ABSTRACT
People have a fundamental need to belong-to be accepted, loved, and cared for. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened people's sense of belonging;people had to isolate themselves from others due to the stay-at-home orders. At the same time in early 2020, people started to spend more time playing video games;sales and consumption of video games skyrocketed, breaking previous records worldwide. Existing theoretical perspectives suggest one possible reason for this popularity: video games, including single-player video games, may help people feel socially connected. For example, according to the bi-dimensional rejection taxonomy, solo gameplay is a disengaged prosocial response, an attempt to replenish belonging in a hands-off, indirect manner. Also, according to the social surrogacy hypothesis, solo gameplay can provide social surrogates, symbolic bonds that can replenish belonging. Players can form parasocial relationships (one-way psychological bonds) with a non-player character in the game;players can also immerse themselves in the social worlds and feel like a member of a collective presented in the video game. Although existing theories and qualitative evidence suggest that solo gameplay can benefit belonging, quantitative evidence is lacking to support this prediction. In this dissertation, I examined if solo gameplay could replenish belonging after social rejection. In Study 1, I validated the Heart Manikin-a single-item measure of state belonging, which I used in the subsequent studies. In Study 2, rejected participants recalled their time playing a video game with vs. without social surrogates. In Study 3, rejected participants played a custom video game that manipulates parasocial relationships and social worlds. Across studies, I found that rejected participants reported similar levels of belonging after being exposed to social surrogates in video games. The results move forward the discourse on the bi-dimensional rejection taxonomy, the social surrogacy hypothesis, and the video games literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors associated with the stigmatization of people of Asian descent during COVID-19 in the United States and factors that can mitigate or prevent stigmatization. DESIGN: A national sample survey of adults (N = 842) was conducted online between May 11 and May 19, 2020. Outcome variables were two dimensions of stigmatization, responsibility and persons as risk. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Racial prejudice, maladaptive coping, and biased media use each explained stigmatization. Racial prejudice, comprising stereotypical beliefs and emotion toward Asian Americans, was a stronger predictor of stigmatization than maladaptive coping or biased media use. Fear concerning the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the use of social media and partisan cable TV also predicted stigmatization. Low self-efficacy in dealing with COVID-19, when associated with high estimated harm of COVID-19, increased stigmatization. High perceived institutional efficacy in the handling of COVID-19 increased stigmatization when linked to high estimated harm of COVID-19. On the other hand, high perceived collective efficacy in coping with COVID-19 was associated with low stigmatization. More indirect contacts with Asians via the media predicted less stigmatization. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to reduce stigmatization should address racial stereotypes and emotions, maladaptive coping, and biased media use by providing education and resources to the public. Fostering collective efficacy and media-based contacts with Asian Americans can facilitate these efforts.