Rachel Kowert
Biographic Data
| ID | 134974 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rachel Kowert |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rachel |
| FAMILY NAME | Kowert |
| SIGNATURE | KOWERT R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of York, Heslington, York, UK |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9522-9945 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Community codes of conduct as proactive intervention for toxicity in games
So called “toxic behaviors” (e.g., hate speech, harassment, doxxing) are pervasive in online gaming communities, with research consistently documenting significant negative consequences for player wellbeing, community health, and industry revenue. While gaming studios and platforms have developed a range of reactive and proactive moderation strategies to address these harms, most existing approaches remain reactive, focusing on punishment after h…
User-Avatar discrepancy scale
An avatar is one’s figure of representation within the virtual world. The user-avatar bond is suggested to carry information about who/how the person is in their real life. Discrepancies between an individual’s self and avatar perceptions have been associated with disordered gaming and reduced well-being, requiring assessment. Although several instruments purport to measure UAB, there is no targeted user-avatar discrepancy scale. To address this …
The Monstrosity of Stigma
Machine Learning(s) in gaming disorder through the user-avatar bond
In response to our study, the commentary by Infanti et al. (2024) raised critical points regarding (i) the conceptualization and utility of the user-avatar bond in addressing gaming disorder (GD) risk, and (ii) the optimization of supervised machine learning techniques applied to assess GD risk. To advance the scientific dialogue and progress in these areas, the present paper aims to: (i) enhance the clarity and understanding of the concepts of t…
Gaming and Extremism
Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the "gamification of extremism." Editors Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert bring together a range of insights from world-leading experts in the field to provide the first comprehensive overview of gaming and extremism. The potential nexus between gaming and extremism has become a key area of con…
Addressing Toxicity and Extremism in Games
There has been an increased focus on reducing hate, harassment, and extremist exploitation in digital games through solutions from community management, trust and safety, and design perspectives. Despite this attention, the industry lacks basic standards around these issues and efforts in this area are stymied by the ubiquity of “toxic gamer culture” and fears in the industry about discussing extremism and hate within games. Today, a patchwork of…
Not just a game
Extremist ideologies have clearly become increasingly prevalent in the world of video games. What is less clear, however, is the mechanism through which these ideologies make their way into the psyches of gamers. Here we focus on the potential role of identity fusion in the radicalization of video gamers. In three studies, we show that fusion with gaming culture is uniquely predictive of a host of socially pernicious outcomes, including racism, s…
Mental Health in 3D
There is a wealth of research on the depiction and impact of mental health representations in traditional media; however, less is known about video games. As the dominant form of media in the 21st century, video games uniquely portray mental illness in traditional ways as well as in ways unique to video games, such as in-game mechanics (e.g., sanity meters) and player-driven decision making. This paper outlines the importance of cultural messages…
The Video Game Debate 2
"This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years. Debates about the negative effects of video game play have been evident since their introduction in the 1970s, but the advent of online and mobile gaming has revived these conc…
Video Games and Well-being
Connection, meaning, and distraction
New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming
Digital games are increasingly being recognized as more than entertainment media by policy makers, the industry, and idealistic developers.They are claimed to be able to alter players' worldviews and change the way they think (Connolly, Boyle, MacArthur, Hainey, & Boyle, 2012).This view has been advocated strongly by the Games for Change platform that aims to 'catalyze social impact through digital games'("Games for Change," n.d.).Some researcher…
The Video Game Debate
Video Games and Social Competence
Despite their popularity, online video games have been met with suspicion by the popular media and academic community. In particular, there is a growing concern that online video game play may be associated with deficits in social functioning. Due to a lack of empirical consistency, the debate surrounding the potential impact of online video game play on a user’s sociability remains an active one. This book contributes to this debate by exploring…
Attachment style, social skills, and Facebook use amongst adults
Geek or Chic? Emerging Stereotypes of Online Gamers
The present study sought to examine the extent to which the cultural portrayal of online gamers, often in comical, caricatured, or sensational forms, has become transformed into sets of cognitive associations between the category and traits. A total of 342 participants completed an online survey in which they rated how applicable each of a list of traits was to the group of online gamers. Ratings were made for both personal beliefs (how participa…
Geek or Chic? Emerging Stereotypes of Online Gamers
The present study sought to examine the extent to which the cultural portrayal of online gamers, often in comical, caricatured, or sensational forms, has become transformed into sets of cognitive associations between the category and traits. A total of 342 participants completed an online survey in which they rated how applicable each of a list of traits was to the group of online gamers. Ratings were made for both personal beliefs (how participa…
Attachment style, social skills, and Facebook use amongst adults
Video Games and Social Competence
Despite their popularity, online video games have been met with suspicion by the popular media and academic community. In particular, there is a growing concern that online video game play may be associated with deficits in social functioning. Due to a lack of empirical consistency, the debate surrounding the potential impact of online video game play on a user’s sociability remains an active one. This book contributes to this debate by exploring…
The Video Game Debate
New Perspectives on the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming
Digital games are increasingly being recognized as more than entertainment media by policy makers, the industry, and idealistic developers.They are claimed to be able to alter players' worldviews and change the way they think (Connolly, Boyle, MacArthur, Hainey, & Boyle, 2012).This view has been advocated strongly by the Games for Change platform that aims to 'catalyze social impact through digital games'("Games for Change," n.d.).Some researcher…
Connection, meaning, and distraction
The Video Game Debate 2
"This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years. Debates about the negative effects of video game play have been evident since their introduction in the 1970s, but the advent of online and mobile gaming has revived these conc…
Video Games and Well-being
Not just a game
Extremist ideologies have clearly become increasingly prevalent in the world of video games. What is less clear, however, is the mechanism through which these ideologies make their way into the psyches of gamers. Here we focus on the potential role of identity fusion in the radicalization of video gamers. In three studies, we show that fusion with gaming culture is uniquely predictive of a host of socially pernicious outcomes, including racism, s…
Mental Health in 3D
There is a wealth of research on the depiction and impact of mental health representations in traditional media; however, less is known about video games. As the dominant form of media in the 21st century, video games uniquely portray mental illness in traditional ways as well as in ways unique to video games, such as in-game mechanics (e.g., sanity meters) and player-driven decision making. This paper outlines the importance of cultural messages…
Machine Learning(s) in gaming disorder through the user-avatar bond
In response to our study, the commentary by Infanti et al. (2024) raised critical points regarding (i) the conceptualization and utility of the user-avatar bond in addressing gaming disorder (GD) risk, and (ii) the optimization of supervised machine learning techniques applied to assess GD risk. To advance the scientific dialogue and progress in these areas, the present paper aims to: (i) enhance the clarity and understanding of the concepts of t…
Gaming and Extremism
Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the "gamification of extremism." Editors Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert bring together a range of insights from world-leading experts in the field to provide the first comprehensive overview of gaming and extremism. The potential nexus between gaming and extremism has become a key area of con…
Addressing Toxicity and Extremism in Games
There has been an increased focus on reducing hate, harassment, and extremist exploitation in digital games through solutions from community management, trust and safety, and design perspectives. Despite this attention, the industry lacks basic standards around these issues and efforts in this area are stymied by the ubiquity of “toxic gamer culture” and fears in the industry about discussing extremism and hate within games. Today, a patchwork of…
User-Avatar discrepancy scale
An avatar is one’s figure of representation within the virtual world. The user-avatar bond is suggested to carry information about who/how the person is in their real life. Discrepancies between an individual’s self and avatar perceptions have been associated with disordered gaming and reduced well-being, requiring assessment. Although several instruments purport to measure UAB, there is no targeted user-avatar discrepancy scale. To address this …
The Monstrosity of Stigma
Community codes of conduct as proactive intervention for toxicity in games
So called “toxic behaviors” (e.g., hate speech, harassment, doxxing) are pervasive in online gaming communities, with research consistently documenting significant negative consequences for player wellbeing, community health, and industry revenue. While gaming studios and platforms have developed a range of reactive and proactive moderation strategies to address these harms, most existing approaches remain reactive, focusing on punishment after h…
Psychology (13 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (8 works) · Digital Games and Media (7 works) · Multimedia (6 works) · Video game (5 works) · Social aspects (4 works) · Social aspects (4 works) · Sociology (4 works)