iPlay Study Systematic Development

You have to review the following paper [provided in PDF file]:
Collard DCM, Chinapaw MJM, van Mechelen W. Verhagen ELM. (2009). Design of the iPlay Study Systematic Development of a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme for Primary School Children. Sports Medicine, 39(11): 889-901.

The tasks for you is (to answer the following 2 questions), and to consider how the intervention or program was developed by systematically identifying and appraising the following program elements:

1. setting, target group, objective or desired outcomes, prevention level?

2. how the intervention was developed: strategies, approaches, theories(?), etc

Design of the iPlay Study
Systematic Development of a Physical Activity Injury
Prevention Programme for Primary School Children
Dorine C.M. Collard,1 Mai J.M. Chinapaw,1,2 Willem van Mechelen1,2
and Evert A.L.M. Verhagen1
1 EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Department of Public and Occupational
Health, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2 Research Centre Body@Work TNO VUmc, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Abstract Health benefits of physical activity in children are well known. However,
a drawback is the risk of physical activity-related injuries. Children are at
particular risk for these injuries, because of a high level of exposure. Because
of the high prevalence of physical activity injuries and the negative short- and
long-term consequences, prevention of these injuries in children is important.
This article describes how we systematically developed a school-based physical
activity injury prevention programme using the intervention mapping
(IM) protocol.
IM describes a process for developing theory- and evidence-based health
promotion programmes. The development can be described in six steps:
(i) perform a needs assessment; (ii) identify programme and performance
objectives; (iii) select methods and strategies; (iv) develop programme;
(v) adopt and implement; and (vi) evaluate.
First, the results of the needs assessment showed the injury problem in
children and the different risk factors for physical activity injuries. Based on
the results of the needs assessment the main focus of the injury prevention
programme was described. Second, the overall programme objective of the
injury prevention programme was defined as reducing the incidence of lower
extremity physical activity injuries. Third, theoretical methods and practical
strategies were selected to accomplish a decrease in injury incidence. The
theoretical methods used were active learning, providing cues and scenariobased
risk information, and active processing of information. The practical
strategy of the injury prevention programme was an 8-month course about
injury prevention to be used in physical education classes in primary schools.
Fourth, programme materials that were used in the injury prevention programme
were developed, including newsletters for children and parents,
posters, exercises to improve motor fitness, and an information website.
Fifth, an implementation plan was designed in order to ensure that the prevention
programme would be implemented, adopted and sustained over time.
Finally, an evaluation plan was designed. The injury prevention programme
is being evaluated in a cluster randomized controlled trial with more than
2200 children from 40 primary schools throughout the Netherlands.
LEADING ARTICLE Sports Med 2009; 39 (11): 889-901
0112-1642/09/0011-0889/$49.95/0
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved.
The IM process is a useful process for developing an injury prevention
programme. Based on the steps of the IM we developed an 8-month injury
prevention programme to be used in physical education classes of primary
schools.
Regular physical activity (PA) has many health
benefits, for example it lowers the risk of obesity,
coronary heart disease and osteoporosis.[1-3] A
drawback of increased PA levels is the risk of
PA-related injuries. Sports are the leading cause
of injury and hospital emergency room visits in
adolescents.[4-5]
The high prevalence of PA injuries in children
and the negative short- and long-term consequences
confirm its importance as a health problem.
Although most PA injuries are not life threatening,
the occurrence of PA injury can result in
pain, disability, school absence, absence from
PAs and sometimes in dysfunction in the
short and long term. Therefore, prevention of
PA-related injuries is essential. Emery[6] showed
in a review that injury prevention strategies in
children can reduce the risk of PA injuries.
However, the literature has some limitations and
is based primarily on observational studies for
specific injuries and specific sports.[7] Few studies
on school-based PA injury prevention strategies
have been published. Of these, only one study was
a randomized controlled trial.[8]
Measures to prevent PA injuries should generally
be based on knowledge about the incidence
and severity of the PA injury problem, aetiological
risk factors, and mechanisms contributing to
the risk of sustaining such injuries.[9]
Because a proper school-based PA injury prevention
programme in children does not exist and
evidence on effectiveness is lacking, development
and evaluation of such a programme is necessary.
An injury prevention programme can be developed
using the intervention mapping (IM) protocol.[10,11]
IM describes a process for developing theory- and
evidence-based health promotion programmes,
and involves a systematic process that prescribes
a series of six steps: (i) performing a needs assessment;
(ii) defining suitable programme objectives;
(iii) selecting theory-based intervention
methods and practical strategies; (iv) producing
programme components and materials; (v) designing
an implementation plan; and (vi) designing
an evaluation plan (see figure 1). Collaboration
between the developers, the users of the intervention
and the target population is a basic assumption
in the IM process.[12] This article
describes in detail the development of a PA injury
prevention programme for children by using the
steps of the IM process. Step 6 of the process
descibes in detail how to evaluate the effectiveness
of such a programme.
1. Step 1: Perform a Needs Assessment
Prior to the development of a PA injury prevention
programme for children, the injury problem
and the risk factors for PA injuries in children
should be assessed. In order to gain insight into
the needs of the target population, a focus group
interview with 23 physical education (PE) teachers
from 12 secondary schools was carried out.
1.1 The Injury Problem
Injuries cause children unnecessary suffering
and pain in the short term.[1,8,13] Individuals who
have experienced macro trauma or PA injuries to
joints may be at risk of accelerated development
of (secondary) osteoarthritis in later life.[14]
Moreover, it is suggested that PAinjuries sustained
Step 3: Select theory-based intervention methods and
practical strategies
Step 4: Produce programme components and materials
Step 5: Design an implementation plan
Step 6: Design an evaluation plan
Step 2: Define suitable programme objectives
Step 1: Needs assessment
Fig. 1. Steps of the intervention mapping process.
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ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
at a young age have a negative influence on
participation in PAs and sports.[15,16]
Data from the period 2000–2004 revealed that
in theNetherlands 1.5million acute PA injuries are
reported each year and 51% of these injuries are
medically treated. The PA injury incidence in
children aged 0–17 years is 1.3 (95% CI 1.2, 1.4).[17]
The absolute number of PA injuries in the
Netherlands increases for both sexes until the age
of 12 years. Above this age, injuries in boys increase
considerably until the age of 16 years. The
highest number of PA injuries in girls is registered
at 14 years of age. The most frequently injured
body parts are the lower extremities. The ankle is
the most affected part of the body (20%), followed
by the knee (18%).[17]
Although sport participation in children has
increased (children aged 6–11 years: 88% in 1991
to 93% in 2003; children aged 12–19 years: 84% in
1991 to 93% in 2003), membership of sports clubs
has decreased (children aged 6–11 years: 76% in
1991 to 74% in 2003; children aged 12–19 years:
77% in 1991 to 71% in 2003).[18] There are a large
number of children who participate in organized
team sports, but a growing number of children
are attracted to non-organized sports activities
and individual sports. There seems to be a trend
for individualization, and children nowadays are
attracted to sports other than traditional sports
in a sport club.[19] The literature shows that most
PA injuries occur during non-organized sports
activities and leisure time.[20-22]
Data from a nationwide survey in the
Netherlands showed that school absence occurs
in 7% of the children who sustained a sports injury,
and the mean duration of school missed by
these children was 8 days. This means that 0.02%
of the total population who visit school and
participate in sports are absent from school one
or more days. With a mean duration of 8 days,
the total school absence due to sports injuries can
be calculated at 794 000 days a year. In addition,
22%of the people who sustained a PA injury were
also absent from PAs.[17]
The economic consequences of PA injuries in
children are not known, but direct medical costs,
for examplemedical treatments as a result of all PA
injuries, were estimated at h170 and indirect medical
costs, for example work or school absence, were
estimated at h420 million (year of costing 2003).[23]
Risk factors for PA injuries are factors that
increase the potential risk for injury and include
extrinsic risk factors (i.e. weather, field conditions)
and intrinsic risk factors (i.e. age, conditioning).
Identification of risk factors can be used as a
leading guide for preventive measures. However,
it is clear that injuries are caused mostly by a combination
of factors. Table I shows the most important
risk factors for PA injuries in children.[5]
Based on these data, the aim our injury prevention
programme should be to prevent lower
extremity PA injuries in school children. A prevention
programme to prevent PA injuries embedded
in PE classes in schools will reach all the
children who are physically active – not only
children in sport clubs. PA injuries are defined as
injuries occurring during organized sports activities,
leisure time activities and PE class.
Table I. Risk factors for physical activity injuries in children[5]
Extrinsic risk factors Intrinsic risk factors
non-modifiable potentially modifiable non-modifiable potentially modifiable
Sport played (contact/no contact) Rules Previous injury (Aerobic) fitness level
Level of play (recreational/elite) Playing time Age Pre-participation in sport-specific training
Position played Playing surface (type/condition) Sex Flexibility
Weather Equipment (protective/footwear) Strength
Time of season/time of day Joint stability
Biomechanics
Balance/proprioception
Psychological/social factors
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1.2 Focus Group Interviews
In order to gain insight into the needs of the
target population and in order to be able to design
a feasible intervention programme, focus
group interviews were held. Five individual interviews
and two focus group interviews were performed
with 23 PE teachers from 12 secondary
schools. In the Netherlands, children go to primary
school until the age of 12 years, followed by
attendance at secondary school.
The interviewed secondary school PE teachers
generally agreed there is a great diversity in physical
fitness and motor performance in children in
the first grade of secondary schools. Their common
opinion was that these interindividual differences
are an important contributing factor to
PA injuries in children. Asking the interviewed
PE teachers about the causes of the noted diversity
in physical fitness and motor control, and
particularly about possible solutions, they argued
that an intervention programme should focus on
primary school children. In primary schools, children
receive regular PE classes. Unfortunately,
these regular PE classes are not always supervised
by certified PE teachers (due to economic reasons,
the child’s regular teacher often provides
the PE classes). However, the regular teachers
usually do not incorporate injury prevention aspects
in their PE classes; as general injury prevention
lessons are not given in primary schools,
it is likely that a preventive intervention in this
setting can lead to maximum improvement.
In addition, the PE teachers in secondary
schools said they were hesitant and not motivated
to incorporate our preventive intervention in their
PE classes, because they already incorporated
their own injury prevention in their PE classes.
Because the PE teachers in secondary schools
argued that the intervention programme should
focus on primary schools since injury prevention
lessons are already given in secondary schools, a
shift from secondary school children to primary
school children was made.
From the focus group interviews with the PE
teachers we also learned that, in general, the PE
teachers were rarely confronted with injuries, and
they were unaware of a sports injury problem
among their pupils. From the interviews it became
clear that raising injury knowledge in children,
teachers and parents should be an important objective
for our intervention programme.
2. Step 2: Define Suitable Programme
Objectives
This step provides the foundation for the programme
by specifying who and what will change
as a result of the intervention. The overall objective
of our intervention programme was to reduce
the incidence of lower extremity PA injuries. In
order to achieve this overall objective, several
risk-reduction behavioural and interpersonal environment
‘sub-objectives’ were defined that focus
on children, parents and PE teachers. The
underlying assumption of the risk-reduction behavioural
sub-objectives is that if an intervention
reduces the prevalence of risk factors, it will reduce
the prevalence of PA injuries. Furthermore,
the presence or absence of support from important
others (e.g. parents, PE teachers) within
the individual’s immediate interpersonal environment
may have an influence on the performance
of the injury-preventing behaviour.[24] The subobjectives
used in our preventive measure are:
(i) children take fewer injury-related risks;
(ii) parents create a safe PA environment for their
children outside PE classes; (iii) and teachers
include injury prevention into their usual teaching
routine.
Performance objectives were defined on the
basis of the programme objectives and describe
what the participants in this programme need to
do to perform the desired injury-preventing behaviour.
The performance objectives for each
programme objective are presented in table II.
3. Step 3: Select Theory-Based
Intervention Methods and
Practical Strategies
The third step of the IM process is the selection
of theory-based intervention methods and practical
strategies to effect changes in the health behaviour
of individuals, and to change organizational
and societal factors to alter the environment.
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ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
A ‘method’ can be described as a theoretically derived
technique used to influence (determinants
of) injury-preventing behaviour, and a ‘strategy’
as a practical way of organizing and delivering
the intervention method.[12,25]
3.1 Theory-Based Intervention Methods
Preventive measures should target one or more
of the risk factors mentioned earlier (table I). A
potentially modifiable risk factor for PA injuries
in children is wearing appropriate protective
equipment and footwear during PAs. To decrease
this risk factor, injury-preventing behaviour
should be addressed. Injury-preventing behaviour
is an indirect causal factor for PA injuries.[26]
Therefore, improving this behaviour could be a
method to decrease PA injury incidence and PA
injury severity. To change injury-preventing behaviour,
knowledge of determinants of behaviour
is necessary.[27] We applied the attitude, social
influence and self-efficacy (ASE) model for
behaviour change. The ASE model is based on
the theory of planned behaviour[28] and the social
learning theory.[29] This model[30,31] postulates
that intention, the most proximal determinant of
behaviour, is determined by three conceptually
independent constructs: attitude, social influence
and self-efficacy.
To change injury-preventing behaviour and
finally decrease injury incidence, our programme
tries to improve attitude, social influence, selfefficacy
and intention towards wearing appropriate
protective equipment and footwear during
organized PAs, leisure time activities and PE
classes (see figure 2).
In addition, a second potentially modifiable
risk factor for PA injuries in children is dimensions
of motor fitness (e.g. flexibility, strength
and balance/proprioception). Motor fitness and
sport-specific skills have an impact on sports injuries.[
32] There is some evidence that improving
certain dimensions of motor fitness can decrease
PA injuries. However, this evidence is found in
sport-specific studies[33-38] (see figure 2).
Theoretical methods are general techniques
for influencing changes in determinants of behaviour.
In our programme the following methods
will be used: active learning, providing cues and
scenario-based risk information, and active processing
of information.[24] The related theories for
the adopted methods are the persuasion communication
matrix, elaboration likelihood, social
cognitive theory, theories of information processing,
and a precaution adoption process model.[24]
3.2 Practical Strategies
The next step is to translate the methods into
practical strategies that can be used in a preventive
measure. Knowledge is a basis for many
different determinants of behaviour, but giving
Table II. Performance objectives for the four different programme objectives
Performance
objective
Programme objective 1:
children will take fewer injuryrelated
risks
Programme objective 2:
parents will create a safe physical activity
environment outside PE classes
Programme objective 3:
PE teachers will include injury
prevention into their usual teaching
routine
1 Children learn the
consequences of an injury
Parents learn the consequences of an injury PE teachers learn the consequences
of an injury
2 Children learn which risk
factors cause injuries
Parents learn which risk factors cause injuries PE teachers learn which risk factors
cause injuries
3 Children gain insight into their
own injury risk behaviour
Parents gain insight into the injury risks during the
child’s leisure time physical activities
PE teachers gain insight into the pupils’
risk behaviour
4 Children form strategies to
reduce their injury risk
Parents form strategies to reduce the injury risk
during the child’s leisure time physical activities
PE teachers form strategies to reduce
the pupils’ risk behaviour
5 Parents gain insight into the child’s risk behaviour
6 Parents form strategies to reduce the child’s risk
behaviour
PE = physical education.
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 893
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children information will not lead directly to
behavioural change. However, behavioural determinants
like attitude are based partly on knowledge.[
39] The practical strategy that is used to
deliver information in order to increase attitude,
social influence, self-efficacy and motor fitness is
an 8-month course about injury prevention. The
communication channels are a course manual for
teachers, newsletters for children and parents,
posters for children, an exercise programme
during PE lessons for children, and an interactive
website. The newsletters can be made especially
for children or parents, and the willingness to
receive a newsletter is usually good.[24] In addition,
posters can be effective in calling attention
to a campaign and they provide continuous exposure
to the children.[24] Table III gives an
overview of the determinants, methods, theories
and strategies to reach the programme objectives.
3.3 Interpersonal Environment
Changing determinants of behaviour is almost
always embedded in one or more environmental
levels. A child participating in PAs is in an environment
with parents and PE teachers, therefore
parents and PE teachers should also be involved
in the intervention programme.[24] Parents
are very important in creating a safe PA environment
outside PE classes. They should encourage
their children to play safe,[40] and they
are important as role models for their children.
The influence of parental rules and pressure has
been found to have a strong effect on the use of
protective equipment.[41-43]
PE teachers are very important in creating a
safe PA environment during PE classes. In order
to prevent injuries in PE classes it is important
that teachers include injury prevention into their
usual teaching routine. If PE teachers include
injury prevention into their teaching routines,
they will teach children how to prevent injuries
during PAs, not only during PE classes, but also
outside school.
4. Step 4: Produce Programme
Components and Materials
The task in this step of the IM process is to
translate methods and practical strategies into
programme components and materials. Our injury
prevention programme as a whole is not
Decrease PA injury incidence rates
Decrease severity of PA injuries
Intention Injury-preventing behaviour
Attitude
The degree to which
performance of injurypreventing
behaviour is
positively or negatively
valued
Motor fitness
Dimensions of motor
fitness are strength,
flexibility, speed, power
and balance/coordination
Social influence
Consists of three
components:
– Subjective norms
– Social support
– Pressure and modelling
Self-efficacy
The subjective probability
that a person is capable of
executing injury-preventing
behaviour
Fig. 2. A conceptual model of injury prevention. PA= physical activity.
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ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
specified for any specific type of sport. It addresses
the most common injuries and preventive
measures in general and includes the programme
components and materials outlined below.
4.1 Newsletters
Monthly newsletters are produced for both
children and parents. The aim of the newsletters
is to increase knowledge and awareness about
injury prevention. The monthly newsletters consist
of information about injury prevention, selfevaluation
tests and puzzles on a specific topic.
By providing a monthly newsletter, new information
will be given each month in a motivational
way. It is believed that this will remind all involved
each month of the task of preventing PA
injuries.
4.2 Posters
Eight different posters (A1 size, i.e. 594· 840mm)
show the highlights of the content of the newsletters.
The posters contain important and clear
messages about injury prevention and are very
colourful and have humorous cartoon images in
order to make the posters attractive to children.
They are displayed in the classroom, so that the
children are able to see the posters continuously.
4.3 Exercises to Improve Motor Fitness
A short training circuit is performed at the
beginning and the end of each PE class, twice a
week. This circuit consists of exercises aimed at
the improvement of motor fitness (i.e. strength,
speed, balance/coordination and flexibility). The
exercises are developed on the basis of exercises
from ‘active childhood-healthy life’,[44] exercises
from ‘Basisdocument Bewegingsonderwijs’,[45]
and exercises from a programme to prevent lower
limb injuries in youth sports.[37] Table IV gives
examples of the exercises that are done during the
PE classes.
4.4 Website
The website (www.iplaystudy.nl) contains general
information about injury prevention for
children, parents and PE teachers, who can view
the newsletters online, and children can check
their solutions to the newsletter puzzles. Additionally,
various instruction videos and photos
are displayed to illustrate for PE teachers how to
teach the exercises.
4.5 Pretesting and Revising
Pilot testing of programme strategies and materials
with intended implementers and recipients
is an important part of step 4.
4.5.1 Pretesting the 8-Month Course
Teachers and children of six primary schools
were informed about the programme in full detail.
Teachers were asked for their comments on
the topics and timing of the different modules of
the 8-month course via a focus group interview.
With the exception of a few minor comments, all
interviewed primary school teachers were positive
about the programme and believed the programme
to be feasible and effective. Children
Table III. Theoretical methods and practical strategies to reach programme objective
Determinants Methods Theory Strategies
Attitude Active learning Persuasion communication
matrix
Newsletter delivered to children and parents to
improve knowledge
Social influence Cues Elaboration likelihood Posters exposed to children in the classroom to
improve knowledge
Self-efficacy Scenario-based risk
information
Social cognitive theory Course manual for teachers
Motor fitness Active processing of
information
Theories of information
processing
Short circuit training to improve motor fitness
during physical education classes
Precaution adoption process
model
Website accessible for children, parents and
teachers
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responded in a comparable way and were very
enthusiastic about the monthly newsletters and
posters. Although the programme also targets
parents, for practical reasons they were not asked
for their comments about the 8-month course.
However, the positive response of teachers and
children led us to believe that the programme will
be widely accepted in its current form.
4.5.2 Pretesting Exercise Programme
The exercise programme to improve motor
fitness was pretested in two different primary
schools, involving three PE teachers. Teachers
were asked specifically for their comments on the
feasibility of the exercises, the level of intensity,
the degree of difficulty of the exercises and the
clarity of the manual. Some exercises were perceived
as too difficult or taking too much time.
Additionally, the teachers advised delivery of the
exercises in a more competitive and playful way.
Exercises were adapted as suggested by the PE
teachers. The teacher’s manual was considered to
be very clear.
5. Step 5: Design an Implementation Plan
This step focuses on the design of an implementation
plan, in order to ensure that an
injury prevention programme will be implemented,
adopted and sustained over time.
The intervention programme is a ‘ready to use’
preventive measure so it can be implemented directly
in PE lessons, if proven effective. The
Royal Association of Teachers of Physical Education
(KVLO) and the Academy for PE Teachers’
Education will then play an important role
in the implementation. The KVLO controls the
standards and continuity of physical education in
the Netherlands, and has a wide array of implementation
channels. Thereby, the KVLO will
be an important channel through which the preventive
programme can be implemented not only
by today’s PE teachers, but also by the PE teachers
of the future. Another channel that plays an
important role in successful implementation is
the academic school where PE teachers are educated.
The KVLO and the Academy for PE
Teachers’ Education have been involved in the
study from the very beginning and have participated
in the IM process. By using IM, the programme
was tailored to the wishes of the end
users. In doing so, the practical and logistical
issues of implementation have been minimized.
6. Step 6: Design an Evaluation Plan
Through effect and process evaluation, IM
planners can determine whether decisions were
correct at each mapping step. To evaluate the
effect of the intervention, the decrease in injury
incidence will be analysed in a cluster randomized
controlled trial.
The primary research questions addressed are:
‘‘What is the effect of the injury prevention programme
on lower extremity PA injury incidence
and severity?’’ and ‘‘What is the cost effectiveness
of this programme?’’
The secondary research question is: ‘‘What is
the effect of the injury prevention programme on
the improvement of knowledge, (determinants of)
injury-preventing behaviour and motor fitness?’’
6.1 Sample Size
A difference in the incidence of acute lower
extremity injuries of 7% between the intervention
and control group after 8 months is considered
clinically relevant. To detect a difference of 7% in
the incidence of lower extremity PA injures with a
power of 90% and an a of 5%, 500 children per
group (intervention/control) are needed in an
Table IV. Examples of the iPlay-programme of exercises used to prevent injuries
Strength Coordination Speed Flexibility
Forward jumps Passing the ball (one leg stance) Shuttle run Flexibility of hamstring
Squats to 80 of knee flexion Skate jumps Race course Flexibility of calf muscle
Hand wrestling in push-up
stand
Pushing each other off balance (one leg
stance)
Spurts from different start
positions
Flexibility of biceps
femoris
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ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
evaluation study. However, in order to perform
multi-level analyses taking into account a cluster
randomization design (schools as randomization
level) – with an intra-cluster correlation coefficient
of 10% and a dropout rate of 20% – a total
of 2280 children from 40 schools are required at
baseline.
6.2 Recruitment
6.2.1 Recruitment of Primary Schools
The evaluation will be carried out in Dutch
primary schools. From the 7000 primary schools
throughout the Netherlands, 520 primary schools
are randomly selected from a database and invited
by means of an information flyer. Inclusion
criteria for the primary schools are: (i) being a
regular primary school; (ii) giving PE lessons
twice a week; and (iii) being willing to appoint a
contact person for the duration of the study.
A flowchart of the recruitment of primary
schools is given in figure 3.
6.2.2 Recruitment of Children and their Parents
The children and parents from the participating
schools receive an information letter about
the study design. All children are eligible for inclusion
in the study. The parents receive a passive
informed consent request: this consent procedure
assumes that the parents consent, unless the
researcher is contacted by means of a telephone
call or by sending an email.
6.3 Randomization
Schools serve as randomization units to avoid
spillover of the intervention within schools. A
stratified randomization is performed based on
geographic location (urban/suburban) and professional
status of the PE teacher (certified/
uncertified), resulting in four strata. From each
stratum, schools are randomly allocated to the
intervention or control group by a computerized
random number generator. Before the school
year starts, the primary schools are informed
about the group (intervention/control) they are
assigned to.
6.4 Primary Outcome Measures
6.4.1 Injury Definition and Registration
Throughout the school year, PA injuries
are recorded continuously by PE teachers. They
are instructed to question children explicitly every
week about whether they have been injured as
a result of PAs (including non-organized events)
in the past week. The injury definition, as described
by van Mechelen et al.,[9] is used where a
PA injury is any injury as a result of participation
in PE class, sport activities or leisure time PAs
520 primary schools
370 primary schools
did not respond at all
105 primary schools
not willing to participate
45 primary schools
willing to participate
Randomization
Five primary schools were excluded:
– Only once-a-week PE class (n = 3)
– Change in teacher at the beginning of the school year (n = 1)
– Already participates in the study with another primary school (n = 1)
Reasons:
– No time (n = 58)
– Missing value (n = 15)
– Not relevant (n = 10)
– Already participating in other project (n = 8)
– No interest (n = 8)
– Change in teacher (n = 5)
Control group = 20 schools
(n = 1093)
Intervention group = 20 schools
(n = 1117)
40 primary schools
participate in the iPlay study
(n = 2210)
Fig. 3. Flowchart of recruitment in primary schools. PE = physical education.
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 897
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with one or more of the following consequences:
the child (i) has to stop the physical activity and/
or (ii) cannot (fully) participate in the next
planned PA (applies also to planned leisure time
PAs) and/or (iii) cannot go to school the next day
and/or (iv) needs medical attention ranging from
onsite care (e.g. first-aid personnel) to personal care
(e.g. physiotherapist or sports physician).
In case of an injury, the child is asked to complete
an injury registration form. The injury registration
form collects information on injury type,
injury location, direct cause of the injury and activity
performed at the time of injury.
Injury incidence refers to the number of new
PA injuries during a particular period of time
(e.g. 1 year). One method to express incidence
rates is to calculate the incidence of PA injuries in
relation to exposure (in days, hours or sport
event). To determine time at risk for PA injuries,
all children complete a questionnaire in the
classroom twice a year. This questionnaire collects
information on exposure time (sports and
leisure-time PA participation).
6.4.2 Cost Effectiveness
In order to evaluate the cost effectiveness of
the preventive measure, all parents from children
who sustain a PA injury receive a cost diary. The
cost diary is a log in which parents register all
(para-) medical treatment (including use of medication),
absence from school and sport activities,
and other discomfort from the moment of injury
onwards, until full recovery. From these cost
diaries, direct and indirect costs resulting from
the sustained injury can be calculated for use in
the economic evaluation.
6.5 Secondary Outcome Measures
Knowledge, injury-preventing behaviour, behavioural
determinants and motor fitness are
measured at baseline (start of the school year)
and follow-up (end of the school year).
6.5.1 Questionnaires
Children are requested to complete a questionnaire
in the classroom. The children take
home the questionnaire to their parents, who are
asked to complete their questionnaire and return
it to the research team in a pre-stamped reply
envelope.
Knowledge about injury prevention is measured
with one question on self-reported improvement
in knowledge of how to prevent PA
injuries, as well as a knowledge test including nine
multiple-choice questions about injury prevention
in general.
Behavioural determinants are assessed with
the following constructs: attitude, social influence,
self-efficacy and intention. The injurypreventing
behaviour is defined as wearing
appropriate protective equipment and footwear
during organized PAs, leisure time and PE class.
Attitude towards the injury-preventing behaviours
is assessed with three questions. Social influence
is assessed with questions regarding social
norm, modelling of friends, and modelling of
parents. Self-efficacy is assessed with two questions
relating to the child’s perception of their
ability to perform injury-preventing behaviour.
Intention and behaviour towards wearing protective
equipment and appropriate shoes during
organized PAs, leisure time and PE class are assessed
with one question. All answers on the
questions are given on a five-point Likert scale
varying from always (1) to never (5) or totally
agree (1) to totally do not agree (5). All questions
are positively formulated.
We pretested the questionnaires on comprehensibility,
(lack of) clarity and practical applicability
in 54 children and their parents. Based on
the results of the pretest, we changed some
questions to increase comprehensibility, deleted
excessive text messages and shortened the questionnaire
to decrease completion time.
6.5.2 MOPER Fitness Test
Motor fitness is assessed with the MOtor
PERformance (MOPER) fitness test. Supervised
by a research assistant, groups of three to four
children perform seven test items of the MOPER
fitness test (bent arm hang test, 10 · 5m run test,
plate tapping test, leg lift test, sit and reach test,
arm pull test and standing high jump test), and
they are asked to perform all test elements as
well as possible. For practical reasons, we decided
to exclude the 6-minute endurance run. For an
898 Collard et al.
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
extensive description of the MOPER fitness test
items, see Leyten et al.[46] In addition, children
perform the flamingo balance test, which has
been described in the EUROFIT test.[47] To be
able to complete all tests during one PE class we
shortened the flamingo balance test to 30 seconds
instead of 1 minute as the original flamingo balance
test protocol indicates. All test items are
performed barefoot to rule out the effect of
footwear on the test results.
Body height and weight are also measured.
Body height is measured in metres to the nearest
centimetre with a portable stadiometer (Seca 214,
Leicester Height Measure; Seca GmbH & Co,
Hamburg, Germany). Asking the subject to stand
straight, with the heels together and looking
straight ahead, standardizes positioning of the
body. Body weight is measured to the nearest
0.1 kg with a digital scale (Seca 770; Seca GmbH
& Co, Hamburg, Germany). During the body
height and weight measurements, children wear
only underwear.
6.6 Statistical Analysis
The effects of the intervention will be assessed
using multilevel regression analysis. This statistical
technique takes into account the dependency
of observations of different children from the
same class and school. Analyses will be adjusted
for baseline values and, if necessary, for other
confounders.
The economic evaluation will be assessed
using mean direct (i.e. medical costs), indirect (i.e.
costs for absence from school/work) and total
costs from the cost diaries. Because costs are
generally not normally distributed, 95% confidence
intervals for the differences in mean costs
will be obtained by bias-corrected and accelerated
bootstrapping. Differences in costs and
differences in injury incidence will be included in
a cost-effectiveness ratio, which estimates the
additional costs to prevent one PA injury.
6.7 Process Evaluation
A process evaluation is included to monitor
programme implementation, which will gain insight
into the relationship between specific programme
elements and programme outcomes.[48]
The injury prevention programme will be evaluated
with the use of the RE-AIM(reach, efficacy/
effectiveness, adoption, implementation and
maintenance) framework.[49] All PE teachers,
children and parents assigned to the intervention
group are asked to complete the process evaluation
questionnaire.
7. Discussion and Conclusions
Regular PA has many health benefits, but also
increases the risk of PA injuries. This paper describes
how to develop and evaluate a preventive
measure using the IM protocol. To our knowledge,
this is the first time this has been done in
the injury prevention field. Although this strategy
has never been used before in this field, the underlying
systematic ‘evidence-based’ process and
the contribution of the field of practice make the
IM method likely superior to any othermethod for
developing an injury prevention programme.
The IM protocol provides a valuable checklist
for the development of an intervention programme.
However, it is a rather time-consuming
process. The research on determinants, definition
of suitable performance objectives, moving back
and forth between the IM steps, and the pretesting
of materials required much time. This makes
it sometimes difficult to apply the IM process
according to the full instructions.
The results of the evaluation study will be
published elsewhere. Preliminary analysis clearly
indicates that the iPlay study resulted in a significant
decrease in injury incidence in the intervention
group. Moreover, the results of the
evaluation study will help to gain more insight
into the effects of school-based injury prevention
programmes.
Acknowledgements
The iPlay study is supported by a grant from the Netherlands
organization for health research and development
(ZONMW), grant number 62200033. The authors have no
conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of
this review.
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 899
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
Authors’ contribution: EV was involved in developing the
concept and the design of the study. DC, MC and EV were
involved in further developing the idea and the protocol for
carrying out the study. DC was responsible for the data collection
and she drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed
to the final manuscript by reading and correcting
draft versions.
References
1. Adirim TA, Cheng TL. Overview of injuries in the young
athlete. Sports Med 2003; 33 (1): 75-81
2. Ekblom B, Astrand PO. Role of physical activity on health in
children and adolescents.Act Paediatr 2000 Jul; 89 (7): 762-4
3. Hallal PC, Victora CG, Azevedo MR, et al. Adolescent
physical activity and health: a systematic review. Sports
Med 2006; 36 (12): 1019-30
4. Best TM, van Mechelen W, Verhagen E. The pediatric athlete:
are we doing the right thing? Clin J Sport Med 2006
Nov; 16 (6): 455-6
5. Emery CA. Risk factors for injury in child and adolescent
sport: a systematic review of the literature. Clin J Sport
Med 2003 Jul; 13 (4): 256-68
6. Emery CA. Injury prevention and future research. Med
Sport Sci 2005; 49: 170-91
7. Emery CA, Meeuwisse WH, McAllister JR. Survey of sport
participation and sport injury in Calgary and area high
schools. Clin J Sport Med 2006 Jan; 16 (1): 20-6
8. Backx FJG. Sports injuries in youth; etiology and prevention
(thesis). Janus Jongbloed Research Center on Sports and
Health, the Netherlands.Utrecht: Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht,
1991
9. van Mechelen W, Hlobil H, Kemper HC. Incidence, severity,
aetiology and prevention of sports injuries: a review of
concepts. Sports Med 1992 Aug; 14 (2): 82-99
10. Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G, et al. Intervention
mapping: designing theory and evidence-based health
promotion programs. Columbus (OH): McGraw-Hill
Higher Education, 2001
11. Kok G, SchaalmaH,Ruiter RA, et al. Interventionmapping:
protocol for applying health psychology theory to prevention
programmes. J Health Psychol 2004 Jan; 9 (1): 85-98
12. Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G. Intervention mapping:
a process for developing theory- and evidence-based
health education programs. Health Educ Behav 1998 Oct;
25 (5): 545-63
13. Marchi AG, Di Bello D, Messi G, et al. Permanent sequelae
in sports injuries: a population based study. Arch Dis Child
1999 Oct; 81 (4): 324-8
14. Kujala UM, Kettunen J, Paananen H, et al. Knee osteoarthritis
in former runners, soccer players, weight lifters,
and shooters. Arthritis Rheum 1995 Apr; 38 (4): 539-46
15. Flynn JM, Lou JE, Ganley TJ. Prevention of sports injuries
in children. Curr Opin Pediatr 2002 Dec; 14 (6): 719-22
16. Kelm J, Ahlhelm F, Pape D, et al. School sports accidents:
analysis of causes, modes, and frequencies. J Pediatr
Orthop 2001 Mar; 21 (2): 165-8
17. Hildebrandt VH, Ooijendijk WTM, Hopman-Rock M.
Trendrapport: bewegen en gezondheid 2004-2005. Leiden:
TNO Kwaliteit van Leven, 2007
18. SCP. Rapportage Sport 2006. The Hague: 2006
19. SCP. Rapportage jeugd 2002. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau,
Den Haag, 2003
20. Kahl H, Dortschy R, Ellsasser G. Injuries among children
and adolescents (1-17 years) and implementation of safety
measures: results of the nationwide German Health Interview
and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents
(KiGGS). Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheits
forsch Gesundheitsschutz 2007 May; 50 (5-6): 718-27
21. Schneiders W, Rollow A, Rammelt S, et al. Risk-inducing
activities leading to injuries in a child and adolescent population
of Germany. J Trauma 2007 Apr; 62 (4): 996-1003
22. Sundblad G, Saartok T, Engstrom LM, et al. Injuries during
physical activity in school children. Scand JMed Sci Sports
2005 Oct; 15 (5): 313-23
23. Toet H, Schoots W, den Hertog PC, et al. Kosten van
sportblessures in Nederland. Amsterdam: Consument en
Veiligheid, 2005
24. Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G, et al. Planning health
promotion programs, an intervention mapping approach.
San Fransico (CA): Jossey-Bass, 2006
25. Caine D, Caine C, Maffulli N. Incidence and distribution of
pediatric sport-related injuries. Clin J Sport Med 2006
Nov; 16 (6): 500-13
26. Klassen TP, MacKay JM, Moher D, et al. Communitybased
injury prevention interventions. Future Child 2000;
10 (1): 83-110
27. Machenbach J, van der Maas PJ. Volksgezondheid en gezondheidszorg.
Maarsen: Elsevier Gezondheidszorg, 1999
28. Fishbein M, Ajzen I. Belief, attitude, intention and behavior:
an introduction to theory and research. New York (NY):
Wiley, 1975
29. Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: a
social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs (NY): Prentice
Hall, 1986
30. de Vries H, Dijkstra M, Kuhlman P. Self-efficacy: the third
factor besides attitude and subjective norm as a predictor
of behavioural intentions. Health Educ Res 1988; 3: 273-82
31. Kok G, de Vries H, Mudde A, et al. Planned health education
and role of self-efficacy: Dutch research. Health Educ
Res 1991; 6: 231-8
32. Verstappen FT, Twellaar M, Hartgens F, et al. Physical fitness
and sports skills in relation to sports injuries: a fouryear
prospective investigation of sports injuries among
physical education students. Int J Sports Med 1998 Nov;
19 (8): 586-91
33. Emery CA, Cassidy D, Klassen TP. The effectiveness of
a proprioceptive balance-training program in healthy
adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Am J
Epidemiol 2004; 159: 749-54
34. Heidt Jr RS, Sweeterman LM, Carlonas RL, et al. Avoidance
of soccer injuries with preseason conditioning. Am J
Sports Med 2000 Sep; 28 (5): 659-62
35. Hewett TE, Lindenfeld TN, Riccobene JV, et al. The effect
of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury
in female athletes: a prospective study. Am J Sports Med
1999 Nov; 27 (6): 699-706
36. Junge A, Rosch D, Peterson L, et al. Prevention of soccer
injuries: a prospective intervention study in youth amateur
players. Am J Sports Med 2002 Sep; 30 (5): 652-9
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37. Olsen OE, Myklebust G, Engebretsen L, et al. Exercises
to prevent lower limb injuries in youth sports: cluster
randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2005 Feb 26; 330 (7489):
449
38. Verhagen E, van der BA, Twisk J, et al. The effect of a
proprioceptive balance board training program for the
prevention of ankle sprains: a prospective controlled trial.
Am J Sports Med 2004 Sep; 32 (6): 1385-93
39. Brug J, Schaalma H, Kok G, et al. Gezondheidsvoorlichting
en gedragsverandering, een planmatige aanpak. Assen:
Van Gorcum, 2001
40. Otis J, Lesage D, Godin G, et al. Predicting and reinforcing
children’s intentions to wear protective helmets while bicycling.
Public Health Rep 1992 May; 107 (3): 283-9
41. Berg P, Westerling R. Bicycle helmet use among schoolchildren:
the influence of parental involvement and children’s
attitudes. Inj Prev 2001 Sep; 7 (3): 218-22
42. Finch CF. Teenagers’ attitudes towards bicycle helmets
three years after the introduction of mandatory wearing.
Inj Prev 1996 Jun; 2 (2): 126-30
43. Miller PA, Binns HJ, Christoffel KK. Children’s bicycle
helmet attitudes and use: association with parental rules.
The Pediatric Practice Research Group. Arch Pediatr
Adolesc Med 1996 Dec; 150 (12): 1259-64
44. Zahler L, Puhse U, Stussi C, et al. Active childhood-healthy
life. Basle: Swiss Federal Office of Sports Magglinger
(FOSPO); Institute for Exercise and Health Science, University
of Basle, 2004
45. van Berkel M, Consten A, Danes H, et al. Basisdocument;
bewegingsonderwijs. Zeist: Jan Luiting Fonds, 2004
46. Leyten C, KemperH, Verschuur R. de MOPER hitheidstest:
handleiding en prestatieschalen 9 t/m 11 jarigen. Haarlem:
De Vrieseborch, 1982
47. Adam C, Klissouras V, Ravazzolo M, et al. Handbook
for the EUROFIT test of Physical Fitness. Brussels:
Council of Europe committee for the development of sport,
1988
48. Saunders RP, Evans MH, Joshi P. Developing a processevaluation
plan for assessing health promotion program
implementation: a how-to guide. Health Promot Pract
2005 Apr; 6 (2): 134-47
49. Dzewaltowski DA, Glasgow RE, Klesges LM, et al.
RE-AIM: evidence-based standards and a Web resource to
improve translation of research into practice. Ann Behav
Med 2004 Oct; 28 (2): 75-80
Correspondence: Dr Mai J.M. Chinapaw, EMGO Institute
and Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU
University Medical Center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081
BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
E-mail: m.chinapaw@vumc.nl
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 901
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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9.

Injury Definition and Registration

Throughout the school year, PA injuries
are recorded continuously by PE teachers. They
are instructed to question children explicitly every
week about whether they have been injured as
a result of PAs (including non-organized events)
in the past week. The injury definition, as described
by van Mechelen et al.,[9] is used where a
PA injury is any injury as a result of participation
in PE class, sport activities or leisure time PAs
520 primary schools
370 primary schools
did not respond at all
105 primary schools
not willing to participate
45 primary schools
willing to participate
Randomization
Five primary schools were excluded:
– Only once-a-week PE class (n = 3)
– Change in teacher at the beginning of the school year (n = 1)
– Already participates in the study with another primary school (n = 1)
Reasons:
– No time (n = 58)
– Missing value (n = 15)
– Not relevant (n = 10)
– Already participating in other project (n = 8)
– No interest (n = 8)
– Change in teacher (n = 5)
Control group = 20 schools
(n = 1093)
Intervention group = 20 schools
(n = 1117)
40 primary schools
participate in the iPlay study
(n = 2210)
Fig. 3. Flowchart of recruitment in primary schools. PE = physical education.
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 897
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
with one or more of the following consequences:
the child (i) has to stop the physical activity and/
or (ii) cannot (fully) participate in the next
planned PA (applies also to planned leisure time
PAs) and/or (iii) cannot go to school the next day
and/or (iv) needs medical attention ranging from
onsite care (e.g. first-aid personnel) to personal care
(e.g. physiotherapist or sports physician).
In case of an injury, the child is asked to complete
an injury registration form. The injury registration
form collects information on injury type,
injury location, direct cause of the injury and activity
performed at the time of injury.
Injury incidence refers to the number of new
PA injuries during a particular period of time
(e.g. 1 year). One method to express incidence
rates is to calculate the incidence of PA injuries in
relation to exposure (in days, hours or sport
event). To determine time at risk for PA injuries,
all children complete a questionnaire in the
classroom twice a year. This questionnaire collects
information on exposure time (sports and
leisure-time PA participation).
6.4.2 Cost Effectiveness
In order to evaluate the cost effectiveness of
the preventive measure, all parents from children
who sustain a PA injury receive a cost diary. The
cost diary is a log in which parents register all
(para-) medical treatment (including use of medication),
absence from school and sport activities,
and other discomfort from the moment of injury
onwards, until full recovery. From these cost
diaries, direct and indirect costs resulting from
the sustained injury can be calculated for use in
the economic evaluation.
6.5 Secondary Outcome Measures
Knowledge, injury-preventing behaviour, behavioural
determinants and motor fitness are
measured at baseline (start of the school year)
and follow-up (end of the school year).
6.5.1 Questionnaires
Children are requested to complete a questionnaire
in the classroom. The children take
home the questionnaire to their parents, who are
asked to complete their questionnaire and return
it to the research team in a pre-stamped reply
envelope.
Knowledge about injury prevention is measured
with one question on self-reported improvement
in knowledge of how to prevent PA
injuries, as well as a knowledge test including nine
multiple-choice questions about injury prevention
in general.
Behavioural determinants are assessed with
the following constructs: attitude, social influence,
self-efficacy and intention. The injurypreventing
behaviour is defined as wearing
appropriate protective equipment and footwear
during organized PAs, leisure time and PE class.
Attitude towards the injury-preventing behaviours
is assessed with three questions. Social influence
is assessed with questions regarding social
norm, modelling of friends, and modelling of
parents. Self-efficacy is assessed with two questions
relating to the child’s perception of their
ability to perform injury-preventing behaviour.
Intention and behaviour towards wearing protective
equipment and appropriate shoes during
organized PAs, leisure time and PE class are assessed
with one question. All answers on the
questions are given on a five-point Likert scale
varying from always (1) to never (5) or totally
agree (1) to totally do not agree (5). All questions
are positively formulated.
We pretested the questionnaires on comprehensibility,
(lack of) clarity and practical applicability
in 54 children and their parents. Based on
the results of the pretest, we changed some
questions to increase comprehensibility, deleted
excessive text messages and shortened the questionnaire
to decrease completion time.
6.5.2 MOPER Fitness Test
Motor fitness is assessed with the MOtor
PERformance (MOPER) fitness test. Supervised
by a research assistant, groups of three to four
children perform seven test items of the MOPER
fitness test (bent arm hang test, 10 · 5m run test,
plate tapping test, leg lift test, sit and reach test,
arm pull test and standing high jump test), and
they are asked to perform all test elements as
well as possible. For practical reasons, we decided
to exclude the 6-minute endurance run. For an
898 Collard et al.
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
extensive description of the MOPER fitness test
items, see Leyten et al.[46] In addition, children
perform the flamingo balance test, which has
been described in the EUROFIT test.[47] To be
able to complete all tests during one PE class we
shortened the flamingo balance test to 30 seconds
instead of 1 minute as the original flamingo balance
test protocol indicates. All test items are
performed barefoot to rule out the effect of
footwear on the test results.
Body height and weight are also measured.
Body height is measured in metres to the nearest
centimetre with a portable stadiometer (Seca 214,
Leicester Height Measure; Seca GmbH & Co,
Hamburg, Germany). Asking the subject to stand
straight, with the heels together and looking
straight ahead, standardizes positioning of the
body. Body weight is measured to the nearest
0.1 kg with a digital scale (Seca 770; Seca GmbH
& Co, Hamburg, Germany). During the body
height and weight measurements, children wear
only underwear.
6.6 Statistical Analysis
The effects of the intervention will be assessed
using multilevel regression analysis. This statistical
technique takes into account the dependency
of observations of different children from the
same class and school. Analyses will be adjusted
for baseline values and, if necessary, for other
confounders.
The economic evaluation will be assessed
using mean direct (i.e. medical costs), indirect (i.e.
costs for absence from school/work) and total
costs from the cost diaries. Because costs are
generally not normally distributed, 95% confidence
intervals for the differences in mean costs
will be obtained by bias-corrected and accelerated
bootstrapping. Differences in costs and
differences in injury incidence will be included in
a cost-effectiveness ratio, which estimates the
additional costs to prevent one PA injury.
6.7 Process Evaluation
A process evaluation is included to monitor
programme implementation, which will gain insight
into the relationship between specific programme
elements and programme outcomes.[48]
The injury prevention programme will be evaluated
with the use of the RE-AIM(reach, efficacy/
effectiveness, adoption, implementation and
maintenance) framework.[49] All PE teachers,
children and parents assigned to the intervention
group are asked to complete the process evaluation
questionnaire.
7. Discussion and Conclusions
Regular PA has many health benefits, but also
increases the risk of PA injuries. This paper describes
how to develop and evaluate a preventive
measure using the IM protocol. To our knowledge,
this is the first time this has been done in
the injury prevention field. Although this strategy
has never been used before in this field, the underlying
systematic ‘evidence-based’ process and
the contribution of the field of practice make the
IM method likely superior to any othermethod for
developing an injury prevention programme.
The IM protocol provides a valuable checklist
for the development of an intervention programme.
However, it is a rather time-consuming
process. The research on determinants, definition
of suitable performance objectives, moving back
and forth between the IM steps, and the pretesting
of materials required much time. This makes
it sometimes difficult to apply the IM process
according to the full instructions.
The results of the evaluation study will be
published elsewhere. Preliminary analysis clearly
indicates that the iPlay study resulted in a significant
decrease in injury incidence in the intervention
group. Moreover, the results of the
evaluation study will help to gain more insight
into the effects of school-based injury prevention
programmes.
Acknowledgements
The iPlay study is supported by a grant from the Netherlands
organization for health research and development
(ZONMW), grant number 62200033. The authors have no
conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of
this review.
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 899
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
Authors’ contribution: EV was involved in developing the
concept and the design of the study. DC, MC and EV were
involved in further developing the idea and the protocol for
carrying out the study. DC was responsible for the data collection
and she drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed
to the final manuscript by reading and correcting
draft versions.
References
1. Adirim TA, Cheng TL. Overview of injuries in the young
athlete. Sports Med 2003; 33 (1): 75-81
2. Ekblom B, Astrand PO. Role of physical activity on health in
children and adolescents.Act Paediatr 2000 Jul; 89 (7): 762-4
3. Hallal PC, Victora CG, Azevedo MR, et al. Adolescent
physical activity and health: a systematic review. Sports
Med 2006; 36 (12): 1019-30
4. Best TM, van Mechelen W, Verhagen E. The pediatric athlete:
are we doing the right thing? Clin J Sport Med 2006
Nov; 16 (6): 455-6
5. Emery CA. Risk factors for injury in child and adolescent
sport: a systematic review of the literature. Clin J Sport
Med 2003 Jul; 13 (4): 256-68
6. Emery CA. Injury prevention and future research. Med
Sport Sci 2005; 49: 170-91
7. Emery CA, Meeuwisse WH, McAllister JR. Survey of sport
participation and sport injury in Calgary and area high
schools. Clin J Sport Med 2006 Jan; 16 (1): 20-6
8. Backx FJG. Sports injuries in youth; etiology and prevention
(thesis). Janus Jongbloed Research Center on Sports and
Health, the Netherlands.Utrecht: Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht,
1991
9. van Mechelen W, Hlobil H, Kemper HC. Incidence, severity,
aetiology and prevention of sports injuries: a review of
concepts. Sports Med 1992 Aug; 14 (2): 82-99
10. Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G, et al. Intervention
mapping: designing theory and evidence-based health
promotion programs. Columbus (OH): McGraw-Hill
Higher Education, 2001
11. Kok G, SchaalmaH,Ruiter RA, et al. Interventionmapping:
protocol for applying health psychology theory to prevention
programmes. J Health Psychol 2004 Jan; 9 (1): 85-98
12. Bartholomew LK, Parcel GS, Kok G. Intervention mapping:
a process for developing theory- and evidence-based
health education programs. Health Educ Behav 1998 Oct;
25 (5): 545-63
13. Marchi AG, Di Bello D, Messi G, et al. Permanent sequelae
in sports injuries: a population based study. Arch Dis Child
1999 Oct; 81 (4): 324-8
14. Kujala UM, Kettunen J, Paananen H, et al. Knee osteoarthritis
in former runners, soccer players, weight lifters,
and shooters. Arthritis Rheum 1995 Apr; 38 (4): 539-46
15. Flynn JM, Lou JE, Ganley TJ. Prevention of sports injuries
in children. Curr Opin Pediatr 2002 Dec; 14 (6): 719-22
16. Kelm J, Ahlhelm F, Pape D, et al. School sports accidents:
analysis of causes, modes, and frequencies. J Pediatr
Orthop 2001 Mar; 21 (2): 165-8
17. Hildebrandt VH, Ooijendijk WTM, Hopman-Rock M.
Trendrapport: bewegen en gezondheid 2004-2005. Leiden:
TNO Kwaliteit van Leven, 2007
18. SCP. Rapportage Sport 2006. The Hague: 2006
19. SCP. Rapportage jeugd 2002. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau,
Den Haag, 2003
20. Kahl H, Dortschy R, Ellsasser G. Injuries among children
and adolescents (1-17 years) and implementation of safety
measures: results of the nationwide German Health Interview
and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents
(KiGGS). Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheits
forsch Gesundheitsschutz 2007 May; 50 (5-6): 718-27
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Correspondence: Dr Mai J.M. Chinapaw, EMGO Institute
and Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU
University Medical Center, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081
BT Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
E-mail: m.chinapaw@vumc.nl
Developing a Physical Activity Injury Prevention Programme 901
ª 2009 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved. Sports Med 2009; 39 (11)
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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10.
Empirical Methods in Communication

briefly answer five essay questions that require you to dissect an
experiment by Palomares and Lee, that was published in a 2010 issues of the Journal of
Language and Social Psychology. Your answers must be typed and double spaced. Provide
a 1½ inch margin on all sides of the page for written comments. Your paper must absolutely not
be longer than 1000 words; that is about 200 words per question. All word processors have a
word count feature. Please provide the word count of your essay (excluding your name and
other identifying information).
Due Date: May 10. Turn your paper in at the beginning of the class session. Electronic (email
attachment) submissions will not be accepted.
Questions
1. Palomares and Lee used a 2x2x2 between-subjects factorial design. (This kind of design
is referred to as “between-subjects” because each research participant was assigned to
only one experimental condition.) Explain why this design was necessitated by the
research hypotheses.
2. Experimental control is a critical feature of any experiment. If we wish to know the effects
of independent variables on dependent variables we must “hold constant” other variables
that would make causal inference challenging. What efforts were taken in this experiment
to achieve a high level of experimental control?
3. What efforts were made to determine if the manipulations of the independent variables
were valid?
4. Did this experiment measure any potential mediating variables? If so, what were these
variables? If no, why not?
5. The generalizeability of every experiment has limitations, and this study is no exception.
Briefly describe how our ability to generalize from the findings obtained are limited.
Evaluation
Your answers to these five questions will be equally weighted. Evaluation is based on the
thoughtfulness of your response and the quality of your writing.
Think of this essay as a take home exam. The work you submit must be your own. You may not
discuss this assignment or your ideas with other people. Doing so will be considered cheating.
Articles
Journal of Language and Social Psychology
29(1) 5–
23
© 2010 SAGE Publications
DOI: 10.1177/0261927X09351675

http://jls.sagepub.com

Virtual Gender Identity:
The Linguistic Assimilation
to Gendered Avatars
in Computer-Mediated
Communication
Nicholas A. Palomares1 and Eun-Ju Lee2
Abstract
This research examined how individuals’ gendered avatar might alter their use of
gender-based language (i.e., references to emotion, apologies, and tentative language)
in text-based computer-mediated communication. Specifically, the experiment tested
if men and women would linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated
by randomly assigned gendered avatars (either matched or mismatched to their
true gender). Results supported the notion that gender-matched avatars increase
the likelihood of gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars
promoted countertypical language, especially among women. The gender of a partner’s
avatar, however, did not influence participants’ language. Results generally comport with
self-categorization theory’s gender salience explanation of gender-based language use.
Keywords
gender-linked language, social identity, intergroup communication, message production,
stereotypes, prototypes
Gender-based communication is the focus of much scholarship. This work increasingly
emphasizes computer-mediated environments. Research, for example, has
examined how men and women communicate via e-mail (Colley & Todd, 2002), chat
groups (Koch, Mueller, Kruse, & Zumbach, 2005; Thomson, 2006), instant messages
1University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
2Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea
Corresponding Author:
Nicholas A. Palomares, Department of Communication, One Shields Avenue, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616, USA
Email: napalomares@ucdavis.edu
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6 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
(Fox, Bukatko, Hallahan, & Crawford, 2007), and other forms of computer-mediated
communication (CMC). One issue in this empirical arena is gender identity and its
manifestations in CMC. Scholars have argued, for example, that people perform masculinity
online as a means to reify their gender identities (Herrmann, 2007). Other
research has demonstrated that elevating the salience of gender identity prompted
women to reference emotions in e-mail more than men especially in mixed-sex interactions
(Palomares, 2008). Permeating this literature is a focus on the diverse, dynamic,
and sometimes transient nature of gender identity; how it differentially presents itself
in CMC given the circumstances; and the resultant communicative behavior of men
and women (Murachver & Janssen, 2007; Palomares, Reid, & Bradac, 2004).
Whereas the primary concern of this work is how a sex-consistent gender identity
affects communication, a relatively nascent interest is how people simulate a gender
identity online that they would not otherwise perform in offline settings (Herring &
Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000; Rellstab, 2007). For example, a woman might pretend to
be a man in an online chat. The few instances of this research have studied strategic or
intentional portrayals of a different gender and focused on the communicative behaviors
people employ in these forgeries and if others can recognize a disingenuous gender
identity (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000; see also Thomson & Murachver,
2001); yet no known research has examined how more subtle cues might trigger the
enactment of a different gender identity online. We refer to this phenomenon as virtual
gender identity. Thus, we conducted an experiment to test if men and women would
linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated by (matched or mismatched)
gendered avatars representing them in text-based CMC. Specifically, our objective was
to determine if and how men’s and women’s gender-based language would emerge as a
function of gendered (i.e., masculine or feminine) avatars that represented them and
their interaction partner. In pursuit of this goal, we first review research on language
and gender, then present our theoretical orientation from which we deduce predictions,
and finally report an experiment that implemented and tested this rationale.
Language and Gender in CMC
Research traditionally has emphasized gender differences claiming that men and
women tend to use dissimilar language independent of the context, personal proclivities,
or interaction partners (e.g., Lakoff, 1975; Mulac & Lundell, 1980; Tannen,
1990). The empirical evidence is somewhat compatible with this claim. Consistent
with stereotypes, for example, meta-analyses demonstrated that women used more
affiliative speech (e.g., references to emotion) and less assertive speech (e.g., direct
language) than men (Leaper & Ayres, 2007). Over time, however, the focus has shifted
away from gender and onto alternative (i.e., extragender) influences, especially those
present in CMC. Whether in e-mail, newsgroup postings, blogs, discussion groups,
online chats, or other computerized settings, the language of men and women largely
depends on the specific circumstances and features of the technology and context (e.g.,
Colley & Todd, 2002; Fox et al., 2007; Herring, 1993; Huffacker & Calvert, 2005;
Palomares, 2004, 2008, 2009; Savicki, Kelley, & Ammon, 2002; Thomson, 2006). In
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Palomares and Lee 7
fact, the same aforementioned meta-analyses also found several factors that moderated
the gender effects often to an extent greater than gender alone (Leaper & Ayres,
2007). Language differences between men and women, thus, clearly exist, but they are
highly sensitive to extraneous factors that may increase, decrease, erase, or even reverse
the traditional gender-based patterns of use.
The emergence of three language features—references to emotion, apologies, and
tentative language—has been particularly vulnerable to contextual instability within
and across studies despite stereotypes and early conjectures that they are “feminine”
language forms. References to emotion, or language that includes any mention of a
feeling or emotion, have been indicted as typically associated with women’s language
(Mulac, Bradac, & Gibbons, 2001). Yet other research has shown that men reference
emotion more than women (Mulac, Seibold, & Farris, 2000), that men and women use
them equally (Thomson, 2006), and that their use depends on the salience of gender
identity and dyadic sex composition (Palomares, 2008). Examinations of apologies—
which some have construed as an indicator of politeness and a feminine language
style (Herring, 1993; Lakoff, 1975)—have yielded a similarly diverse array of differences
and similarities between men and women (O’Neill & Colley, 2006; Savicki,
Lingenfelter, Kelley, 1996; Tannen, 1990; Thomson, 2006). Tentative language signals
uncertainty, is typically associated with women (Herring, 1993; Lakoff, 1975), and like
apologies and references to emotion is contextually dependent (Brouwer, Gerritsen, &
De Haan, 1979; Carli, 1990; Palomares, 2008, 2009; S. A. Reid, Keerie, & Palomares,
2003; Tannen, 1990). We examined these three features because research frequently
employs them in CMC as stereotypically gender-based language forms.
Self-Categorization Theory
Notwithstanding inconsistent results among the three language features, an explanation
for the diverse collection of gender-based language manifestations is found in selfcategorization
theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987).1 The basic
premise of the theory is that people mentally represent social groups as contextually
contingent prototypes or fuzzy sets of attributes that define in-group similarities in
contrast to out-group differences. People internalize the group prototype that is most
salient and relevant—a state called depersonalized. Prototypes operate not only to
describe but also to prescribe, such that depersonalization provides a normative selfdefinition
for how one should perceive and behave in a certain context.
When applied to gender and language phenomena (cf. Palomares et al., 2004), the
theory maintains that if people interact devoid of a gender distinction, then one’s gender
is irrelevant and gender-based language is unlikely to emerge; but if a gender categorization
is germane, then gender identity is applicable to one’s self-construal, and people
will behave according to the activated prototypical norms (Palomares, 2008;
S. A. Reid et al., 2003). Gender-relevant interactions, thus, increase the salience of
gender identity so that the prototype of intergender relations has significant consequences
for language use. Self-categorization theory has been relatively successful in
attempts to explain and predict a diverse array of linguistic behavior for men and women
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8 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
in CMC. When sending an e-mail, for example, women referenced emotions significantly
more than men only if gender was salient because the prototype of gender salience
exploited supportiveness as a stereotypically feminine attribute (Palomares, 2008). We
formulated our expectations for the experiment based on self-categorization theory.
Performing Virtual Gender Identities
A limited number of studies have examined the online performance of a different gender.
The earliest scholarship highlighted intentional “gender swapping” on the Internet
(e.g., a man posing as a woman) and documented and described its natural occurrence.
People gender swap, for example, in text-based multiuser dungeons and similar online
groups for a range of reasons (Berman & Bruckman, 2001; Bruckman, 1993; Danet,
1996; Donath, 1999; McRae, 1995; Menon, 1998; Rheingold, 1993; Turkle, 1995; Van
Gelder, 1996). Assuming a different virtual gender identity has several sociological
and psychological implications (Herrmann, 2007; Kendall, 2000; E. M. Reid, 1991,
1995; Rellstab, 2007; Rodino, 1997) especially considering that a substantial portion
(40% to 60%) of online social-site members typically do so for some of their time
online (Roberts & Parks, 1999). Relatedly, Internet users can strategically ambiguate
their gender often via gender-neutral pseudonyms (Bechar-Israeli, 1995; Van Gelder,
1996). Gender equivocation, however, is more common among women than men
(Jaffee, Lee, Huang, & Oshagan, 1995; Jazwinski, 2001), likely because it assuages
gender biases that can occur in face-to-face interactions (Flanagin, Tiyaamornwong,
O’Connor, & Seibold, 2002; Koch et al., 2005). Research has also examined the detection
of real (Koch et al., 2005; Nowak, 2003; Thomson & Murachver, 2001) and false
(Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000) gender identities in CMC.
Whereas most research on virtual gender identities has recorded its natural occurrence,
objectives, implications, and detection, recent examinations have studied the
communicative behaviors people manipulate when intentionally performing a false
gender. Such research has found that people seem to have control over macro forms of
communication (e.g., topic) more than molecular forms (e.g., tentative language). For
example, if told to pose as a different gender when interacting with an unknown partner
via e-mail, participants typically exploited gender-stereotypical topics while
having relatively little control over gender-typical syntactic and lexical choices (Hills,
2000). Likewise, in synchronous CMC, people successfully altered their topical content
when intentionally performing a different gender but ineffectively changed
molecular forms of communication; in fact, their molecular features actually gave
cues to their true gender despite their effective topic manipulations (Herring &
Martinson, 2004). Our experiment advances past research by not overtly instructing
people to communicatively perform a different gender identity. Instead, we manipulated
gendered avatars to test if people would automatically assimilate their language
to a virtual gender identity without explicit direction to do so.
A gendered (i.e., masculine or feminine) avatar can heighten the salience of gender.
Avatars are graphical self-representations in a computer-mediated environment that can
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Palomares and Lee 9
reveal social information in an otherwise cue-limited setting (Blascovich et al., 2002).
Interacting via avatars, for example, can impart levels of trust and intimacy similar to
an audio–video mode of mediated communication but more than text-only communication
(Bente, Rüggenberg, Krämer, & Eschenburg, 2008). Gender inferences of
anonymous others depend on their avatars even if avatar representations are known to
be arbitrary (Lee, 2007a). People prefer avatars that closely represent themselves over
less accurate digital representations, especially in terms of gender (Nowak & Rauh,
2005). In fact, avatars have behavioral consequences by inducing avatar-consistent communication:
In line with attractiveness stereotypes (cf. Langlois et al., 2000), intimacy
(e.g., self-disclosures) was greater for people represented by attractive than less attractive
avatars (Yee & Bailenson, 2007, Experiment 1). Likewise, in a second study that
capitalized on confidence stereotypes of tall people (cf. Young & French, 1996), participants
who assumed an avatar taller than their negotiation partner’s avatar were more
likely to decline their partner’s unfair offer than if their avatar was shorter. Given that
people heed avatars cognitively and behaviorally, a gendered avatar might affect
gender-based language because it yields a gender self-definition germane. According
to self-categorization theory, however, these linguistic consequences would depend
on the nature of the avatar and its ramifications for gender salience: A gendered selfrepresentation
in CMC will intimate the prototype for gender-based linguistic behavior.
Specifically, masculine avatars will implicate male-linked language norms, whereas
feminine avatars suggest female-typical language norms. As a result, people linguistically
assimilate to these communicative norms.
These effects, however, are likely more robust for women than men. Women tend
to be more responsive to gender salience than men are (Palomares, 2008; S. A. Reid
et al., 2003), and they tend to identify with their gender more strongly than men do
(Cameron & Lalonde, 2001). In fact, men were less likely than women to take a gendered
avatar into account when inferring an anonymous partner’s gender (Lee, 2007a).
Women also are more accurate when decoding others’ nonverbal communication and
are generally more sensitive to it than men are (Hall, 2006). Because women tend to
be particularly reactive to visual communicative stimuli and gender salience, we
expect a woman to use more stereotypically feminine language when her avatar is
consistent (i.e., feminine avatar) than inconsistent (i.e., masculine avatar) with her
true gender; yet the effect of this corresponding pattern for men will likely be less
extreme if it manifests at all. Thus, we present the following:
Hypothesis 1a-c: Women, but not men, use more gender-typical language—
(a) references to emotion, (b) apologies, and (c) tentative language—when
the gender of their avatar matches their true gender than when it mismatches.
We also tested the effects of a CMC partner’s gendered avatar because it too can
play an influential role in computerized interactions. In most circumstances, gender
differences are more likely in intergroup (i.e., mixed-sex) than intragroup (i.e., same-sex)
interactions. For example, women referenced emotion more than men when gender
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10 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
was salient but chiefly in mixed-sex e-mail exchanges (Palomares, 2008); likewise,
gender differences in tentative language were present in intergroup but not intragroup
CMC (Palomares, 2009). Self-categorization theory accounts for such effects by
arguing that mixed-sex interactions render an intergender distinction more pertinent
than same-sex settings do, such that assimilation to the prototype of gender salience
becomes more likely (Hogg & Turner, 1987). We, therefore, might expect a partner’s
gendered avatar to affect gender-based language as well, which is analogous to other
research revealing partner-avatar effects for nongender groups. People in a virtual
environment, for example, maintained greater distance when encountering an avatar
of an ethnic minority than an avatar of an in-group member, especially if they held
implicit prejudice toward the minority out-group (Dotsch & Wigboldus, 2008).
Precisely predicting how another’s gendered avatar might interact with a gendered
graphical self-representation, however, is difficult because what constitutes “mixed
sex” is muddled when gendered avatars are introduced in CMC to represent anonymous
interactants. That is, whether people compare their true or virtual gender with
their partner’s gendered avatar can alter their inter-/intragroup determination. For
example, a woman who is represented by a masculine avatar when interacting with a
partner using a feminine avatar might consider the interaction to be intergroup if she
contrasts her and her partner’s avatars; whereas if she compares her partner’s avatar
with her actual gender, then she might conclude that the interaction is intragroup. In
fact, Lee (2007b) found that dyadic team members felt stronger group identification
when their avatars belonged to the same gender category (rather than different categories).
Such results suggest that perceptually salient, albeit explicitly arbitrary,
avatars can serve as a formative basis for an intra-/intergroup distinction. Nonetheless,
if and how self-other avatar comparisons have effects beyond fostering group
cohesion remains unclear in Lee’s study; that is, even when participants thought “My
partner and I are similar,” by virtue of the similar avatars, they might not have fully
embraced the specific identity represented in the avatars (“We are both masculine”),
especially considering that their avatar’s gender always mismatched their true gender
in the study. By examining social perceivers’ linguistic behavior as a function of their
own and their partner’s gendered avatars, the present study extends past work. Yet
given the difficulty gendered avatars present for ascertaining the inter-/intragroup
nature of an interaction in anonymous CMC, we ask this research question:
Research Question 1: Does the gender of a partner’s avatar influence (via either
main or interaction effects) gender-based language use?
Method
Participants and Design
Participants were 157 undergraduates (74 men, 83 women) enrolled in communication
classes at a large, West Coast university. A 2 (participant’s gender: men vs. women) ×
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Palomares and Lee 11
2 (gender matching of participant’s avatar: match vs. mismatch participant’s true
gender) × 2 (gender of partner’s avatar: male vs. female) between-subjects design was
employed wherein participants completed a trivia game with an ostensible partner
both of whom were represented via gendered avatars in synchronous text-based CMC.
Avatar Manipulations
Two masculine and two feminine avatars manipulated self and partner representations.
An additional 50 undergraduate students (66% women) participated in a pretest to confirm
an effective manipulation of avatar gender. Participants first saw one of the four
cartoon characters and then indicated how feminine and masculine the character was on
10-point scales (1 = not at all masculine/feminine, 10 = very much masculine/feminine).
The femininity rating was reverse coded and then combined with the masculinity rating
to form a femininity–masculinity index (r = -.86, p < .001; range: 2-20). A 2 (participant
gender) × 2 (avatar gender) analysis of variance (ANOVA) established that male
characters were considered to be more masculine (M = 14.24; SD = 3.71) than female
characters (M = 5.16; SD = 1.95), F(1, 46) = 113.91, p < .001, hp
2 = .71. Furthermore,
one-sample t tests revealed that the attribution of masculinity to male characters was
significantly greater than the scale midpoint (11.00), t(24) = 4.37, p < .001, whereas
female characters were perceived as significantly less masculine (or more feminine)
than the scale midpoint, t(24) = -14.97, p < .001. There was no interaction between
participants’ and avatars’ gender, indicating that both men and women perceived the
avatars’ gender as intended, F < 1. The four avatars served to randomly manipulate
participants’ avatar gender and the partner’s avatar gender. A participant’s avatar was
never identical to his or her ostensible partner’s avatar in the main experiment.
Procedure
Participants played a computerized trivia game with someone whom they believed to
be another study participant. To reduce participants’ suspicion about the purpose of the
experiment, they were first asked to choose a letter on the computer screen, ranging
from A to E, to determine the avatar (i.e., cartoon character) that would represent them
during the interaction. Unbeknownst to the participants, however, the character’s
gender was randomly predetermined to be either male or female regardless of their
true gender and the chosen letter. Once the participants’ avatar and their ostensible
partner’s avatar appeared on the computer screen, participants selected a number,
ranging from 1 to 10, to determine a set of questions to be asked during the game.
Regardless of the number chosen, however, the computer presented a fixed set of fastfood
trivia. For each multiple-choice question, participants indicated their initial
answer and confidence level and typed a comment to their partner. After participants
typed a comment, the participant’s and the partner’s characters showed their initial
responses, as illustrated in Figure 1. The partner’s responses were preprogrammed and
held constant across conditions, and their comments contained no apologies, tentative
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12 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
language features, or references to emotion (e.g., “I have no clue,” “D seems too
obvious”). At this point, participants submitted their final answer and confidence
level, after which the computer presented the next question without revealing the correct
answer or the partner’s final response to the previous question. This procedure
was repeated for 12 unique questions that were held constant across all conditions.
Finally, participants were debriefed.
Language Coding
The comments that participants wrote to their ostensible partner during the trivia game
served as the source of gender-based language use. All comments formed a transcript
booklet with only a unique number identifying each participant’s transcript. Two
research assistants, who were blind to the design and hypotheses, underwent training
sessions where they learned definitions for, saw several examples of, and practiced
coding each language feature. Once well-trained and pretested for sufficient reliability,
the assistants individually coded all language features one at a time and then settled
disagreements via postcoding discussions. Across all language features the coders
agreed at a rate of at least 87% (Krippendorff’s as > .90).
The operationalizations of the three language variables were modeled after past
language and gender research (Palomares, 2008; S. A. Reid et al., 2003; Thomson &
Murachver, 2001). References to emotion were any mention of an emotion (e.g.,
happy, that should thrill you, mad, excited). Apologies were defined as a statement of
being sorry (e.g., I’m sorry, forgive me, I was wrong and won’t let it happen again).
Tentative language was defined as the combination of three unique language features
that indicate uncertainty and low confidence: hedges (e.g., might, pretty much, sort of,
Figure 1. Sample screen snapshot of avatars with responses: Participant with a male avatar
and a female partner character
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Palomares and Lee 13
maybe, probably), disclaimers (e.g., don’t trust me, but I’m not sure, I may be wrong,
who knows though) and tag questions (e.g., don’t you think? isn’t it? right?).
Results
Pretest
To ensure that the experimental task did not overtly favor one gender, we used fastfood
trivia whose gender neutrality was confirmed in previous studies (Lee, 2005).
Specifically, when asked to indicate how interested they were in the fast-food questions
(1 = not at all interested, 10 = very much interested), men (M = 2.89; SD = 2.42) and
women (M = 2.20; SD = 2.00) did not significantly differ, t(110) = 1.66, p = .10 (Lee,
2005, Study 1). In addition, participants directly rated how gender biased they thought
the questions were (1 = not at all gender biased, 10 = very much gender biased), and
the mean (M = 3.81; SD = 1.88) was significantly lower than the scale midpoint (5.5),
t(75) = -7.80, p < .001 (Lee, 2005, Study 3).
Hypothesis Tests
A series of 2 (participant gender) × 2 (participant avatar) × 2 (partner avatar) ANOVAs
was computed for (a) references to emotion, (b) apologies, and (c) tentative language.
One-tailed a priori contrasts tested any hypothesized differences (as indicated),
whereas two-tailed tests compared conditions when a difference was not expected or
when a possible difference was not explicitly hypothesized (Tabachnick & Fidell,
2007). Figure 2 displays the pertinent results.
References to emotion. A significant interaction emerged between participants’
gender and self-representation avatar, F(1, 149) = 5.64, p = .02, hp
2 = .03. No other
effects were statistically significant, all Fs < 1. Participants’ avatar had a greater
impact for women than men, which is consistent with Hypothesis 1a: Women used
more references to emotion when the character correctly represented their gender
(M = .84; SD = .99) than when it did not (M = .44; SD = .82), t(153) = 1.95, one-tailed
p = .03, hp
2 = .02; yet men’s references to emotion did not significantly vary across the
male (M = .54; SD = .82) and female (M = .87; SD = 1.10) avatars, t(153) = 1.50, p = .14.
When the interaction was decomposed within the self-representation conditions,
gender differences were more pronounced in the mismatched than matched avatar
condition. If participants’ character’s gender mismatched their true gender, then men
used more emotional references than did women, t(153) = 2.04, p = .04, hp
2 = .03;
when the avatar correctly represented their gender, women tended to reference emotions
more frequently than men, but this difference was not statistically significant,
t(153) = 1.39, p = .17.
Apologies. We found a significant interaction between participant’s gender and
avatar for apologies, F(1, 149) = 4.11, p = .04, hp
2 = .03. No other effects were statistically
significant, all Fs < 1. Hypothesis 1b received tentative support: Women were
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14 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
more apologetic when the avatar matched their gender (M = .16; SD = .37) than when
it mismatched (M = .05; SD = .22), t(153) = 1.56, one-tailed p = .06, hp
2 = .02; whereas
men’s apologies did not statistically significantly differ across the two conditions
(match: M = .03, SD = .17; mismatch: M = .13, SD = .41), t(153) = 1.36, p = .18.
Within the matched self-representation condition, women used more apologies than
men, although this effect did not reach statistical significance, t(153) = 1.83, p = .07,
hp
2 = .02. The same gender difference with mismatched avatars was not statistically
significant, t(153) = 1.08, p = .28.
Tentative language. There were no significant main or interaction effects on tentative
language use, all Fs < 1.84. Even though the interaction between gender and
self-representation failed to reach statistical significance, F(1, 149) = 1.75, p = .18, we
still tested Hypothesis 1c because omnibus tests are dispensable when specific predictions
exist (Rosenthal, Rosnow, & Rubin, 2000; Wilkinson & Task Force on Statistical
Inference, 1999). Supporting Hypothesis 1c, women were more tentative when a
female avatar matched their true gender (M = 1.20; SD = 1.25) relative to a mismatched
male character (M = .69; SD = 1.08), t(153) = 2.04, one-tailed p = .02, hp
2 =
.03. In contrast, men’s tentative language use was identical when the character either
correctly (M = 1.00; SD = .97) or incorrectly (M = 1.00; SD = 1.21) represented their
true gender. Comparing men and women within each self-representation condition,
however, yielded no significant effects, both ts < 1.20.
Figure 2. Effects of matched versus mismatched gendered avatars on gender-based
language use for men and women
0.54
0.84
0.03
0.16
1.00
1.20
0.87
0.44
0.13
0.05
1.00
0.69
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Men Women Men Women Men Women
References to Emotion Apologies Tentative Language
Language Use
Match Mismatch
Participants’ Genered Avatar
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Palomares and Lee 15
Discussion
Overall, the results suggest that a gender-matched avatar increases the likelihood of
gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars promote countertypical
language. That is, people not only communicatively perform gender when they
intentionally decide (Herring & Martinson, 2004) or are explicitly directed (Hills,
2000) to pose as a different gender, but they appear to adopt the language that conforms
to gendered norms that the visual cue of a gendered avatar intimates. A departure
from past studies, however, is that this linguistic assimilation to a virtual gender identity
is more likely among women than men: Past research did not demonstrate different
gender performances of male and female online users; rather, men and women alike
were able to change macro aspects of their communication (e.g., topic). Apparently,
men are capable of performing femininity communicatively when such acts are intentional
or explicitly researcher induced, but they are less likely to do so when the trigger
is a relatively subtle visual cue such as an avatar.
Self-categorization theory explains how the gender of a digitized self-representation
affects participants’ gender-based language: Because a gendered avatar implicated the
language appropriate for the context, people conformed to gender-based language
expectations. The theory suggests that such gender-based language norms were transmitted
via avatars that defined the prototype of gender salience. Specifically, a masculine
avatar implied male-typical language norms, just as a feminine avatar conveyed
female-typical language norms. Consequently, participants linguistically assimilated
to a virtual gender identity. Self-categorization theory also addresses how women are
especially more likely than men to use gender-typical language when the gender of
their avatar matches their true gender. That is, because women tend to be particularly
reactive to visual stimuli (Hall, 2006) and gender salience (Cameron & Lalonde, 2001),
they were more susceptible to gendered avatars than men were.
Our data also highlight a recent claim that gender-based language is highly dynamic
because of gender salience and its prototype. One should not ipso facto expect identical
or even highly similar patterns among all forms of gender-based language across contexts
(Palomares et al., 2004). We demonstrated that either countertypical or typical
gender-based language emerged depending on the prototype of gender salience induced
by avatars. In fact, although apologies and references to emotion manifested in the
same general pattern, tentativeness was only partly similar (see Figure 2). At the same
time, the relatively small effect sizes (<.04) of the current research seem to support the
gender similarities hypothesis that asserts men and women are primarily similar and
any differences between them are small and few (Dindia, 2006; Hyde, 2005). Metaanalyses
are compatible with this hypothesis (Hyde, 2005; Leaper & Ayres, 2007). The
overall differences we found between men and women were less frequent than the
moderator-produced effects. Taken together, even when some situational factors induce
gender differences in language style, the magnitude of such differences is relatively
small, suggesting that men’s and women’s linguistic behavior is more similar than different.
Moreover, given the small size of these effects, they are likely not readily
apparent in everyday interaction, as other research suggests (Mulac, 2006).
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16 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
The current experiment also extends past work on the impact of gendered avatars
in CMC. In a sense, the findings that arbitrary gendered avatars shape people’s perceptions
of and behavioral responses to anonymous strangers in an otherwise cue-deprived
environment (e.g., Lee, 2007a, 2007b) are not surprising. That is, although participants
were likely to conform to a partner with a male avatar more than a partner with
a female avatar on male-oriented issues (Lee, 2007a) and identified more with a partner
whose avatar shared the same gender as their own avatar (Lee, 2007b), the absence
of individuating cues that would have enabled them to form more personalized, and
presumably more accurate, impressions about unknown partners likely fostered this
seemingly unreasonable reliance on random visual cues. However, our experiment
advances previous research by demonstrating that gendered self-representations significantly
modify individuals’ own language styles, which are supposedly more static
than perceptions of and conformity to complete strangers.
The level of automaticity of linguistic assimilation to a virtual gender identity is
unknown based on the current data; yet we imagine the process is relatively unconscious.
Herring and Martinson (2004) speculated and provided some evidence that
“unconscious use of gendered discourse styles can reveal one’s actual gender even
when one is [intentionally] performing a different gender (or trying not to give off any
gender cues)” (p. 427). In a similar study of the conscious performance of a different
gender, participants typically manipulated gendered topics successfully but less effectively
controlled gender-typical syntactic and lexical choices that tended to match
their true gender (Hills, 2000). Unlike this previous work, however, the focus of current
participants was likely on winning the trivia game rather than manipulating their
language. In addition, avatars were ostensibly assigned randomly. Consequently, participants
probably thought the gendered nature of the avatars was arbitrary and
peripheral to the game, as confirmed in postexperiment debriefings. Our findings that
people nonetheless altered their gender-based language in line with the relatively
subtle visual cues to gender identity, thus, seem to comport well with an automatic or
mindless argument.
That this process is unconscious is also consistent with other theorizing on genderbased
language. Mulac, Bradac, Palomares, and Giles (2009) distinguished between
gender-linked language stereotypes and schemata: Stereotypes about gendered communication
are accessible to conscious thought and focus on macro forms of communication
(e.g., topic), but schemata are implicit and primarily responsible for gender-based
language production. Coupling past research on the intentional or conscious performance
of gender that demonstrates accurate control over topics but failed control of
molecular behaviors such as language (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000) and
the current data that suggest an unconscious effect on language warrants a distinction
between gender-linked language schemata and stereotypes. Future research should
assess more directly the constituents and outcomes of gender-linked language stereotypes
versus schemata. Whereas this objective might be relatively straightforward for
stereotypes because their mental representations are explicit, doing so for schemata
might take some ingenuity. One possibility is to use a method similar to the assessment
of implicit prejudice (cf. Dotsch & Wigboldus, 2008).
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Palomares and Lee 17
Notwithstanding the previous theoretical supposition and implications, because we
did not directly measure nor manipulate gender salience (or any other cognitive processes),
our account of linguistic assimilation still awaits a more absolute empirical
validation. Clearly then, the absence of a gender salience measure is a limitation. Yet
to an extent, two points assuage this disadvantage. First, much other research demonstrates
that gender-based language is a function of gender salience (Palomares, 2004,
2008; S. A. Reid et al., 2003). Gender salience has even operated as a mediator of the
effects of a contextual stimulus on gender-based language (Palomares, 2009). In other
words, there is a clear cascading causal link from stimuli to gender salience to genderbased
language. Second, the feasibility of actually measuring gender salience is
questionable: Assessing gender salience might not have been practical or effective
because, as stated previously, we anticipate an unconscious process of the linguistic
assimilation to gendered avatars. In other words, unknown is the ability of an explicit measure
of gender salience to accurately gauge an unconscious process. Still, considering
that we cannot assume gender salience would have played the same causal role in the
current experiment as found in past research, some measure of gender salience might
have been useful herein.
Thus, employing an implicit measure of gender salience might allow a test of its
mediational effects thereby providing a more direct test of self-categorization theory’s
account. To do so, the linear order of effects should be well established by
measuring gender salience immediately before language production; although introducing
such a measure between the avatar assignment and language production
might prove pragmatically awkward if not difficult (at least in designs similar to the
current one). Another option is to implement gendered (i.e., masculine, feminine)
topics to heighten gender salience, which would yield subsequent language effects.
If gender salience was directly or indirectly manipulated somehow, then perhaps the
gender of the partner’s avatar would have also moderated language use. Thus,
researchers should seek to vary gender salience in ways other than using gendered
self-avatars because avatars seem to only subtly influence gender salience. Perhaps
when gender salience is unambiguously heightened, then partner–avatar or other
effects will emerge.
Another possible limitation is that the effects for women might have been more
robust than for men, not because of our proposed rationale, but because the three language
features examined are considered stereotypically feminine. In other words, if
features associated with men were also employed, then perhaps men would have displayed
more language variation depending on their gendered avatar. This issue,
however, is not likely a problem because other research has demonstrated that men’s
language can fluctuate in ways similar to women’s language variation. For example,
men and women alike used more references to emotion under certain conditions
(Thomson, Murachver, & Green, 2001). Likewise, men were more tentative than
women for feminine topics, just as women were more tentative than men for masculine
topics (Palomares, 2009). Admittedly though, the cues (i.e., gendered topic)
responsible for the language changes in Palomares were more explicit than in the current
research (i.e., avatars). Indeed, our rationale explicitly drew on the idea that
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18 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
because avatars are subtle visual cues, to which women are likely more reactive or
sensitive than are men, linguistic assimilation would be greater for women than men.
Even so, future research might employ stereotypically masculine language features
(e.g., directives, references to quantity) along with feminine features when examining
men’s and women’s assimilation to gendered avatars to fully mitigate this concern.
Conclusion
The current article provided evidence that gender-based language use in CMC is
susceptible to the influence of arbitrarily assigned gendered avatars that represent
oneself, especially for women. In fact, prior to our work herein, extant research on
gender-based language production from a self-categorization theoretical perspective
had not included the influence of technological factors, such as avatars. That features
of CMC can change gender-based language is meaningful considering that gendered
forms of language are consequential for communicators: Tentative language encourages
judgments of incompetence and low status compared with direct styles (Carli,
1990; S. A. Reid et al., 2003), and references to emotion foster ratings of intelligence
and pleasantness (Mulac, 2006). Such language-effect outcomes are especially noteworthy
in CMC when other social cues are negligible and language plays a central role
in impression formation (cf. Walther, 1993, 1996). Additional research on the linguistic
assimilation to a virtual gender identity, therefore, would be advantageous to
increase the understanding of when, how, and why men and women communicate
similarly and differently.
Authors’ Note
An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual conference of the International
Communication Association in Chicago, 2009.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank Howie Giles and two anonymous reviewers for helping improve the effectiveness
of this article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication
of this article.
Funding
This study was financially supported in part by the Institute of Communication Research,
Seoul National University.
Note
1. The social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE model) is a specific version
of self-categorization theory focusing on CMC contexts (Postmes, Spears, & Lea, 1998,
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Palomares and Lee 19
2002), which is akin to other instantiations of the theory with a specific focus, such as the
self-categorization theory of social influence (Abrams & Hogg, 1990). Even though we
could have explicitly drawn on the SIDE model to the same avail, we chose to highlight
self-categorization theory because (a) doing so is consistent with past language and gender
research in CMC (cf. Palomares, 2004, 2008) and non-CMC contexts (S. A. Reid
et al., 2003) and (b) the SIDE model is deeply rooted in self-categorization theory and thus
would draw on the same explanatory mechanism to make identical predictions in the current
investigation (cf. Lea, Spears, & De Groot, 2001; Postmes & Spears, 2002).
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Bios
Nicholas A. Palomares (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005) is an assistant
professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. His
research examines the cognitive structures and processes involved in goal detection and genderbased
language use. His work has been published in various journals, such as Human
Communication Research, Communication Research, Communication Monographs, and the
Journal of Language and Social Psychology.
Eun-Ju Lee (PhD, Stanford University, 2000) is an associate professor in the Department of
Communication at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. Her research foci include social
cognition and social influence in computer-based communication. Her work has appeared in
many journals, such as Human Communication Research, Communication Research, the Journal
of Communication, and Media Psychology.
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ORDER THIS ESSAY HERE NOW AND GET A DISCOUNT !!!

11.

Empirical Methods in Communication

Application Assignment #1
Experimental Research
Overview: You will briefly answer five essay questions that require you to dissect an
experiment by Palomares and Lee, that was published in a 2010 issues of the Journal of
Language and Social Psychology. Your answers must be typed and double spaced. Provide
a 1½ inch margin on all sides of the page for written comments. Your paper must absolutely not
be longer than 1000 words; that is about 200 words per question. All word processors have a
word count feature. Please provide the word count of your essay (excluding your name and
other identifying information).
Due Date: May 10. Turn your paper in at the beginning of the class session. Electronic (email
attachment) submissions will not be accepted.
Questions
1. Palomares and Lee used a 2x2x2 between-subjects factorial design. (This kind of design
is referred to as “between-subjects” because each research participant was assigned to
only one experimental condition.) Explain why this design was necessitated by the
research hypotheses.
2. Experimental control is a critical feature of any experiment. If we wish to know the effects
of independent variables on dependent variables we must “hold constant” other variables
that would make causal inference challenging. What efforts were taken in this experiment
to achieve a high level of experimental control?
3. What efforts were made to determine if the manipulations of the independent variables
were valid?
4. Did this experiment measure any potential mediating variables? If so, what were these
variables? If no, why not?
5. The generalizeability of every experiment has limitations, and this study is no exception.
Briefly describe how our ability to generalize from the findings obtained are limited.
Evaluation
Your answers to these five questions will be equally weighted. Evaluation is based on the
thoughtfulness of your response and the quality of your writing.
Think of this essay as a take home exam. The work you submit must be your own. You may not
discuss this assignment or your ideas with other people. Doing so will be considered cheating.
Articles
Journal of Language and Social Psychology
29(1) 5–
23
© 2010 SAGE Publications
DOI: 10.1177/0261927X09351675

http://jls.sagepub.com

Virtual Gender Identity:
The Linguistic Assimilation
to Gendered Avatars
in Computer-Mediated
Communication
Nicholas A. Palomares1 and Eun-Ju Lee2
Abstract
This research examined how individuals’ gendered avatar might alter their use of
gender-based language (i.e., references to emotion, apologies, and tentative language)
in text-based computer-mediated communication. Specifically, the experiment tested
if men and women would linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated
by randomly assigned gendered avatars (either matched or mismatched to their
true gender). Results supported the notion that gender-matched avatars increase
the likelihood of gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars
promoted countertypical language, especially among women. The gender of a partner’s
avatar, however, did not influence participants’ language. Results generally comport with
self-categorization theory’s gender salience explanation of gender-based language use.
Keywords
gender-linked language, social identity, intergroup communication, message production,
stereotypes, prototypes
Gender-based communication is the focus of much scholarship. This work increasingly
emphasizes computer-mediated environments. Research, for example, has
examined how men and women communicate via e-mail (Colley & Todd, 2002), chat
groups (Koch, Mueller, Kruse, & Zumbach, 2005; Thomson, 2006), instant messages
1University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
2Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea
Corresponding Author:
Nicholas A. Palomares, Department of Communication, One Shields Avenue, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616, USA
Email: napalomares@ucdavis.edu
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6 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
(Fox, Bukatko, Hallahan, & Crawford, 2007), and other forms of computer-mediated
communication (CMC). One issue in this empirical arena is gender identity and its
manifestations in CMC. Scholars have argued, for example, that people perform masculinity
online as a means to reify their gender identities (Herrmann, 2007). Other
research has demonstrated that elevating the salience of gender identity prompted
women to reference emotions in e-mail more than men especially in mixed-sex interactions
(Palomares, 2008). Permeating this literature is a focus on the diverse, dynamic,
and sometimes transient nature of gender identity; how it differentially presents itself
in CMC given the circumstances; and the resultant communicative behavior of men
and women (Murachver & Janssen, 2007; Palomares, Reid, & Bradac, 2004).
Whereas the primary concern of this work is how a sex-consistent gender identity
affects communication, a relatively nascent interest is how people simulate a gender
identity online that they would not otherwise perform in offline settings (Herring &
Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000; Rellstab, 2007). For example, a woman might pretend to
be a man in an online chat. The few instances of this research have studied strategic or
intentional portrayals of a different gender and focused on the communicative behaviors
people employ in these forgeries and if others can recognize a disingenuous gender
identity (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000; see also Thomson & Murachver,
2001); yet no known research has examined how more subtle cues might trigger the
enactment of a different gender identity online. We refer to this phenomenon as virtual
gender identity. Thus, we conducted an experiment to test if men and women would
linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated by (matched or mismatched)
gendered avatars representing them in text-based CMC. Specifically, our objective was
to determine if and how men’s and women’s gender-based language would emerge as a
function of gendered (i.e., masculine or feminine) avatars that represented them and
their interaction partner. In pursuit of this goal, we first review research on language
and gender, then present our theoretical orientation from which we deduce predictions,
and finally report an experiment that implemented and tested this rationale.
Language and Gender in CMC
Research traditionally has emphasized gender differences claiming that men and
women tend to use dissimilar language independent of the context, personal proclivities,
or interaction partners (e.g., Lakoff, 1975; Mulac & Lundell, 1980; Tannen,
1990). The empirical evidence is somewhat compatible with this claim. Consistent
with stereotypes, for example, meta-analyses demonstrated that women used more
affiliative speech (e.g., references to emotion) and less assertive speech (e.g., direct
language) than men (Leaper & Ayres, 2007). Over time, however, the focus has shifted
away from gender and onto alternative (i.e., extragender) influences, especially those
present in CMC. Whether in e-mail, newsgroup postings, blogs, discussion groups,
online chats, or other computerized settings, the language of men and women largely
depends on the specific circumstances and features of the technology and context (e.g.,
Colley & Todd, 2002; Fox et al., 2007; Herring, 1993; Huffacker & Calvert, 2005;
Palomares, 2004, 2008, 2009; Savicki, Kelley, & Ammon, 2002; Thomson, 2006). In
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Palomares and Lee 7
fact, the same aforementioned meta-analyses also found several factors that moderated
the gender effects often to an extent greater than gender alone (Leaper & Ayres,
2007). Language differences between men and women, thus, clearly exist, but they are
highly sensitive to extraneous factors that may increase, decrease, erase, or even reverse
the traditional gender-based patterns of use.
The emergence of three language features—references to emotion, apologies, and
tentative language—has been particularly vulnerable to contextual instability within
and across studies despite stereotypes and early conjectures that they are “feminine”
language forms. References to emotion, or language that includes any mention of a
feeling or emotion, have been indicted as typically associated with women’s language
(Mulac, Bradac, & Gibbons, 2001). Yet other research has shown that men reference
emotion more than women (Mulac, Seibold, & Farris, 2000), that men and women use
them equally (Thomson, 2006), and that their use depends on the salience of gender
identity and dyadic sex composition (Palomares, 2008). Examinations of apologies—
which some have construed as an indicator of politeness and a feminine language
style (Herring, 1993; Lakoff, 1975)—have yielded a similarly diverse array of differences
and similarities between men and women (O’Neill & Colley, 2006; Savicki,
Lingenfelter, Kelley, 1996; Tannen, 1990; Thomson, 2006). Tentative language signals
uncertainty, is typically associated with women (Herring, 1993; Lakoff, 1975), and like
apologies and references to emotion is contextually dependent (Brouwer, Gerritsen, &
De Haan, 1979; Carli, 1990; Palomares, 2008, 2009; S. A. Reid, Keerie, & Palomares,
2003; Tannen, 1990). We examined these three features because research frequently
employs them in CMC as stereotypically gender-based language forms.
Self-Categorization Theory
Notwithstanding inconsistent results among the three language features, an explanation
for the diverse collection of gender-based language manifestations is found in selfcategorization
theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987).1 The basic
premise of the theory is that people mentally represent social groups as contextually
contingent prototypes or fuzzy sets of attributes that define in-group similarities in
contrast to out-group differences. People internalize the group prototype that is most
salient and relevant—a state called depersonalized. Prototypes operate not only to
describe but also to prescribe, such that depersonalization provides a normative selfdefinition
for how one should perceive and behave in a certain context.
When applied to gender and language phenomena (cf. Palomares et al., 2004), the
theory maintains that if people interact devoid of a gender distinction, then one’s gender
is irrelevant and gender-based language is unlikely to emerge; but if a gender categorization
is germane, then gender identity is applicable to one’s self-construal, and people
will behave according to the activated prototypical norms (Palomares, 2008;
S. A. Reid et al., 2003). Gender-relevant interactions, thus, increase the salience of
gender identity so that the prototype of intergender relations has significant consequences
for language use. Self-categorization theory has been relatively successful in
attempts to explain and predict a diverse array of linguistic behavior for men and women
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8 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
in CMC. When sending an e-mail, for example, women referenced emotions significantly
more than men only if gender was salient because the prototype of gender salience
exploited supportiveness as a stereotypically feminine attribute (Palomares, 2008). We
formulated our expectations for the experiment based on self-categorization theory.
Performing Virtual Gender Identities
A limited number of studies have examined the online performance of a different gender.
The earliest scholarship highlighted intentional “gender swapping” on the Internet
(e.g., a man posing as a woman) and documented and described its natural occurrence.
People gender swap, for example, in text-based multiuser dungeons and similar online
groups for a range of reasons (Berman & Bruckman, 2001; Bruckman, 1993; Danet,
1996; Donath, 1999; McRae, 1995; Menon, 1998; Rheingold, 1993; Turkle, 1995; Van
Gelder, 1996). Assuming a different virtual gender identity has several sociological
and psychological implications (Herrmann, 2007; Kendall, 2000; E. M. Reid, 1991,
1995; Rellstab, 2007; Rodino, 1997) especially considering that a substantial portion
(40% to 60%) of online social-site members typically do so for some of their time
online (Roberts & Parks, 1999). Relatedly, Internet users can strategically ambiguate
their gender often via gender-neutral pseudonyms (Bechar-Israeli, 1995; Van Gelder,
1996). Gender equivocation, however, is more common among women than men
(Jaffee, Lee, Huang, & Oshagan, 1995; Jazwinski, 2001), likely because it assuages
gender biases that can occur in face-to-face interactions (Flanagin, Tiyaamornwong,
O’Connor, & Seibold, 2002; Koch et al., 2005). Research has also examined the detection
of real (Koch et al., 2005; Nowak, 2003; Thomson & Murachver, 2001) and false
(Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000) gender identities in CMC.
Whereas most research on virtual gender identities has recorded its natural occurrence,
objectives, implications, and detection, recent examinations have studied the
communicative behaviors people manipulate when intentionally performing a false
gender. Such research has found that people seem to have control over macro forms of
communication (e.g., topic) more than molecular forms (e.g., tentative language). For
example, if told to pose as a different gender when interacting with an unknown partner
via e-mail, participants typically exploited gender-stereotypical topics while
having relatively little control over gender-typical syntactic and lexical choices (Hills,
2000). Likewise, in synchronous CMC, people successfully altered their topical content
when intentionally performing a different gender but ineffectively changed
molecular forms of communication; in fact, their molecular features actually gave
cues to their true gender despite their effective topic manipulations (Herring &
Martinson, 2004). Our experiment advances past research by not overtly instructing
people to communicatively perform a different gender identity. Instead, we manipulated
gendered avatars to test if people would automatically assimilate their language
to a virtual gender identity without explicit direction to do so.
A gendered (i.e., masculine or feminine) avatar can heighten the salience of gender.
Avatars are graphical self-representations in a computer-mediated environment that can
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Palomares and Lee 9
reveal social information in an otherwise cue-limited setting (Blascovich et al., 2002).
Interacting via avatars, for example, can impart levels of trust and intimacy similar to
an audio–video mode of mediated communication but more than text-only communication
(Bente, Rüggenberg, Krämer, & Eschenburg, 2008). Gender inferences of
anonymous others depend on their avatars even if avatar representations are known to
be arbitrary (Lee, 2007a). People prefer avatars that closely represent themselves over
less accurate digital representations, especially in terms of gender (Nowak & Rauh,
2005). In fact, avatars have behavioral consequences by inducing avatar-consistent communication:
In line with attractiveness stereotypes (cf. Langlois et al., 2000), intimacy
(e.g., self-disclosures) was greater for people represented by attractive than less attractive
avatars (Yee & Bailenson, 2007, Experiment 1). Likewise, in a second study that
capitalized on confidence stereotypes of tall people (cf. Young & French, 1996), participants
who assumed an avatar taller than their negotiation partner’s avatar were more
likely to decline their partner’s unfair offer than if their avatar was shorter. Given that
people heed avatars cognitively and behaviorally, a gendered avatar might affect
gender-based language because it yields a gender self-definition germane. According
to self-categorization theory, however, these linguistic consequences would depend
on the nature of the avatar and its ramifications for gender salience: A gendered selfrepresentation
in CMC will intimate the prototype for gender-based linguistic behavior.
Specifically, masculine avatars will implicate male-linked language norms, whereas
feminine avatars suggest female-typical language norms. As a result, people linguistically
assimilate to these communicative norms.
These effects, however, are likely more robust for women than men. Women tend
to be more responsive to gender salience than men are (Palomares, 2008; S. A. Reid
et al., 2003), and they tend to identify with their gender more strongly than men do
(Cameron & Lalonde, 2001). In fact, men were less likely than women to take a gendered
avatar into account when inferring an anonymous partner’s gender (Lee, 2007a).
Women also are more accurate when decoding others’ nonverbal communication and
are generally more sensitive to it than men are (Hall, 2006). Because women tend to
be particularly reactive to visual communicative stimuli and gender salience, we
expect a woman to use more stereotypically feminine language when her avatar is
consistent (i.e., feminine avatar) than inconsistent (i.e., masculine avatar) with her
true gender; yet the effect of this corresponding pattern for men will likely be less
extreme if it manifests at all. Thus, we present the following:
Hypothesis 1a-c: Women, but not men, use more gender-typical language—
(a) references to emotion, (b) apologies, and (c) tentative language—when
the gender of their avatar matches their true gender than when it mismatches.
We also tested the effects of a CMC partner’s gendered avatar because it too can
play an influential role in computerized interactions. In most circumstances, gender
differences are more likely in intergroup (i.e., mixed-sex) than intragroup (i.e., same-sex)
interactions. For example, women referenced emotion more than men when gender
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10 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
was salient but chiefly in mixed-sex e-mail exchanges (Palomares, 2008); likewise,
gender differences in tentative language were present in intergroup but not intragroup
CMC (Palomares, 2009). Self-categorization theory accounts for such effects by
arguing that mixed-sex interactions render an intergender distinction more pertinent
than same-sex settings do, such that assimilation to the prototype of gender salience
becomes more likely (Hogg & Turner, 1987). We, therefore, might expect a partner’s
gendered avatar to affect gender-based language as well, which is analogous to other
research revealing partner-avatar effects for nongender groups. People in a virtual
environment, for example, maintained greater distance when encountering an avatar
of an ethnic minority than an avatar of an in-group member, especially if they held
implicit prejudice toward the minority out-group (Dotsch & Wigboldus, 2008).
Precisely predicting how another’s gendered avatar might interact with a gendered
graphical self-representation, however, is difficult because what constitutes “mixed
sex” is muddled when gendered avatars are introduced in CMC to represent anonymous
interactants. That is, whether people compare their true or virtual gender with
their partner’s gendered avatar can alter their inter-/intragroup determination. For
example, a woman who is represented by a masculine avatar when interacting with a
partner using a feminine avatar might consider the interaction to be intergroup if she
contrasts her and her partner’s avatars; whereas if she compares her partner’s avatar
with her actual gender, then she might conclude that the interaction is intragroup. In
fact, Lee (2007b) found that dyadic team members felt stronger group identification
when their avatars belonged to the same gender category (rather than different categories).
Such results suggest that perceptually salient, albeit explicitly arbitrary,
avatars can serve as a formative basis for an intra-/intergroup distinction. Nonetheless,
if and how self-other avatar comparisons have effects beyond fostering group
cohesion remains unclear in Lee’s study; that is, even when participants thought “My
partner and I are similar,” by virtue of the similar avatars, they might not have fully
embraced the specific identity represented in the avatars (“We are both masculine”),
especially considering that their avatar’s gender always mismatched their true gender
in the study. By examining social perceivers’ linguistic behavior as a function of their
own and their partner’s gendered avatars, the present study extends past work. Yet
given the difficulty gendered avatars present for ascertaining the inter-/intragroup
nature of an interaction in anonymous CMC, we ask this research question:
Research Question 1: Does the gender of a partner’s avatar influence (via either
main or interaction effects) gender-based language use?
Method
Participants and Design
Participants were 157 undergraduates (74 men, 83 women) enrolled in communication
classes at a large, West Coast university. A 2 (participant’s gender: men vs. women) ×
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Palomares and Lee 11
2 (gender matching of participant’s avatar: match vs. mismatch participant’s true
gender) × 2 (gender of partner’s avatar: male vs. female) between-subjects design was
employed wherein participants completed a trivia game with an ostensible partner
both of whom were represented via gendered avatars in synchronous text-based CMC.
Avatar Manipulations
Two masculine and two feminine avatars manipulated self and partner representations.
An additional 50 undergraduate students (66% women) participated in a pretest to confirm
an effective manipulation of avatar gender. Participants first saw one of the four
cartoon characters and then indicated how feminine and masculine the character was on
10-point scales (1 = not at all masculine/feminine, 10 = very much masculine/feminine).
The femininity rating was reverse coded and then combined with the masculinity rating
to form a femininity–masculinity index (r = -.86, p < .001; range: 2-20). A 2 (participant
gender) × 2 (avatar gender) analysis of variance (ANOVA) established that male
characters were considered to be more masculine (M = 14.24; SD = 3.71) than female
characters (M = 5.16; SD = 1.95), F(1, 46) = 113.91, p < .001, hp
2 = .71. Furthermore,
one-sample t tests revealed that the attribution of masculinity to male characters was
significantly greater than the scale midpoint (11.00), t(24) = 4.37, p < .001, whereas
female characters were perceived as significantly less masculine (or more feminine)
than the scale midpoint, t(24) = -14.97, p < .001. There was no interaction between
participants’ and avatars’ gender, indicating that both men and women perceived the
avatars’ gender as intended, F < 1. The four avatars served to randomly manipulate
participants’ avatar gender and the partner’s avatar gender. A participant’s avatar was
never identical to his or her ostensible partner’s avatar in the main experiment.
Procedure
Participants played a computerized trivia game with someone whom they believed to
be another study participant. To reduce participants’ suspicion about the purpose of the
experiment, they were first asked to choose a letter on the computer screen, ranging
from A to E, to determine the avatar (i.e., cartoon character) that would represent them
during the interaction. Unbeknownst to the participants, however, the character’s
gender was randomly predetermined to be either male or female regardless of their
true gender and the chosen letter. Once the participants’ avatar and their ostensible
partner’s avatar appeared on the computer screen, participants selected a number,
ranging from 1 to 10, to determine a set of questions to be asked during the game.
Regardless of the number chosen, however, the computer presented a fixed set of fastfood
trivia. For each multiple-choice question, participants indicated their initial
answer and confidence level and typed a comment to their partner. After participants
typed a comment, the participant’s and the partner’s characters showed their initial
responses, as illustrated in Figure 1. The partner’s responses were preprogrammed and
held constant across conditions, and their comments contained no apologies, tentative
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12 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
language features, or references to emotion (e.g., “I have no clue,” “D seems too
obvious”). At this point, participants submitted their final answer and confidence
level, after which the computer presented the next question without revealing the correct
answer or the partner’s final response to the previous question. This procedure
was repeated for 12 unique questions that were held constant across all conditions.
Finally, participants were debriefed.
Language Coding
The comments that participants wrote to their ostensible partner during the trivia game
served as the source of gender-based language use. All comments formed a transcript
booklet with only a unique number identifying each participant’s transcript. Two
research assistants, who were blind to the design and hypotheses, underwent training
sessions where they learned definitions for, saw several examples of, and practiced
coding each language feature. Once well-trained and pretested for sufficient reliability,
the assistants individually coded all language features one at a time and then settled
disagreements via postcoding discussions. Across all language features the coders
agreed at a rate of at least 87% (Krippendorff’s as > .90).
The operationalizations of the three language variables were modeled after past
language and gender research (Palomares, 2008; S. A. Reid et al., 2003; Thomson &
Murachver, 2001). References to emotion were any mention of an emotion (e.g.,
happy, that should thrill you, mad, excited). Apologies were defined as a statement of
being sorry (e.g., I’m sorry, forgive me, I was wrong and won’t let it happen again).
Tentative language was defined as the combination of three unique language features
that indicate uncertainty and low confidence: hedges (e.g., might, pretty much, sort of,
Figure 1. Sample screen snapshot of avatars with responses: Participant with a male avatar
and a female partner character
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Palomares and Lee 13
maybe, probably), disclaimers (e.g., don’t trust me, but I’m not sure, I may be wrong,
who knows though) and tag questions (e.g., don’t you think? isn’t it? right?).
Results
Pretest
To ensure that the experimental task did not overtly favor one gender, we used fastfood
trivia whose gender neutrality was confirmed in previous studies (Lee, 2005).
Specifically, when asked to indicate how interested they were in the fast-food questions
(1 = not at all interested, 10 = very much interested), men (M = 2.89; SD = 2.42) and
women (M = 2.20; SD = 2.00) did not significantly differ, t(110) = 1.66, p = .10 (Lee,
2005, Study 1). In addition, participants directly rated how gender biased they thought
the questions were (1 = not at all gender biased, 10 = very much gender biased), and
the mean (M = 3.81; SD = 1.88) was significantly lower than the scale midpoint (5.5),
t(75) = -7.80, p < .001 (Lee, 2005, Study 3).
Hypothesis Tests
A series of 2 (participant gender) × 2 (participant avatar) × 2 (partner avatar) ANOVAs
was computed for (a) references to emotion, (b) apologies, and (c) tentative language.
One-tailed a priori contrasts tested any hypothesized differences (as indicated),
whereas two-tailed tests compared conditions when a difference was not expected or
when a possible difference was not explicitly hypothesized (Tabachnick & Fidell,
2007). Figure 2 displays the pertinent results.
References to emotion. A significant interaction emerged between participants’
gender and self-representation avatar, F(1, 149) = 5.64, p = .02, hp
2 = .03. No other
effects were statistically significant, all Fs < 1. Participants’ avatar had a greater
impact for women than men, which is consistent with Hypothesis 1a: Women used
more references to emotion when the character correctly represented their gender
(M = .84; SD = .99) than when it did not (M = .44; SD = .82), t(153) = 1.95, one-tailed
p = .03, hp
2 = .02; yet men’s references to emotion did not significantly vary across the
male (M = .54; SD = .82) and female (M = .87; SD = 1.10) avatars, t(153) = 1.50, p = .14.
When the interaction was decomposed within the self-representation conditions,
gender differences were more pronounced in the mismatched than matched avatar
condition. If participants’ character’s gender mismatched their true gender, then men
used more emotional references than did women, t(153) = 2.04, p = .04, hp
2 = .03;
when the avatar correctly represented their gender, women tended to reference emotions
more frequently than men, but this difference was not statistically significant,
t(153) = 1.39, p = .17.
Apologies. We found a significant interaction between participant’s gender and
avatar for apologies, F(1, 149) = 4.11, p = .04, hp
2 = .03. No other effects were statistically
significant, all Fs < 1. Hypothesis 1b received tentative support: Women were
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14 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
more apologetic when the avatar matched their gender (M = .16; SD = .37) than when
it mismatched (M = .05; SD = .22), t(153) = 1.56, one-tailed p = .06, hp
2 = .02; whereas
men’s apologies did not statistically significantly differ across the two conditions
(match: M = .03, SD = .17; mismatch: M = .13, SD = .41), t(153) = 1.36, p = .18.
Within the matched self-representation condition, women used more apologies than
men, although this effect did not reach statistical significance, t(153) = 1.83, p = .07,
hp
2 = .02. The same gender difference with mismatched avatars was not statistically
significant, t(153) = 1.08, p = .28.
Tentative language. There were no significant main or interaction effects on tentative
language use, all Fs < 1.84. Even though the interaction between gender and
self-representation failed to reach statistical significance, F(1, 149) = 1.75, p = .18, we
still tested Hypothesis 1c because omnibus tests are dispensable when specific predictions
exist (Rosenthal, Rosnow, & Rubin, 2000; Wilkinson & Task Force on Statistical
Inference, 1999). Supporting Hypothesis 1c, women were more tentative when a
female avatar matched their true gender (M = 1.20; SD = 1.25) relative to a mismatched
male character (M = .69; SD = 1.08), t(153) = 2.04, one-tailed p = .02, hp
2 =
.03. In contrast, men’s tentative language use was identical when the character either
correctly (M = 1.00; SD = .97) or incorrectly (M = 1.00; SD = 1.21) represented their
true gender. Comparing men and women within each self-representation condition,
however, yielded no significant effects, both ts < 1.20.
Figure 2. Effects of matched versus mismatched gendered avatars on gender-based
language use for men and women
0.54
0.84
0.03
0.16
1.00
1.20
0.87
0.44
0.13
0.05
1.00
0.69
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Men Women Men Women Men Women
References to Emotion Apologies Tentative Language
Language Use
Match Mismatch
Participants’ Genered Avatar
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Palomares and Lee 15
Discussion
Overall, the results suggest that a gender-matched avatar increases the likelihood of
gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars promote countertypical
language. That is, people not only communicatively perform gender when they
intentionally decide (Herring & Martinson, 2004) or are explicitly directed (Hills,
2000) to pose as a different gender, but they appear to adopt the language that conforms
to gendered norms that the visual cue of a gendered avatar intimates. A departure
from past studies, however, is that this linguistic assimilation to a virtual gender identity
is more likely among women than men: Past research did not demonstrate different
gender performances of male and female online users; rather, men and women alike
were able to change macro aspects of their communication (e.g., topic). Apparently,
men are capable of performing femininity communicatively when such acts are intentional
or explicitly researcher induced, but they are less likely to do so when the trigger
is a relatively subtle visual cue such as an avatar.
Self-categorization theory explains how the gender of a digitized self-representation
affects participants’ gender-based language: Because a gendered avatar implicated the
language appropriate for the context, people conformed to gender-based language
expectations. The theory suggests that such gender-based language norms were transmitted
via avatars that defined the prototype of gender salience. Specifically, a masculine
avatar implied male-typical language norms, just as a feminine avatar conveyed
female-typical language norms. Consequently, participants linguistically assimilated
to a virtual gender identity. Self-categorization theory also addresses how women are
especially more likely than men to use gender-typical language when the gender of
their avatar matches their true gender. That is, because women tend to be particularly
reactive to visual stimuli (Hall, 2006) and gender salience (Cameron & Lalonde, 2001),
they were more susceptible to gendered avatars than men were.
Our data also highlight a recent claim that gender-based language is highly dynamic
because of gender salience and its prototype. One should not ipso facto expect identical
or even highly similar patterns among all forms of gender-based language across contexts
(Palomares et al., 2004). We demonstrated that either countertypical or typical
gender-based language emerged depending on the prototype of gender salience induced
by avatars. In fact, although apologies and references to emotion manifested in the
same general pattern, tentativeness was only partly similar (see Figure 2). At the same
time, the relatively small effect sizes (<.04) of the current research seem to support the
gender similarities hypothesis that asserts men and women are primarily similar and
any differences between them are small and few (Dindia, 2006; Hyde, 2005). Metaanalyses
are compatible with this hypothesis (Hyde, 2005; Leaper & Ayres, 2007). The
overall differences we found between men and women were less frequent than the
moderator-produced effects. Taken together, even when some situational factors induce
gender differences in language style, the magnitude of such differences is relatively
small, suggesting that men’s and women’s linguistic behavior is more similar than different.
Moreover, given the small size of these effects, they are likely not readily
apparent in everyday interaction, as other research suggests (Mulac, 2006).
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16 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
The current experiment also extends past work on the impact of gendered avatars
in CMC. In a sense, the findings that arbitrary gendered avatars shape people’s perceptions
of and behavioral responses to anonymous strangers in an otherwise cue-deprived
environment (e.g., Lee, 2007a, 2007b) are not surprising. That is, although participants
were likely to conform to a partner with a male avatar more than a partner with
a female avatar on male-oriented issues (Lee, 2007a) and identified more with a partner
whose avatar shared the same gender as their own avatar (Lee, 2007b), the absence
of individuating cues that would have enabled them to form more personalized, and
presumably more accurate, impressions about unknown partners likely fostered this
seemingly unreasonable reliance on random visual cues. However, our experiment
advances previous research by demonstrating that gendered self-representations significantly
modify individuals’ own language styles, which are supposedly more static
than perceptions of and conformity to complete strangers.
The level of automaticity of linguistic assimilation to a virtual gender identity is
unknown based on the current data; yet we imagine the process is relatively unconscious.
Herring and Martinson (2004) speculated and provided some evidence that
“unconscious use of gendered discourse styles can reveal one’s actual gender even
when one is [intentionally] performing a different gender (or trying not to give off any
gender cues)” (p. 427). In a similar study of the conscious performance of a different
gender, participants typically manipulated gendered topics successfully but less effectively
controlled gender-typical syntactic and lexical choices that tended to match
their true gender (Hills, 2000). Unlike this previous work, however, the focus of current
participants was likely on winning the trivia game rather than manipulating their
language. In addition, avatars were ostensibly assigned randomly. Consequently, participants
probably thought the gendered nature of the avatars was arbitrary and
peripheral to the game, as confirmed in postexperiment debriefings. Our findings that
people nonetheless altered their gender-based language in line with the relatively
subtle visual cues to gender identity, thus, seem to comport well with an automatic or
mindless argument.
That this process is unconscious is also consistent with other theorizing on genderbased
language. Mulac, Bradac, Palomares, and Giles (2009) distinguished between
gender-linked language stereotypes and schemata: Stereotypes about gendered communication
are accessible to conscious thought and focus on macro forms of communication
(e.g., topic), but schemata are implicit and primarily responsible for gender-based
language production. Coupling past research on the intentional or conscious performance
of gender that demonstrates accurate control over topics but failed control of
molecular behaviors such as language (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Hills, 2000) and
the current data that suggest an unconscious effect on language warrants a distinction
between gender-linked language schemata and stereotypes. Future research should
assess more directly the constituents and outcomes of gender-linked language stereotypes
versus schemata. Whereas this objective might be relatively straightforward for
stereotypes because their mental representations are explicit, doing so for schemata
might take some ingenuity. One possibility is to use a method similar to the assessment
of implicit prejudice (cf. Dotsch & Wigboldus, 2008).
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Palomares and Lee 17
Notwithstanding the previous theoretical supposition and implications, because we
did not directly measure nor manipulate gender salience (or any other cognitive processes),
our account of linguistic assimilation still awaits a more absolute empirical
validation. Clearly then, the absence of a gender salience measure is a limitation. Yet
to an extent, two points assuage this disadvantage. First, much other research demonstrates
that gender-based language is a function of gender salience (Palomares, 2004,
2008; S. A. Reid et al., 2003). Gender salience has even operated as a mediator of the
effects of a contextual stimulus on gender-based language (Palomares, 2009). In other
words, there is a clear cascading causal link from stimuli to gender salience to genderbased
language. Second, the feasibility of actually measuring gender salience is
questionable: Assessing gender salience might not have been practical or effective
because, as stated previously, we anticipate an unconscious process of the linguistic
assimilation to gendered avatars. In other words, unknown is the ability of an explicit measure
of gender salience to accurately gauge an unconscious process. Still, considering
that we cannot assume gender salience would have played the same causal role in the
current experiment as found in past research, some measure of gender salience might
have been useful herein.
Thus, employing an implicit measure of gender salience might allow a test of its
mediational effects thereby providing a more direct test of self-categorization theory’s
account. To do so, the linear order of effects should be well established by
measuring gender salience immediately before language production; although introducing
such a measure between the avatar assignment and language production
might prove pragmatically awkward if not difficult (at least in designs similar to the
current one). Another option is to implement gendered (i.e., masculine, feminine)
topics to heighten gender salience, which would yield subsequent language effects.
If gender salience was directly or indirectly manipulated somehow, then perhaps the
gender of the partner’s avatar would have also moderated language use. Thus,
researchers should seek to vary gender salience in ways other than using gendered
self-avatars because avatars seem to only subtly influence gender salience. Perhaps
when gender salience is unambiguously heightened, then partner–avatar or other
effects will emerge.
Another possible limitation is that the effects for women might have been more
robust than for men, not because of our proposed rationale, but because the three language
features examined are considered stereotypically feminine. In other words, if
features associated with men were also employed, then perhaps men would have displayed
more language variation depending on their gendered avatar. This issue,
however, is not likely a problem because other research has demonstrated that men’s
language can fluctuate in ways similar to women’s language variation. For example,
men and women alike used more references to emotion under certain conditions
(Thomson, Murachver, & Green, 2001). Likewise, men were more tentative than
women for feminine topics, just as women were more tentative than men for masculine
topics (Palomares, 2009). Admittedly though, the cues (i.e., gendered topic)
responsible for the language changes in Palomares were more explicit than in the current
research (i.e., avatars). Indeed, our rationale explicitly drew on the idea that
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18 Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29(1)
because avatars are subtle visual cues, to which women are likely more reactive or
sensitive than are men, linguistic assimilation would be greater for women than men.
Even so, future research might employ stereotypically masculine language features
(e.g., directives, references to quantity) along with feminine features when examining
men’s and women’s assimilation to gendered avatars to fully mitigate this concern.
Conclusion
The current article provided evidence that gender-based language use in CMC is
susceptible to the influence of arbitrarily assigned gendered avatars that represent
oneself, especially for women. In fact, prior to our work herein, extant research on
gender-based language production from a self-categorization theoretical perspective
had not included the influence of technological factors, such as avatars. That features
of CMC can change gender-based language is meaningful considering that gendered
forms of language are consequential for communicators: Tentative language encourages
judgments of incompetence and low status compared with direct styles (Carli,
1990; S. A. Reid et al., 2003), and references to emotion foster ratings of intelligence
and pleasantness (Mulac, 2006). Such language-effect outcomes are especially noteworthy
in CMC when other social cues are negligible and language plays a central role
in impression formation (cf. Walther, 1993, 1996). Additional research on the linguistic
assimilation to a virtual gender identity, therefore, would be advantageous to
increase the understanding of when, how, and why men and women communicate
similarly and differently.
Authors’ Note
An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual conference of the International
Communication Association in Chicago, 2009.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank Howie Giles and two anonymous reviewers for helping improve the effectiveness
of this article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication
of this article.
Funding
This study was financially supported in part by the Institute of Communication Research,
Seoul National University.
Note
1. The social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE model) is a specific version
of self-categorization theory focusing on CMC contexts (Postmes, Spears, & Lea, 1998,
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Palomares and Lee 19
2002), which is akin to other instantiations of the theory with a specific focus, such as the
self-categorization theory of social influence (Abrams & Hogg, 1990). Even though we
could have explicitly drawn on the SIDE model to the same avail, we chose to highlight
self-categorization theory because (a) doing so is consistent with past language and gender
research in CMC (cf. Palomares, 2004, 2008) and non-CMC contexts (S. A. Reid
et al., 2003) and (b) the SIDE model is deeply rooted in self-categorization theory and thus
would draw on the same explanatory mechanism to make identical predictions in the current
investigation (cf. Lea, Spears, & De Groot, 2001; Postmes & Spears, 2002).
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Bios
Nicholas A. Palomares (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005) is an assistant
professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. His
research examines the cognitive structures and processes involved in goal detection and genderbased
language use. His work has been published in various journals, such as Human
Communication Research, Communication Research, Communication Monographs, and the
Journal of Language and Social Psychology.
Eun-Ju Lee (PhD, Stanford University, 2000) is an associate professor in the Department of
Communication at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. Her research foci include social
cognition and social influence in computer-based communication. Her work has appeared in
many journals, such as Human Communication Research, Communication Research, the Journal
of Communication, and Media Psychology.
Downloaded from jls.sagepub.com at UNIV CALIFORNIA DAVIS on March 18, 2013

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