Aggressive Worlds: Aggression, Self-Esteem and MMORPG Gamer Playstyles

This study examines the relationship between self-esteem, aggression, and playstyle preferences among massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) players, situating the inquiry within Polish debates over video game violence and industry self-regulation. Drawing on an online survey of 192 male players conducted in 2011, the authors apply Bartle's player-behaviour typology and van Meurs and van Ingen's five MMORPG playstyles, linking them to Big Five personality traits, alongside Rosenberg's self-esteem measure and the Buss-Perry aggression scale.

The central findings indicate that lower self-esteem correlates with higher hostility, anger, and overall aggression. The expansive-conflict, or "griefing," playstyle showed the strongest association with aggression, though only 2.6% of respondents preferred it. Players with high general aggression most often chose socializing-oriented play, while those with low aggression most often selected role-playing. The typical participant was young with balanced self-esteem and favored relationship-oriented play associated with high openness and extraversion, with role-playing as the second most common style.

Notably, surveyed players scored lower than the general population on aggression measures. The strong link between aggression and expansive-conflict play suggests that aggressive individuals tend to behave similarly online and offline, challenging the view that games function as a "safety valve" for aggressive impulses. The authors nonetheless caution that these results cannot be generalized to all MMORPG players, and they call for more in-depth research across other player populations.