Imbalance of Gender in Computer Technologies

From: Mary Zinsmeyer (Lisa Brown, Teresa Vargas, and Jesse Thyne)
Email: maryz@cats.ucsc.edu
Course: Psychololgy 100K; Psychological Development in Thought and Language
College: University of California, Santa Cruz
Instructor: Eugene Matusov
ClassWeb: http://www.ematusov.com/psych100K
ChildrenObservations: Yes
Date: 22 Mar 1997
Time: 11:27:50
Remote Name: octal-lab-mac05.ucsc.edu

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to take a look at the influences of the computer technology and the imbalances in gender and how the this imbalance is derived from game design, socialization context throughout the developmental stages. This we is then contrasted and argued with respect to personality traits. Many different concepts are learned by children from computers from language, cognitive skills, the list is endless. As access to computers becomes an essential tool for communication and learning, it is important for researchers, psychologists, teachers, and educators to be sensitive to these issues of gender in their field of expertise. From local community centers to the broader societal structure as a whole this multi-faceted look at computers and children is a thought provoker for all. The method used was part of a University of California ciriculum, undergraduates from a Developmental Psychology class worked twice a week for one and one-half hours over a ten week quarter period. This work was done at a community based program for bilingual youth in an informal computer learning lab set up with 25 computers. We worked with 30 children, 16 males, and 14 females (ages 4-12). A random method of evaluation was used, some undergraduates focused on a particular child (children), some focused on the different variety of children, and some focused on a particular game. Each undergraduates was responsible for one field note (FN) per week. Our patroller group did not develop any empirical study. Besides the on site visits our research, done from books, periodicals, the world wide web, and a field notes from our own class web page, showed many possible trends. Although there was an observable difference in boy’s and girl’s interpretation of rules, game preference, and play style, we also attributed individual personality differences and game design to these results.

Paper

Introduction

The socio-cultural influences of computer games can not be ignored. This tool could be used to help eradicate gender differences (and other belief systems and values). As computer games offer a rich dynamic while developing of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skill stages. If the computer games are focused at the males of our society they will have the expertise in not only video arcades or computer games but will more naturally fall into the technological opportunities, which once again, will limit females to get the desired expertise in this field.

The study by Claude M. J. Braun and Josette Giroux (1989) established that the games were more male oriented and that usage by "the boys vastly outnumbered the girls". Why is this? This question incites a multidimensional outlook. Here the theorists split. It appears that this is the 'masculine thing to do, to hang out at video game arcades. Operating here are at least two factors: 1.) The socialization of the boys to do the 'Masculine thing'; and 2.) seeking approval from peers and society/family.

Boys are seen playing video games from a very early age whereas, girls are not seen frequenting arcades. The early introduction to video games for boys begins in our culture whereby it is acceptable for boys to hang out for hours at video game arcades (video games being the beginning of a culturally prescribed habit). Whereas, girls are not included or seen as often in this activity due to its undesirability. Would you leave your daughters at an arcade (shouldn't they be at home playing with dolls or socializing with their girlfriends?). If a female is observed at an arcade they usually are watching or cheering on their significant other (Provenzo 1991).

So females not play their games do to the fact that software entertainment activities are gender specific to men. Malone (1981) observed conclusively that thematic violence was a "turn on to boys while "a turn off to girls". Therefore, boys spend more time playing learning and exploring the computer strategies.

The games makers appear to have a male audience in mind when they design games. Computer games are "designed by males for males" Gutman (1982). When Braun and Giroux (1989) researched computer games available they consisted of aggressive/violent themes. Violent games were defined as "destruction of individuals or objects, ingestion of individuals, or criminal behavior" As one can see, if you are familiar with computer games, this definition covers a large percentage of the computer entertainment industry.

Morlock, H., Yandot, T., and Nigolean, K. (1985), confirms this by establishing the fact that females preferred less aggressive themes in video game playing. Evidenced by the field notes (later on in this article) describing Dollhouse and Charlie Brown. In these games the child chooses colors, or tries on clothes and explores rooms and clicks on associated items and the descriptions of their functions.

Game design is conceived for profit. To make money you need to develop a product the masses want to buy and use over and over again. Braun and Giroux (1989) cite the 'Skinner Reinforcement doctrine" as setting up an addictive quality in the game structure. they use the 'time element' to push the player to compete against self induced time limits. Essentially beat the clock and rewards (mulitmodial feedback) this with extra points and the intricate structure to keep one exploring the multidimensional aspect of game structure. The 'reinforcement doctrine' has been incorporated by the designers "to the letter by video game designers' (Braun and Giroux). If these games are so constructed with males in mind then are the designers giving the game buyers what they want and simultaneously creating this market?

Adrianne Kinnear (1995) points out different attitudes that are formulated in classroom are carried over to the unstructured use of computer games outside of class instruction. These attitudes appear to be shaped by classroom scheduling structure. At beginning of Keinnear's research they found girls' attitudes equally positive with boys whereas the boys thought they had an advantage over the girls. This could be part of the video game socialization process. The boys monopolize computer time to the extent that the teacher had to designate a "girls only day" on regular hours the girls were tolerated and really had to assert themselves extensively to get a turn at the keyboard. The girls continued to actively give advice while observing when not in the keyboard position. The lack of access of computers for girls is interpreted by the teachers' as the "girls being less interested". If the girls' interactions with computers are consistently judged or more correctly misjudged by their teachers as (relayed above), the girls' interaction with life around her can impede her computer skill development. A clear example of this can be seen in Kinnear's article, she found that "the teacher's perception of girls preferring the language games over the math games. A contradiction in the teacher's response was seen. For when researchers surveyed the boys and girls of what exactly were their favorite games, both sexes unanimously chose the math games.

Children may interpret the rules in games differently. We think that gender is the most important factor, but some other factors that we think may effect each child's interpretations are installation of belief systems, computer game design and personality traits . We focused most strongly on gender, because we are concerned about the imbalance between boys and girls use of computers. We feel that personal strategy interpretation may be linked to the under representation of females in computer use and play. A gender imbalance exists in video game use, and also in game manufacturing design, Skirrow (1990). She also states,

"The prime target audience for home video games systems consists of boys from 8-18. those from 8-15 are the traditionally heavy uses of home video. the biggest group of primary users of Nintendo are 8-11 (about 36% of users), and the next largest group are adults 18+" (Provenzo 1991).

Boys often enjoy stories featuring adventure, fighting, travel, detection and technology (Skirrow 1990) The typical male fascination with technology, and in particular he technologies of was, has often been suggested to have a psycho-sexual symbolic function. Aggression and violence are widespread in computer games. Most games tend to feed into masculine fantasies of control, power and destruction (Phillip Zimbardo and Provenzo 1991). It appears that there may be many reasons that children should feel compelled to create their own interpretations in games. Is it possible that there is a difference in how boys and girls perceive and choose the games. Do differences exist? A web page on gender differences in computer game playing (http://www-scf.usc.edu/~hgilmour/mis.html) states,

Men seem to like

Women seem to like

On this web page, Gilmour admitted that these were just stereotypes of men and women, but through personal experience we have seen examples of these stereotypes played out in both arcade and computer games. We have also found similar images of boys and girls portrayed by other sources. On another web page, Kafai, a psychologist, wrote about her research with a computer program that allowed children to create their own games. This situation allowed the children to literally make their own rules, as they were dictators of their own games. Like Gilmour, she observed distinct gender differences (http://www.gse.ucla.edu/kafai/Article_Playworlds.html) :

It seems logical to ask if men and women invent their own rules differently, and if they have different reasons for doing so.

Gender issues & computer video game play

Are there gender differences in computer playing strategies? If so where do they originate? Socialization of gender differences involved in computer game design may explain some of these differences. Computer games offer a rich dynamic with the development of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skill stages. Does one gender spend more time playing, learning and exploring with the computer than another? There may be self-regulating and self-imposed conditions that push some children onto successful game playing while others so easily quit and move on. What are the rules?

Greenfield, (1983, 1984, 1993) states, "one of the most interesting points about video games is that no one tells you the rules in advance. The rules must be figured out by observation, trial and error, and a process of hypothesis testing. Several other researchers have also noted the problem-solving/discovery aspect of video" (Strover, 1984; Turkle, 1984).

Is there an imbalance between boys and girls in their usage of computers. Socialization of gender differences involved in computer use, and game design point the way to these differentiation's. Computers are the way of the future in business, education and delivering information to the masses in a given culture. The self regulating rules that children impose on themselves are different for boys and girls. In one observation at the UC Links, Jamie, a nine year old male, set up his rules to accommodate the timer of the games to get from point 'a' to point 'b' as fast as possible. His sister, Julia, was also observed playing by the same rules. Since these two "played" in the same way, maybe it was a socialized trait and not necessarily a gender difference. In the game Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego, some girls observed at UC Links took their time and asked the guide or the geography finder to locate some of the destinations. In the following field notes examples of these behaviors are observed.

In FN# 4 Jamie & Carmen SD by J.S., states that Jamie "seemed to know what he was after. He would not listen to the video message from the boss, but just click or skip it...he replied it wasn't important...Jamie continued to play very efficiently...but Jamie just clicked on one of the choices...but then ventured the trial and error expressway and finally go to the right country..."

In contrast we have this field note showing gender difference:

In FN#3 Carmen SanDiego by S.S., in which she worked with Rebecca, an 8 year old girl, S.S. wrote "I've noticed that other children just play this game without taking the time to figure out the clues (especially geography ones). It seems Rebecca plays in a more mature way. It seems that she wants to learn while playing. Rather than just win as I have seen other kids do. I think she plays in the intended way (to gain problem solving skills and learn geography). Rebecca takes her time and the information sticks with her as it should education do. In that, when we learn something new we should store it so that when in need we can remember that certain thing."

Jamie tends to rush through the game and would rather guess the location rather than use either the finder or the guide. One possible reason for this type of interaction with the game could be related to how video arcade games are often structured or designed primarily for males. Boys are playing video games from a very early age whereas girls are not seen nearly as often frequenting arcades. Whether it is not a safe place or the girls would rather be socializing/playing with dolls remains to be proven with scientific research. Maybe it is the 'guy' kind of thing to do.

The following research suggests that boys use computers more than girls and that they are more adept at it. The study by Claude M.J. Braun and Josette Giroux (1989) established that the games were more male oriented and that usage by the "boys vastly outnumbered the girls". Why is this? This question raises a multidimensional outlook. It could be due to the fact that the boys are socialized choosing 'the masculine thing to do' or peer pressure and the consequent approval/recognition to be seen at the video arcades influences them. Therefore, boys have more practice at playing video and computer games which would reflect the more male expertise in this technology than girls.

Braun and Giroux define violent games as "destruction of individuals or objects, ingestion of individuals, or criminal behavior. Malone's (1981) observation concluded that thematic violence was a "turn on to boys" while a "turn off to girls". The computer games are designed by men for men and reflect this by the violent themes on most of the games. An example of this violent/aggressive response is reflected in the following field note:

In FN#5 Strategy Sharing by M.C., she writes after observing Jamie, "Our turns alternate so we do not play at the same time and we are competing against each other by comparing scores...His turn starts and he starts chanting 'kill, kill, kill'. He tells me that the purple ones always get him. He continues playing and now chants kill purple, kill purple. He shares his strategy and tells me that I should get the purple crafts if I want to do better...He jumps out of his seat, runs over to Mark, who is at a different station. Mark comes over and says, hey you beat my score, in a surprised voice...Another thing I felt was important was the aggression Jamie showed while playing as well as the competitiveness he shows."

This field note is also backed up in research by Morlock (1985) who found that females preferred less aggressive themes in video game playing. We saw this reflected in the field notes when the female subjects played with Dollhouse and Charlie Brown software.

In the field of psychology there has been a lot of research regarding gender issues, especially in the area of developmental psychology. Some of the research in this field suggests that boys and girls, particularly adolescent children, are attracted to different types of play and also, that children at this age prefer to play with same gender playmates. During middle childhood, which is the age group that we are primarily observing at UC Links, a sense of gender, including gender stereotypes, is another aspect of self that develops during this period (Sroufe, Cooper, & DeHart, 1996, p.458).

Much of the research done around gender issues and play has involved toys we typically think of as sex-typed toys such as, dolls for girls and trucks for boys. Social influence can be seen at early stages in child development, especially parental influence. Parents encourage sex-typed play beginning in the toddler period by reacting more positively when toddlers play with gender-appropriate toys. Related aspects of elementary children’s behavior often matches gender stereotyping, too. Boys, for example, are more adventurous and engage in more risk-taking, while girls are more socially aware. (Sroufe, Cooper, & DeHart, 1996).

A typical example that was observed by J.S., a male undergraduate, one day at UC Links revolved around the fact that Susan and Julia, two 8 yr. old girls, were playing a computer game called DollHouse (a sex-typed game designed for girls). J.S. approached the girls and said that he loved that game and wanted to join them. J.S. wrote, “Susan was mortified. She said, Ohhh, you like to play with girl's stuff (or something like that). Julia seemed to follow her lead, and made fun of me, too. The girls said that they could like the game because they are girls. I asked why I could not like a fun game just because I was a boy. They just said, because you can't, and they ignored me from then on.”

How are other gender issues possibly related to what we, as undergraduates, are observing at UC Link? First of all, video games are different than dolls and trucks. Some of the differences include: typical toys (such as trucks, dolls, or stuffed animals) often involve more social interaction, where as video games are between two children or between one child and the computer. Computer video games for children are relatively new, but comparable to many video arcade games that have been popular for a number of years. In the area of play in general, Maccoby suggested, "that the two sexes engage in fairly different kinds of activities and games. Boys often play in larger groups and their play is rougher and girls are more interested in smaller, intimate groups, where talking can often be the 'action'" (DeLoache, 1994).

What attracts kids to the computer games? Like video arcade games, many of the computer games that are now available for kids are action packed. Some of the games that fall into this category at UC Links are: Pac Man, Dig Dug, The Need for Speed, Oregon Trail (the hunting aspect, only), Minesweeper, and Soccer. The majority of fieldnote commentary regarding these games involved male children. The following are a few examples from the database:

J.S. wrote in his fieldnote#1 about play with Mike (male, age 9).."went over to help Mike play Oregon Trail. All he wanted to do was hunt the animals, so I decided to play Minesweeper on the next computer in protest of his violence. (I told him that hunting for no reason was not nice, and I would not play with him if he was going to be violent).

While playing with another boy (Mark, age 9), J.S. commented, I tried to tell him the point of the game. To find all the bombs, and that the numbers showed how many bombs were next to the number. I also tried to show him some strategy about when you can make educated guesses instead of just clicking. He did not seem to understand me very well, and he just continued to click any square until he hit a bomb. I continued to tell him that if he slowed down and paid attention to the numbers, then he could beat the game, but he did not quite understand what I was trying to convey."

In the two examples above, both boys seemed to prefer the action type of game, (even though Oregon Trail isn’t designed with hunting as a primary feature, it is just one of many aspects to the problem solving game). Both of these children seem drawn to a more aggressive aspect of the game: shooting the animals and clicking the mouse to hit a bomb. A possible interpretation of the apparent rule following is mimicked in video arcade games that are geared towards boys and not girls.

J.A., another male undergraduate, wrote in his fieldnote#3, about working with Ian, (male, age 8), "I continued working with Ian for a short while. He got the CD ROM The Need for Speed SE. I helped him start it up... He chose his favorite car, a black sports car. He chose the race track, a setting near the beach. He then proceeded to play the game. He made all of these decisions on his own without my intervention...I think this game is meant to be played with joystick, the arrows do not seem to control the car from going off the track. The game is really fast paced, and it is easy to make mistakes."

Although many of the undergraduates worked with both male and female children at UC Links, we find it interesting the games we have labeled action types are typically dominated by male children. Is this because males are more attracted to these types of games? Does our socialization of sex-appropriate games carry over into the realm of computer games? It appears that way.

The game that seems to be one of the most frequently played by both boys and girls at UC Links is called Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego. This is a detective and catch-the-criminal designed game. Initially, clues are given about what the suspect may look like, tall or short, fat or thin, and maybe a clue about something they may be wearing. The game also incorporates geography as the suspect could be in a number of places, places all over the world, and therefore, clues are also given about the location of where the suspect may have gone. The object of the game is to catch the criminal and learn about geography while playing.

We observed middle childhood aged children playing this game, some playing with other children and some playing with one or more of the undergraduates. The following are some of our fieldnote observations on both girls and boys playing with this computer game:

In M.Z. fieldnote#1, she played Carmen San Diego with Risa (female, age 6). M.Z. talked about how Risa wasn’t familiar with the game and chose not to read the instructions, but point and click in an exploration of learning. In this scenario, both M.Z. and Risa worked together on a variety of other games: Magic School Bus, Get Ready for School Charlie Brown, and Soccer. During most of the time playing with the games, M.Z. said they would both point and click, but at one point M.Z. would look at the instructions that came in the CD...but, that took too long for Risa’s patience zone. M.Z. noted that Risa seemed possibly bored with the games and maybe that was why she went from one to the next so quickly. She also asked the question, Why do they not take the time to learn the rules of the game before they play?

In T.V.'s fieldnote#3, she talked about how Jamie (male, age 9) used the clues to figure out what the criminal looked like. He always goes to the appearance clues before the location clues. When he knows the answer, he proceeds without seeming to need confirmation and when he is not sure, he looks to an for assistance.”

T.V. went on to comment, “After having some trouble figuring out the criminals location, he decided to quit the game and play a different game... Jamie went with his answer when he was positive he was right and turned to others for help, when he didn’t know.”

T.V. found it interesting that, “Jamie only clicked on the appearance clues first...Jaime found his own logic of the game...by making his own rule.”

In K.S.'s fieldnote#3, she notes that when she isn’t working with Susan (female, age 8), Susan will go and find other children (usually Julia, female, age 8) to play with her. “She gets the other children to play with her, she controls the game.” Kate also said that Susan tries to explain the game as she is playing it with others. Kate said: “...she learns how to play the game and then tries to teach someone else how she plays the game.”

M.A. said that she and Alana (female, age 10) were both new to the game so they were learning the rules together. M.A. said that she tried not to tell Alana too much while she was playing, but due to the fact that she was not familiar with geography, she thought "it was important to tell her most of the locations with the geography so she could concentrate on learning how to find the suspect. One of the main things I noticed was Alana’s patience and perseverance.”

J.A notes that, “She (Julia, female, age 8) could not remember which categories were which in the warrant part, weight, height, wearing, etc. M.A. and I told her many, many times which one was which, but Julia could not remember or read the words.” Was the problem with this situation that Julia could not read or that she was intimidated by two undergraduates giving her too much information? How is this scene different than Julia working with another child?

The above fieldnote examples relate a variety of interactions with the game "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego". These observations do not seem to focus on gender specific issues, but learning styles, level of cognition, and playing strategies.

As there are sex-typed toys for kids, there are also sex-typed computer games designed for children. From what we have seen at UC Links, given our very small sample, girls typically play the games designed for girls, such as DollHouse or gender neutral games, and boys, typically play the games that are more action packed or violent in nature. But, what about games like, Where in the World is Carmen, San Diego? We feel that this game is not sex-typed. It does not appear to be designed specifically for boys or girls, it seems much more gender neutral than many of the other choices at UC Links. From the data that we have gathered just about this particular game, specifically in the above fieldnote quotes, we would be hard pressed to suggest gender-typed behavior. There were an equal number of boys and girls attracted to this game, each with different approaches to playing the game, and each with their own ideas about the rules of the game. We believe that because the design of the game is neutral and focuses on areas of mutual interest (solving a mystery and solving the clues), the game, therefore, promotes equal opportunity and equal interest for playing.

Personality Differences

Up to this point, we have focused on gender differences in computer play, specifically in boys’ and girls’ perceptions of the computer game rules. Though we have pointed out and cited gender differences found in observations at UC Links and other research, it should be noted that there are instances in which gender differences are inconsistent; not all boys and not all girls followed the same gender specific pattern. We believe that a possible explanation for this is that differences in computer play are not only effected by gender but are also influenced by personality traits; consistent dispositions within a person (McAdams, 1994).

An example of the influence of personality traits can be seen in Ian, an 8 year old male at UC Links, and how he perceives the rules of the game, Oregon Trail. Ian has been described in field notes as quiet, soft spoken and enjoyable (J.A., FN#2). From this description and descriptions from other undergraduates, it appears that Ian has a very distinct passive personality.

Ian’s personality can be seen in how he perceives the rules of Oregon Trail. The game is set in the frontier days and involves a journey to the west , in a covered wagon. Throughout the game, you must hunt, buy and trade goods in order to survive. One of the rules to this game involves shooting the animals for food, in a sparingly manner. It was discussed previously in this paper that most of the boys don’t perceive the rules as they were intended to be, instead they try to shoot as many animals as possible. Yet it appears that Ian does not perceive the rules in the same manner as the other boys do. He shoots at animals in a conservative manner and is even hesitant about throwing away items. According to A.G., “Ian [is] very adamant about not wanting to throw anything away. He felt that we should trade and never throw away” (A.G., FN#3). This type of behavior seems to be influenced by and congruent with his personality. His perception of the rules is not so much influenced by his gender as it is influenced by his personality.

There was also an incident, at UC Links, in which gender differences in the children's’ perceptions of the rules was not apparent. This occurred with the game, Where in the World (and USA) is Carmen SanDiego? This game involves making educated guesses about the criminal’s location and appearance, using the clues provided. Though there is no set order in which you must do this, it appeared that most of the children made up the rule of finding all the appearance clues first, and then looked up the location clues (T.V. FN#3, K.S., FN#2, L.B. FN#2 and undocumented observations).

It is not clear whether the children, through collaboration with each other, have made up this rule. Though on one occasion, I observed Amy, a nine year old female, who was playing this game for the first time and it appeared that she made this rule up on her own. When describing the rules of the game to Amy, I explained and demonstrated to her that you could guess on the location clues and appearance clues concurrently. Though at first she modeled my demonstration, she eventually ended up guessing first on all the appearance clues and then on the location clues; following the same rule that the rest of the children follow.

Yet there was one child that we observed who did not use this rule, Rebecha, a nine year old female. Instead, Rebecha guessed on the appearance clues inter-changeably. Rebecha appeared to be a confident, flexible and quick learner. These characteristics appear to be attributes to Rebecha’s ability to think and search for the location and appearance clues at the same time. Just as Ian’s personality played a role in his computer play, Rebecha’s personality may also be influencing her perceptions of the rules. It also appeared, in one documented incident, that children’s personality may not only have an effect on their perception of the rules in computer games, but also in non-computer games. This incident involved Risa, a seven year old female, and two undergraduates, playing the board game “Life” (J.M., FN# 5 ). In order to understand this event, it might be helpful to first have an insight into Risa’s personality.

In my own experience with Risa, I noticed that she appeared to be very outgoing and enjoyed “running the show” by having control of both the mouse and keyboard. Overall it seemed that she acted in such manner that would allow for the situation to work towards her advantage. For example, upon entering UC Links, with a friend, Risa quickly rushed to the chair located directly in front of the computer as if trying to ensure control of the computer.

Risa’s domineering personality was also apparent when she played the board game, “Life.” When playing this game, Risa perceived the rules to the game in such a way that would benefit herself. According to J.M., one of the undergraduates who played with her, “Risa assured us that she could teach us how to play . It seemed that Risa was making the rules up as we went along.. [and] she often made the rules in her favor, such as giving herself more money” (J.M., FN #5).

An attempt was made to try to connect these observations made at UC Links to previous research on computer play. It had been hoped that this search would result in articles that tackled the issue of children's’ personality effects on computer play. Instead this search resulted in the finding of research articles that dealt with the opposite: the effects of computer play on a child’s personality.

This type of research is very interesting to contemplate on why research on computer play has only focused on the computer’s effects on children and not the opposite. One possible explanation to this could be society’s concern with the violence found in many computer games and the possible negative effects this may have on children. As stated by Lin and Lepper’s in their research article, Correlates of children’s usage of video games and computers, “One consequence of the rapid spread of these electronic games has been the development of controversy surrounding various claims of both children, arising from the use or overuse of these games” (Lin & Lepper, 1987). Though it appears that not much research has been done on the effects of a child’s personality on computer play, it is definitely apparent that personality is playing a role in the computer play that is occurring at UC Links.

We have attempted to look at three areas to explain if children experience an imbalance due to gender, and if gender is a factor in kids interpretation. There were games at UC Links. that did seem to illicit sex-typed behavior, like DollHouse and Dig Dug. One possible reaction that boys and girls could have had to the gender neutral games would have been to “change the rules” to comply more to a sex-typed behavior, such as boys acting competitively and girls being more involved with the story telling and geographical aspects of the game. Instead, what we did observe, at UC Links was that the most popular game being played, “Where in the World/USA is Carmen SanDiego”, did not seem to depict differences in how boys or girls interpreted the rules. We believe that because this game is gender neutral, the kids were more likely to show differences related to personality.

All of our research so far does not touch on the difference in internet perception between the sexes (Ford and Miller 1996). This and the neurophysical/psycho physiological research on brain organization could be further explored in further studies. If previous studies were used in a statistical format it could also develop our knowledge in this area. Teachers and educators are being constantly challenged with technology. Not only do they need to be aware and familiar with computer programs, but they must impart this knowledge to their students. They must also be aware of each of their students level of competency with computer use. If males have a greater familiarity, they may also have a greater tendency to want to learn and use computers, their comfort level and self-confidence may dominate in the learning environment.

It is important to keep in mind that our methods did not include quantitative analysis. Our main source of evidence was a continuous observational database of fieldnotes based on children at UC Links.

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Last modified April 28, 2006