Abstract
We investigated potential gender differences in video game (pong) performance in university students. In Experiment 1 men (N = 16) performed significantly better than women (N = 16). Experiment 2 was similar to the first, but used 14 men and 14 women who were matched carefully on previous video game experience. In spite of the matching, results replicated those of the first experiment. In Experiment 3 we evaluated the effect of an audience (male, female, none) on pong performance in 42 men and 42 women. We also assessed trait competition anxiety (Sport Competition Anxiety Test scores), sex role identification (Bem Sex Role Inventory scores), and video game experience. Both genders showed significantly poorer performance when they played pong in the presence of a female audience. Overall, males outperformed females as in the first two experiments. Examination of individuals with low, medium, and high levels of sport competition anxiety and videogame experience reveals persistent gender differences in performance, seemingly independent of levels of anxiety and experience. In all three experiments, both men and women showed significant improvement in performance over trials.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bard, C., Fleury, M., Carriere, L., & Bellec, J. (1981). Components of the coincidence-anticipation behavior of children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 52, 547–556.
Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155–162.
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88, 354–364.
Braun, C. M., & Giroux, J. (1989). Arcade videogames: Proxemic, cognitive and content analyses. Journal of Leisure Research, 21, 92–105.
Brown, R. M., Brown, N. L., & Reid, K. (1992). Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74, 547–554.
Brown, R. M., Brown, N. L., Delong, D., & Reid, K. (1995). Stimulus-response compatibility and videogame performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 691–698.
Corbin, C. B. (1981). Sex of subject, sex of opponent, and opponent ability as factors affecting self-confidence in a competitive situation. Journal of Sport Psychology, 4, 265–270.
Corbin, C. B., & Nix, C. (1979). Sex-typing of physical activities and success predictions of children before and after cross-sex competition. Journal of Sport Psychology, 1, 43–52.
Cottrell, N. B. (1972). Social facilitation. In C. G. McClintock (Ed.), Experimental social psychology. New York: Holt.
Dorfman, P. W. (1977). Timing and anticipation: A developmental perspective. Journal of Motor Behavior, 9, 67–79.
Dweck, C. S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674–685.
Eagly, A. H., & Carli, L. L. (1981). Sex of researchers and sex-typed communications as determinants of sex differences in influenceability. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 1–20.
Griffith, J. L., Voloschin, P., Gibb, G. D., & Bailey, J. R. (1983). Differences in eye-hand coordination of video game users and non-users. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 57, 155–158.
Hall, E. G. (1990). The effect of performer gender, performer skill level, and opponent gender on self-confidence in a competitive situation. Sex Roles, 23, 33–41.
Hockey, G. R. J. (1986). Changes in operator efficiency as a function of stress, fatigue, and circadian rhythms. In K. R. Boff, L. Kaufman, & J. P. Thomas (Eds.), Handbook of perception and human performance. Chichester, England: Wiley.
Hoyenga, K. B., & Hoyenga, K. T. (1979). The question of sex differences: Psychological, cultural, and biological issues. Boston: Little, Brown.
Hoyenga, K. B., & Hoyenga, K. T. (1984). Motivational explanations of behavior: Evolutionary, physiological, and cognitive ideas. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Huesmann, L. R., Guerra, N. G., Zelli, A., & Miller, L. (1992). Differing normative beliefs about aggression for boys and girls. In K. Bjorkquist & P. Niemele (Eds.), Of mice and women: Aspects of female aggression. Orlando, FL: Academic.
Kimura, D. (1992). Sex differences in the brain. Scientific American, 267, 118–125.
Kohlberg, L. (1966). A cognitive-developmental analysis of children's sex-role concepts and attitudes. In E. E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Kuhlman, J. S., & Beitel, P. A. (1991). Videogame experience: A possible explanation for differences in anticipation of coincidence. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 72, 483–488.
Law, D. J., Pellegrino, J. W., & Hunt, E. B. (1993). Comparing the tortoise and the hare: Gender differences and experience in dynamic spatial reasoning tasks. Psychological Science, 4, 35–40.
Lenny, E. (1977). Women's self-confidence in achievement settings. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 1–13.
Lepper, M. R. (1985). Microcomputers in education: Motivation and social issues. American Psychologist, 40, 1–18.
Linn, M. C., & Petersen, A. C. (1986). A meta-analysis of gender differences in spatial ability: Implications for mathematics and science achievement. In J. S. Hyde & M. C. Linn (Eds.), The psychology of gender: Advances through meta-analysis. Baltimore, MD. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Maccoby, E. E. (1990). Gender and relationships: A developmental account. American Psychologist, 45, 513–520.
Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1974). The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Maccoby, E. E., & Jacklin, C. N. (1980). Sex differences in aggression: A rejoinder and reprise. Child Development, 51, 964–980.
Martens, R. (1977). Sport Competition Anxiety Test. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Martin, C. L., & Halverson, C. F. (1987). The role of cognition in sex role acquisition. In D. B. Carter (Ed.), Current conceptions of sex roles and sex typing: Theory and research. New York: Praeger.
McClurg, P. A., & Chaille, C. (1987). Computer games: Environments for developing spatial cognition? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 3, 95–111.
Morrin, K. A. (1990) Individual differences in real-time information coordination: Relating dynamic spatial and verbal information. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 2, 944–948.
Murphy, J. K., Alpert, B. S., Willey, E. S., & Somes, G. W. (1988). Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stress in healthy children. Psychophysiology, 25, 144–152.
Nebes, R. D., & Briggs, G. G. (1974). Handedness and the retention of visual material. Cortex, 11, 209–214.
Perry, D. G., Perry, L., & Boldizar, J. P. (1990). Learning of agression. In M. Lewis & S. M. Miller (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology. New York: Plenum.
Robinson-Staveley, K. R., & Cooper, J. (1990). Mere presence, gender and reactions to computers: Studying human-computer interaction in the social context. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26, 168–183.
Schiff, W., & Oldak, R. (1990). Accuracy of judging time to arrival: Effects of modality, trajectory, and gender. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 16, 303–316.
Sistrunk, F., & McDavid, J. W. (1971). Sex variable in conforming behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 200–207.
Swain, A., & Jones, G. (1991). Gender role endorsement and competitive anxiety. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 22, 50–65.
U.S. Department of Justice. (1989). Crime in the United States, 1988. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Wickens, C. D. (1992). Engineering psychology and human performance (2nd ed.). Nw York: Harper-Collins.
Wittig, A. F., Duncan, S. L., & Schurr, K. T. (1987). The relationship of gender, gender-role endorsement and perceived physical self-efficacy to sport competition anxiety. Journal of Sport Behavior, 11, 192–199.
Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149, 269–274.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brown, R.M., Hall, L.R., Holtzer, R. et al. Gender and Video Game Performance. Sex Roles 36, 793–812 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025631307585
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025631307585