Looking Similar Promotes Group Stability in a Game-Based Virtual Community
| العنوان: | Looking Similar Promotes Group Stability in a Game-Based Virtual Community |
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| المؤلفون: | Matthieu J. Guitton, Catherine L. Lortie |
| المصدر: | Games for Health Journal. 1:274-278 |
| بيانات النشر: | Mary Ann Liebert Inc, 2012. |
| سنة النشر: | 2012 |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | Health (social science), business.industry, media_common.quotation_subject, Rehabilitation, Internet privacy, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Cohesion (computer science), Cognition, Peer support, Computer Science Applications, Entertainment, Social group, Social dynamics, business, Psychology, Empowerment, Social psychology, Virtual community, media_common |
| الوصف: | Online support groups are popular Web-based resources that provide tailored information and peer support through virtual communities and fulfill the users' needs for empowerment and belonging. However, the therapeutic potential of online support groups is at present limited by the lack of systematic research on the cognitive mechanisms underlying social group cohesion in virtual communities. We might increase the benefits of participation in online support groups if we gain more insight into the factors that promote long-term commitment to peer support. One approach to foster the therapeutic potential of online support groups could be to increase social selection based on visual similarity.We performed a case study using the popular virtual setting of "World of Warcraft" (Blizzard Entertainment, Irvine, CA). We monitored the social dynamics of a virtual community composed of avatars whose appearance was identical during a period of 3 months, biweekly, for a total of 24 measures.We observed that this homogeneous community displayed a very high level of group stability over time in terms of the total number of members, the number of members that stayed the same, and the number of arrivals and departures, despite the fact that belonging to a heterogeneous group typically favors the success of the group with respect to game progression.Our results confirm that appearance can trigger social selection in online virtual communities. Displaying a similar appearance could be one way to strengthen social bonds among peers who share various health and well-being issues. Thus, the therapeutic potential of online support groups could be promoted through visual cohesion. |
| تدمد: | 2161-7856 2161-783X |
| URL الوصول: | https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::b686b9deb9268ceaf5f0aa039886fcb1 https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2012.0016 |
| حقوق: | CLOSED |
| رقم الأكسشن: | edsair.doi.dedup.....b686b9deb9268ceaf5f0aa039886fcb1 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | OpenAIRE |
| تدمد: | 21617856 2161783X |
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