Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT) is an effective theoretical framework to apply to the online gaming world to identify the triggers of prejudice. ITT contends that by being a member or part of a “tribal” social group, people get a common language, customs and traditions (Stephan, Ybarra & Rios, 2016). In the context of ITT, people who are playing a video game may sense intergroup threat from another team or person that they are playing a game against. This is felt when one group perceives that the other group is trying to cause them harm (Stephan, Ybarra & Rios, 2016). This threat can be experienced in two ways – a realistic threat or a symbolic threat. Online gamers can experience a realistic threat if they are concerned about virtual physical harm, mental harm, or a loss of resources. An example of a realistic threat could be playing against your friends in shooter video games. Playing with them as your enemy can cause aggressive behavior to occur and slowly diminish your friendship. On the other hand, a symbolic threat is when something threatens one’s ideology or group’s beliefs. An example of a symbolic threat could be when your enemy threatens to strip your group’s values away. Naturally, you would respond to this threat in a negative way.
Similarly, online gamers can experience a symbolic threat if they are concerned about the integrity or validity of the ingroup’s meaning systems (group’s values, traditions, ideology, morals). A great example of this are shooter games, where you must kill to win. If someone isn’t able to kill they are considered weak. This threatens their ideology around being strong and coming out on top. Intergroup threats are an important part of online gaming because their effects on the intergroup relations tend to be mainly destructive in nature. In fact, even when gamers experience non-hostile behavioral responses, “the cognitive and affective responses to threat are likely to be negative.” (Stephan, Ybarra & Rios, 2016).
Citations:
Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., & Rios, K. (2016). Intergroup threat theory.
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