Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton. Nolen-Hoeksema, S. Abnormal Psychology (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Surra C.A, Gray C. R., Cottle N., Boettcher T. M. J. (2004) Research on mate selection and premarital relationships: What do we really know? In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.) Handbook of Family Communication (pp.53-82). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Don’t Delay is a psychology-related blog written by Timothy A. Pychyl that focuses on procrastination. Many students have fallen victim to this timely temptation, leaving their work until the very last minute, before scrambling to finish assignments on time. In college, procrastination is the way of life for many students. Schoolwork is just not as engaging as other activities.Dr. Pychyl updates his audience with the most current research and developments in the procrastination area. One of his more interesting posts details the new iPhone Procrastination Killer application. Dr. Pychyl considers this App to be more of gimmick than anything else. However, on the more serious side, the blog includes research from the most current ideas in psychology like affective forecasting, self-affirmation, and proactive coping. Complex journal articles are broken down into easy-to-grasp concepts and applied to increase awareness to about the psychological workings behind procrastination. Each of the posts dealing with research includes APA style citations for all the articles mentioned.So if a student wanted to write a paper on procrastination this blog would be the perfect source for references. One could spend hours exploring all the different posts about procrastination. Someday, perhaps the day before the final portfolio is due, I will be sure to spend my procrastination time wisely and educate myself about all how exactly humans are able to waste so much time.
Paternity tests, CSI Miami, and the website 23andMe, all have one thing in common:Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA.In an increasingly more technological age, DNA has become the fingerprint of people in the 21st century. Unlike real fingerprints, DNA cannot be smudged or otherwise easily altered, making it the new ally of forensic scientists. Already, scientists have been able to solve hundreds of previously unsolvable cases by placing suspects at the scene of the crime by simply identifying their DNA. But not only is DNA important to the crime fighting world, it holds much more personal significance to every single individual. Each individual’s DNA maps out their potential future in terms of personality, disease, physical features, and even whether or not we will flush when we drink alcohol. DNA is the most popular topic for research from disciplines ranging from biology to the more social sciences like psychology and sociology. Unfortunately, the genetic research is almost indecipherable to the common person, so 23andMe.com has stepped in into translate the research into more understandable language.
What exactly is 23andMe.com?
23andMe.com describes a privately-owned commercial company whose primary service is to sell personal DNA testing kits for $399 (or less, if you buy in bulk) and help its customers interpret their own DNA based on the most recent genetic research in various fields.It basically gives the customers a list of traits identified by notable genetic markers and various details on what these traits are. The site is beautifully designed, with a simple, intuitive interface that does not overwhelm their viewers with advertisements for their product, but instead encourages them to learn about genetics and the product itself.In this case, the education about genetics the site provides is the advertising for the product.
The website coverage of genetics is extremely thorough and easy to understand.It offers a short history of genetics research and a breakdown of the most basic genetic terminology to help the potential customers understand exactly what the genetic research means. For the customers, it offers a full range of notable diseases and traits that have genetic markers supported by research.Part of the service is to keep its community updated with the most recent genetic research, so I would not be surprised if the site is checked and edited daily.All the information on the website shows almost no bias, since it seeks to inform and educate instead of persuade. Overall, 23andMe.com is a polished and well-kept site.
To ensure the accuracy of the information about the phenotypic traits listed on the site, 23andMe.com cites genetic research from various journals and researchers in the field.Under the Editorial and Advisors links, 23andMe.com lists numerous professors of genetics and related fields, many of whom are teachers at top Ivy League schools, such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, etc. The team of Authority the company has managed to gather is astounding.It far overshadows the strangely ordinary credentials of the three women on the Board of Directors, co-founders, Linda Avey, Anne Wojcicki, and board member Esther Dyson. Esther Dyson is well known for her business entrepreneurship and leadership in various companies. But Linda Avery and Anne Wojcicki barely have B.S.’s in Biology. However, Anne Wojciciki is the wife of well-known Google founder Sergey Binn.It just so happens that Google is one of the main sponsors of 23andMe.com at the pocket change price tag of 3.9 million.Other sponsors include Genentech, which is owned by big Swiss pharmaceutical company, La Roche. This unusual gathering of different groups raises intriguing implications.The CLIA laboratory the company uses to test the DNA is certified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Having one’s privately DNA tested and identified in this manner raises a number of social and personal issues.One of the major concerns is whether the customer really wants to know exactly which diseases they could have and how will it change their life? For example, some man has his DNA tested and it tells him that the laboratory found genetic markers indicating an increased risk of prostate cancer.Such a revelation could be a life-changing experience for that man and could potentially affect his behavior in the future.23andMe.com tries to allay fears like these by giving the customers the option to omit results on any trait.
However, 23andMe.com raises another question. If one knows that they could have a hereditary illness, is it the person’s social responsibility to be tested? I specifically mention this question in the case of Huntington’s disease.This particular disease is known to follow a dominant pattern of heredity, so an offspring has at least a 50% chance of inheriting the disease if one of the parents is diagnosed with Huntington’s. Symptoms of the disease usually do not show until the person is in their mid-forties. For this particular reason, Huntington’s Disease is able to survive despite its dominant inheritance, because afflicted people usually do not know that they have the disease until after they have reproduced.Since the disease has been narrowed down to one single genetic sequence, 23andMe.com can definitely diagnose if a person has the sequence or not. Such a diagnosis is almost like a death sentence, especially to those who know that they could potentially have the gene. If they choose to omit the result, are they being socially responsible? Their fear of the disease could be a costly mistake that affects the livelihood of their offspring. It is a choice between death and infecting another generation.
On another note, 23andMe.com handles the most personal information we have, our DNA.They keep a database of all DNA sequences they have collected.The company claims to ensure that all information is kept confidential, but who really does that label include?Does it include from their big sponsor, Google?The popular search engine site already has the monopoly on public, and much of people’s personal, information. With the help of Google maps, I can find my address, complete with a picture of my house and the numerous cars parked in front of it. Will 23andMe.com allow Google to get its hands on our most personal piece of information, our DNA? Or maybe we should be wary of the other sponsor, the pharmaceutical company La Roche?With access to DNA information, the pharmaceutical company could start researching specific drugs to treat potential illnesses. What if the pharmaceutical companies start contacting the people in 23andMe.com’s database to find clinical trials for their new products?This could offer a sense of false hope and damage the health of these clients.
Another question raised in relation to privacy is the role of insurance companies in this new DNA venture.Could insurance companies deny service to people they think are too expensive to treat, due to the potential a client has towards developing a disease? Imagine an agent claiming they cannot offer you insurance because you have an increased risk of developing cancer.For now, the government has passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which does not allow people or companies to discriminate against others based on genetic information.
Still the questions remain.Identity theft and Google Earth are just a couple of examples of how difficult it is nowadays to keep personal information private amidst the rise of technology.What you do with your DNA is your choice, but it does deserve some thought as to how it will affect you in the long run.
Not too long ago, I remember my older brother griping about how to meet girls interested in a serious relationship. After college, a traditional way to meet people is by visiting the local bar scene.Unfortunately, prospects there are quite limited, for obvious reasons. But today, we have the entire world at our fingertips, where can meet and chat with people all over the world through this magical tool called the Internet.This train of thought and my brother’s dilemma led me to the inspection of online dating websites and Dr. Neil Clark Warren.
This 72-year old grandfather is the founder behind eHarmony.com, the most well-known and successful dating site on the Internet today.At first, I was expecting his profile to read like the stereotypical business mongrel that stumbled upon the genius idea of taking advantage of all the lonely people in the world looking for love. But instead, I have discovered Dr. Warren to be a saintly old man with a surprisingly well-credentialed background. He started with a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University, then went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Chicago in 1967. Before eHarmony, Dr. Warren was a dean and practicing psychologist at the Fuller Theological Seminary.He worked with the famous Carl Rodgers, a pioneer in the development of client-focused psychotherapy. His website is based off of actual research that he collected over the years as a practicing psychologist.He developed a 436-question psychological test, covering 29 dimensions of marriage success, which can be used to match people without ever meeting them in person.His work has raised eHarmony.com above the other sites, by basing it in scientific psychological research that the site proudly displays as one of its most noteworthy points.As a soon-to-be Marriage and Family graduate student, I find his determination to create lasting marriages admirable.Although breaking down one’s marriage prospects into a series of paper-based questions is a bit too precise an approach to love, it is preferable to a one-night stand with a girl from the local bar.Dr.Warren has created an excellent tool to be used in combination with face-to-face meetings in order to facilitate lasting relationships.
