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Could this lower motion perception threshold explain male dominance in e-sports?

by Uhhrrr 8y ago

jrowley 8y ago
Men are probably more likely to get their 10,000 hours (or multiple thereof) of deliberate practice playing games, than women due stigmas / social pressure that doesn't encourage or support them gaming (at least traditionally - I'm sure the tides are changing and gaming is becoming more inclusive everyday).
- stcredzero 8y ago
  Men are probably more likely to get their 10,000 hours (or multiple thereof) of deliberate practice playing games, than women due stigmas / social pressure From what I've seen, female League of Legends players on YouTube and Twitch are well regarded. I may be getting skewed data, as I've only managed to subscribe to a few of the more popular streamers/content creators. (These creators aren't playing solely on their sex appeal for their popularity. If anything, their talents are as game players, musicians, and as commentators. They're also all "cute.")
- ahallock 8y ago
  This study shows that video games activate reward regions of brain in men more than women. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2008/02/video-games-activate-reward-regions-of-brain-in-men-more-than-women-stanford-study-finds.html https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2008/02/video-games-a... "Reiss said this research also suggests that males have neural circuitry that makes them more liable than women to feel rewarded by a computer game with a territorial component and then more motivated to continue game-playing behavior. Based on this, he said, it makes sense that males are more prone to getting hooked on video games than females." I don't think this is to say women don't get rewarded or hooked--I know quite a few women hooked on games--but I could see this giving men an advantage in terms of being more easily motivated.
sonnyblarney 8y ago
That's the first thing I thought of, granted, there must be so many factors involved in that one ... FYI it wouldn't just be 'e-sports' - it would be 'all sports'. Everything from football to downhill skiing requires that kind of hyper aware processing.
- Uhhrrr 8y ago
  I agree, there will be many other factors, like fine motor reaction time, and the most important is probably being able to outguess one's opponent. But a small gender-specific edge could well be sufficient to make the top ranks homogeneous. I don't know that it would apply to all sports. For soccer, more inertia and bigger muscles at play might mean that that edge is insignificant.
- presscast 8y ago
  >Everything from football to downhill skiing requires that kind of hyper aware processing. I suspect the effect size is minuscule when compared to other sex differences, e.g.: strength & size.
williamdclt 8y ago
It could, but I suppose that the biggest factor here really is social. I could be wrong obv, it's not like I had researched the subject
empath75 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games#Genre_preferences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games#Genre_pr... Unless someone starts a professional Candy Crush or Farmville league, women aren't going be dominating any kind of esport, motion perception or not. 90% of moba players are male, for example.

Could this lower motion perception threshold explain male dominance in e-sports?

by Uhhrrr 8y ago

Could this lower motion perception threshold explain male dominance in e-sports?

Men are probably more likely to get their 10,000 hours (or multiple thereof) of deliberate practice playing games, than women due stigmas / social pressure that doesn't encourage or support them gaming (at least traditionally - I'm sure the tides are changing and gaming is becoming more inclusive everyday).

stcredzero 8y ago
Men are probably more likely to get their 10,000 hours (or multiple thereof) of deliberate practice playing games, than women due stigmas / social pressure From what I've seen, female League of Legends players on YouTube and Twitch are well regarded. I may be getting skewed data, as I've only managed to subscribe to a few of the more popular streamers/content creators. (These creators aren't playing solely on their sex appeal for their popularity. If anything, their talents are as game players, musicians, and as commentators. They're also all "cute.")
ahallock 8y ago
This study shows that video games activate reward regions of brain in men more than women. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2008/02/video-games-activate-reward-regions-of-brain-in-men-more-than-women-stanford-study-finds.html https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2008/02/video-games-a... "Reiss said this research also suggests that males have neural circuitry that makes them more liable than women to feel rewarded by a computer game with a territorial component and then more motivated to continue game-playing behavior. Based on this, he said, it makes sense that males are more prone to getting hooked on video games than females." I don't think this is to say women don't get rewarded or hooked--I know quite a few women hooked on games--but I could see this giving men an advantage in terms of being more easily motivated.

sonnyblarney 8y ago

That's the first thing I thought of, granted, there must be so many factors involved in that one ... FYI it wouldn't just be 'e-sports' - it would be 'all sports'. Everything from football to downhill skiing requires that kind of hyper aware processing.

Uhhrrr 8y ago
I agree, there will be many other factors, like fine motor reaction time, and the most important is probably being able to outguess one's opponent. But a small gender-specific edge could well be sufficient to make the top ranks homogeneous. I don't know that it would apply to all sports. For soccer, more inertia and bigger muscles at play might mean that that edge is insignificant.
presscast 8y ago
>Everything from football to downhill skiing requires that kind of hyper aware processing. I suspect the effect size is minuscule when compared to other sex differences, e.g.: strength & size.

williamdclt 8y ago

It could, but I suppose that the biggest factor here really is social. I could be wrong obv, it's not like I had researched the subject

empath75 8y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games#Genre_preferences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_and_video_games#Genre_pr... Unless someone starts a professional Candy Crush or Farmville league, women aren't going be dominating any kind of esport, motion perception or not. 90% of moba players are male, for example.