Studying WoWcology, where psychology and WoW meet
by Mike Schramm 
May 21st 2009 at 7:00PM
I've been meaning to write about this WoWcology blog for a few days now, but there's just so much there -- reader Skeuk is guilded up with a PhD in Psychology, who's writing not only about the guild's day to day battles, but also about how the deeper tenets of psychology can be seen in our Azerothian gameplay. This post about group dynamics is extremely interesting -- if you've ever suffered through some bad PuGs in your time, you can see the different stages of group development, and you can probably even figure out where your PuG fizzled out in the "storming" stage or made it all the way through to the "performing" part of the cycle. Fascinating stuff, for sure.Unfortunately, posts aren't coming too often, and it seems like Dr. Amalea -- who for some reason refers to himself in the third person at times -- understandably has other things to do besides keeping a blog about World of Warcraft and psychology. But maybe if we send them a little traffic, we can convince him to keep it up regularly, as what's there now makes for some really interesting reading. It's really interesting that a lot of the stuff we're dealing with the game now -- forming PuGs, guild drama, even loot distribution, has all been studied by psychologists for years and years before World of Warcraft ever existed.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Instances, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wfmorrow May 21st 2009 7:13PM
that was actually pretty fascinating. for those interested in studying, or are studying psychology, this blog seems like a fun way to connect wow and the human thought process.
sprout_daddy May 21st 2009 7:28PM
At least it's not another piece about another person writing a book or paper using WoW as a ecological, social, or economic strawman.
I have a Ph.D., I play WoW, and I'm tired of seeing lackluster research used as an excuse to play WoW. Granted, some people have legitimate interests in the community of WoW players, and others have a genuine passion for the community that informs their research - both of these are good reasons for a research program and should inform their work and provide valuable insight to outsiders. But most are just using WoW as a sample on convenience, and don't understand much about the social dynamics, about in-game versus out-game attitudes and norms, on and on.
I've been tempted to integrate my love of WoW into my research program, but I just don't think WoW is that great a metaphor for anything. People I know in and out of the game perform different within it. Social pressures are different, social costs are different, the value of leadership, everything is different. I hope Dr. Amalea can find some valuable fruit in this pursuit, but I prefer keeping my pastime and my profession apart.
sprout_daddy May 21st 2009 7:30PM
I should have noted that I liked his/her blog posting - Tuckman's group dynamics work is elegant in it's applicability to nearly all group events, and WoW is no exception. I merely wanted to rant about other people who put froth dubious assertions about what individual or group actions in WoW mean outside of WoW - I do not believe that translation is possible with any level of reliability.
Cat May 21st 2009 7:59PM
"the most successful of WoW guilds spend minimal time in the Storming and Norming phases and maximum time in the Performing phase."
Gosh, thanks Captain Obvious!
It is interesting that Dr Amalea is applying Tuckman's model to WoW, but his/her post is little more than a rehash of the Wikipedia page describing the model - it makes few meaningful comments on its applicability to WoW group dynamics.
Now what would be interesting is seeing the theory translated into practical suggestions for guild and pug leaders and members, in terms of moving their group through the stages to performing.
Rishio May 21st 2009 8:33PM
Weird that same chart was about the four stages was used at the leadership camp I attended last summer.
theRaptor May 22nd 2009 12:49AM
Why is that weird? It is one of the most popular models of group development (probably because it isn't wrapped up in academic BS and was written very 'average joe').
I am a psychology student and I apply my knowledge to the game. It has helped me understand why so much anti-social behaviour happens in semi-anonymous contexts such as MMO's*
* It isn't because they are nasty people IRL. It is because a lot of what we call pro-social behaviour is enforced by being accountable (even to strangers). And without that enforcement a lot of 'normal' people can revert to a more selfish personality. Individually most people aren't that nice, it is society that keeps people civil.
danawhitaker May 21st 2009 8:40PM
Interesting stuff. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and did some undergraduate research in the use of nonverbal behavior in online environments, but a few years before WoW came out.
As far as the ability to extrapolate these findings outside of WoW...I'm torn. On the one hand, I see in myself the same tendencies in the game that I exhibit out of game. I hate being a leader. I hate grouping with strangers. I don't frequently PUG and I often solo or stick to grouping with people I know very well. I get nervous in group settings where there's a chance that my failure can bring down the entire group. But that's just me. I have other friends in game who are extremely reserved out of the game but are almost completely the opposite in the game, and by analyzing their in-game behavior you'd think they were entirely different people. I think it would be a very fun, albeit very difficult and time consuming, thing to do research on.
Sarabande May 22nd 2009 8:09AM
There's a lot to study in WoW, I think, in regards to psychology (group dynamics, as covered in the blog, how a different people might present themselves in the game, how similarly you do or do not play to the way you actually live real life, etc) as well as sociology and economy since it's (mostly) an enclosed system.
I actualy play quite a lot like you do. :)
One thing that makes mmo's a bit different from other social environments is the age range. It's possible for people of all ages to work together or be on a community sports team but I think the range is a bit larger in something like WoW, which can change group dynamics and other social interaction a bit. An 11 year old may have completely different goals, ways to reach those goals and how they interact, from people who've had more experience with such things. Granted I've met some very mature kids in the game. But when you think about it, how many other places might you see people who are 12 to people in their 50s (or even older) working together temporarily to accomplish their goals?
And I guess a lot could be done to categorize people in all sorts of ways. In your example, it would be HOW people like to group (if at all). Also, how independent people are - not just group vs. soloing but how much they DEPEND on others to do things for them? There seem to be people who are loathe to do ANYTHING for themselves, and others who are not only capable of doing so but also helping to mentor others or aiding them in accomplishing certain things. And then there are the ethics . . . or in too many cases, lack thereof. In that, I guess it's not much different from other aspects of life.
Sorry . . went off the topic a bit, but since I"ve been playing a lot of these things have been on my mind (as in "someone should study . . . .") so it's interesting to see that people DO actually study these things.
bswaine May 21st 2009 11:29PM
Dr. Amalea is definitely a She. :)
Skewk May 21st 2009 11:38PM
Skewk* and Dr. Amalea is infact female
Umgawa May 22nd 2009 1:39AM
Granted, this only has a peripheral relevance to the topic at hand, but the most interesting thing I've found with regard to psychology as it applies to WoW (and MMO's in general) is the notion of personal space. I have no idea where or when I read this particular article, it may very well have been linked from TerraNova, but essentially it breaks down to the notion that people have a certain connection with their avatars that they will actually move when a stranger or someone they're not comfortable with moves into their "comfort zone" or "personal space". While some might think this would go without saying, one must consider that this is almost never the case in games such as Halo or other first- or third-person shooters, regardless of how much time we may spend in those games.
For testing purposes, while you're out questing, strike up a conversation with somebody outside of Dalaran, where people are packed in like sardines and nobody really notices. Strike up a conversation, and then get a little bit too close. Watch them back away, and then move toward them again. Granted, you may be branded some sort of social deviant, but it quickly becomes obvious that the aforementioned psychological reaction occurs with regularity.
Antonetz May 22nd 2009 2:19PM
I approve of this message.
Suppressor May 22nd 2009 3:43AM
I have noticed in the guilds that I have been in that different people could be in different phases of this cycle at any given time, but they do tend to move in this pattern.
Eliya May 22nd 2009 8:58AM
To be clear, I am NOT well trained in psychology/sociology/behavioral sciences.
All the same, I think it'd be very fascinating to see a study on something like guild-lifespans. Almost all organizations have a limited lifetime, and there are certainly phases that a guild experiences throughout its tenure.
Beyond merely what makes a guild die, there a lots of shared phenomena between nearly all guilds - pendulum swings of enthusiasm, dissension, golden-ages, nostalgia, grieving (though the latter is often seen after the "guild-death" or "break-up"). It'd be interesting to understand how these all fit into the overarching history... and maybe it'd even give some insight into how to handle them best (though I doubt most researchers are doing so to enhance the gaming experience).
sareehaase May 22nd 2009 2:14PM
What you said. WoW is its own beast and forced analogies don't accomplish much other than providing someone with more useless research for the sake of research that someone needs to finish a dissertation or thesis.
The group dynamics in WoW are fascinating and there's definitely plenty of great research fodder in-game for someone who is willing to dive in and become part of the game and the community (or is already in it). There are days when I have the urge to start a research project or dig into something to really get an idea of what's happening beneath the pixelated surface; mostly, I use my knowledge of human behavior to deal with the inescapable human psychodrama that somehow gets exponentially amplified when phat lootz are involved.
sareehaase May 22nd 2009 2:17PM
This was supposed to be a reply to sproutdaddy. whoops
Havock May 26th 2009 8:53AM
The life cycle of a guild is very interesting but I believe there is more to it then just the Tuckman, from what I have seen and experiences there is a great deal of trial and error on the part of players finding the right fit in terms of game attitude, availability and social vs task orientation. The individual dynamics of the group members also play a large part the perpetuation of the guild (as some communication theorists look at it the relationship between the players becomes a member of the group distinct from the group members itself when this breaks down it signals the end of the guild).