So the process has finally ended.  The madness quelled.  The fury…..unfuried?

The dissertation has been completed!  I will be sure to have a much more detailed post with a link to the dissertation once it has been edited and finalized.  However, here is the abstract and dedications page:

ABSTRACT

Video Gamer’s Personas: A Five Factor Study Exploring Personality Elements of the Video Gamer

By

Anthony Martin Bean

This dissertation explored personality traits of video gamers utilizing the Big Five Inventory (BFI) totaling 19,416 video gamer participants across seven genres of video game play.  The purpose was to uncover personality differences among the different preferred genres of video gamers.   Different personality profiles were explored by employing correlations, t-tests, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).  Mapping of the BFI elements of video gamers across video game genres was conducted using latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify video gamer personality profiles, personality formations across preferred genres of play, examine the pattern of relationships among the variables, compare to a proposed antisocial personality pattern by Markey & Markey (2012), and to determine whether different personalities gravitate to specific genres of play.  Results found four distinct and different personality profiles: Introversive, Extroversive, Secure Ambiversive, and Insecure Ambiversive; indicated no support for the different classification of video gamers possessing statistically different personality traits (i.e. causal, regular, hardcore); different genres of video game play did have different personality types playing each genre; and personalities found did not fit into the criteria proposed by Markey and Markey (2012) of an antisocial personality (i.e. high neuroticism, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness).  As such, evidence is provided for different personalities gravitating towards different genres of play and Carl Jung’s (1921) idea of the introversion/extroversion continuum.  Limitations observed were some findings becoming statistically significant with small effect sizes and the BFI possibly not being nuanced enough to detect smaller personality traits.  Strengths were the large participant base, generalizability of the study to the video gamer population, and this study providing a basis for personality playing a role in virtual worlds.

Keywords: Video Gamers, Video Games, Big Five Inventory, Personality, Introversion, Extroversion, Ambiversion, Video Game Aggression, Typology, Video Gamer Personality

DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

            This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Holiday Bean, my family, and my fellow video gamers, who without this would not be possible.  My wife, who had to continuously listen to me ramble about video gamers and show interest while providing ideas and support.  My family, who without, I would have never been able to understand the video game worlds or video gamers as well as I do.  My fellow video gamers who spent much of their time taking my research and passing it along to their friends compiling over 19,000 total video gamers.  I thank you all.

My thanks and appreciation to Dr. Gary Groth-Marnat for persevering with me as my advisor throughout the time it took me to complete this research and write the dissertation.  The members of my dissertation committee, Dr. Roger Dafter and Dr. Christopher Ferguson who have generously given their time and expertise to better my work.  I thank them for their contribution, insight, and overall inspiring support.  Without your guidance, suggestions, and continuous aid, I may not have made it through the process intact.

Another important individual who spent a significant amount of time explaining and helping me understand the rigorous statistical procedures accompanying Latent Profile Analysis from Germany requires important notation; Dr. Jens Vogelgesang.  Without your help, I would not have been able to understand and incorporate meaningful interpretations from the data.

My two brothers whom I met at Pacifica Graduate Institute, William Jones and Justin Weiss, for their continual support and phone calls throughout this process.  I appreciate your thoughts, encouragement, and entertainment during this process.

Finally, I would like to thank my school Pacifica Graduate Institute and their professors for their rekindling of my own adventurous and critical thought about how I view the world and its many properties.  Without the education received, I would not be able to analytically approach the world, my research, and my clients as I do; thank you.