Computers in Human Behavior 21

8/16/2019 Computers in Human Behavior 21

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Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) 218–225

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Computers in Human Behavior

ou rnal h omepa!e" ## #$e ls ev i er$com%locate%comphumbeh

&ser !oals in social virtual #orl's" meansen' chain approach

*oonh+u, -un!a./. H+unmee an!

b.1

aDepartment o normation S+stems an' Decision Sciences. 3ouisiana State &niversit+. Baton 4ou!e. 3 080. &S

b7he anship School o ass Communications. 3ouisiana State &niversit+. Baton 4ou!e. 3 080. &S

a r t i c l e i n o

rticle histor+"

vailable online 1 9ovember 200:

e+#or's"

;irtual #orl's

Social virtual #orl's

&ser !oal

secon'. to

intro'uce a metho'olo!ical alternative (i$e$. a meansen' chain approach) or anal+?in! user !oals in

c+berspaces$ 7he 'ata #ere ac@uire' rom a #eb surve+. an' #ere anal+?e' b+ meansen' chain anal+sis

(AC). #hich pro'uces users !oal structure in reerence to a hierarchical s+stem o interrelate' !oals

(lson 4e+nol's. 1:8)$ 7he results sho# that people come to social virtual #orl's to satis+ their

social an' he'onic nee's. an' to escape rom real #orl' constraints. as 'o virtual communit+ members

an' vir tual !amers> the+ also pursue uni@ue activities. such as creatin! virtual obects an' sellin!

them$ n the other han'. b+ clari+in! relations amon! users !oals. AC provi'es a richer eEplanation

or user !oals than prior research #hich onl+ oers separate user !oals or c+berspace users #ithout

eEplanation o

relationship amon! !oals$

200: Alsevier 3t'$ ll ri!hts reserve'$

1$ ntro'uction

;irtual #orl's (;Fs) reer to computersimulate'. !raphic

base'. virtual environments that are accesse' b+ multiple users$

7he+ have !ro#n 'ramaticall+ over the last 'eca'e as supportin!technolo!ies (e$!$. virtual realit+. broa'ban') have been a'vance'$

Forl' o Farcrat. #hich is the lar!est !amin! virtual #orl'

( aE" I1 225 58 2125$

tual !oo's in Secon' 3ie #as estimate' to be 60 million 'ollar in

2008 (3in'en 3ab. 200:)$ n a''ition to S;Fs @uantitative !ro#th.

their potential as a mar,etin! channel an' a collaboration tool has

attracte' both mana!ers an' researchers attention$ Several corpo

rations. such as 9i,e. 'i'as. 3evis.


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*$ -un!. H$ an! % Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) 218–225*$ -un!. H$ an! % Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) 218–225

en. 200N) an' !amin! virtual #orl's (Bartle. 200> *ee. 2006).

pro'uce' sets o separate in'ivi'ual user !oals but oer little

eEplanation about the relations amon! !oals$ Stu'ies o relations

amon! !oals. or a !oal structure. can provi'e more inormation

about users !oaloriente' behavior than those o isolate' !oals

(Mieters. Baum!artner. llen. 1::5)$ Because it can clari+ !oal

structure.a meansen' anal+sis is eEpecte' to oer richer inormation about user !oals or participatin! in S;Fs$ 7his stu'+ thus

contributes to research on c+berspace users. in terms o oerin!

a metho'olo!ical novelt+. an' 'emonstrates an empirical stu'+

o an emer!in! c+berspace$

2$ 7heoretical bac,!roun'

2$1$ Social virtual #orl's

Despite its 'iverse 'e=nitions. the term virtual #orl' has been

commonl+ use' to in'icate a computersimulate' persistent spatial

environment that supports s+nchronous communication amon!

multiple users #ho are represente' b+ avatars (HolmstroPm

-a,obsson. 2001> -a,obsson. 2006)$ 7his concept o ;Fs is similar #ith the notion o that is. social

relations (4hein!ol'. 1::)$ ''itionall+. people satis+ ps+cholo!

ical nee's. such as emotional support. a sense o belon!in!. an'

encoura!ement in ;Cs. an' also come to ;Cs or entertainment$

4i'in!s an'

eEplorers see, ne# places in a achievers pursue the !ra'ual

accumulation o #ealth an' reputation in an' controllers

#ant to compete #ith an' 'eeat others$ *ee (2006) empiricall+

eEamine' Bartles sociali?

in! inclu'es relationships an' team#or,> an' immersion inclu'es

'iscover+. rolepla+in!. customi?ation. an' escapism (see 7able 1)$

7able 1

&ser !oals in c+berspaces$

7+pe o c+berspaces Murposes Description 4eerences

;irtual communities normation

eEchan!eSocial relations

ttain an' transer inormation about a topic. learn ne# thin!s


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ll prior stu'ies that investi!ate user !oals or inhabitin! c+ber

spaces provi'e sets o isolate' !oals #ithout a''ressin! the rela

tions amon! those !oals$ lthou!h the prior stu'ies reco!ni?e

that !oals 'o not suppress each other (i$e$. a user ma+ have

multi ple !oals) (Bartle. 200> *ee. 2006). the+ overloo, ho#

the+ are connecte'$ s a result. the prior stu'ies provi'e ust a set

o sepa rate !oals or social c+berspaces$ 7his limit ma+ preclu'e

'ra#in! a more comprehensive picture o user !oals because !oals

nee' to be eEplaine' #ithin a !oal structure that inclu'es a

hierarchical s+s tem o interrelate' !oals (Mervin. 1:8:)$

ccor'in!l+. this stu'+ at tempts to clari+ a !oal structure

be+on' =n'in! isolate' !oals b+ emplo+in! a meansen' chain

anal+sis$

2$$ &ser !oals an' a meansen' chain anal+sis

!oal is a 'esire' outcome o an action (3oc,e 3atham.

1::0)$ an+ researchers ar!ue that !oals eEist #ithin a

hierarchical s+s tem #here a !oal is locate' bet#een its

superor'inate an' subor 'inate !oals. an' urthermore. each !oal

is a means to achieve its superor'inate !oal (ru!lans,i et al$.

2002> 9e#ell Simon.

1:2> Mervin. 1:8:)$ eansen' chain anal+sis (AC) stems romthe i'ea o a hierarchical !oal s+stem$ 7he anal+sis posits that

pro'uct or service attributes represent the means b+ #hich con

sumers achieve bene=ts an' important personal values (i$e$. en's)

( lson 4e+nol's. 1:8)$ n other #or's. AC

is an approach or 'iscoverin! the important meanin!s that con

sumers ascribe to a pro'uct or services attributes (;oss. an' values impl+ hi!hl+ abstract

motivation that !ui'es usa!e behavior (lenos,+. 2002)$ nattribute–conse@uence–value chain is usuall+ eEpresse' b+ a

hierarchical map. #hich consists o no'es (i$e$. attributes.

conse@uences. an' values) an' relationships amon! them$

meansen' chain anal+sis t+picall+ 'epen's on a la''erin!

intervie# techni@ue. #hich has been comprehensivel+ use' in

con sumer research that tries to un'erstan' consumers

preerences to #ar' pro'ucts or services (e$!$. lenos,+. 2002>

4e+nol's 4ochon. 2001). an' or!ani?ation research. #hich

eluci'ates an or!ani?ations strate!ic values an' 'ecision

ma,in! structures (e$!$. Meers. van

4e,om. van 4iel. Fieren!a. 2006)$ or helpin! respon'ents

elicit lo#er or hi!her levels o abstractions or the concepts.

the techni@ue aims to un'erstan' the #a+ in #hich the

respon'ent sees the #orl' (4e+ nol's


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ple co'es #ere assi!ne'$ or eEample. KK7hereians #ant to be soci

on prior la''erin! research. #e ma'e three open @uestions to

probe members !oals or usin! 7here" (1) #e =rst place' the over

archin! @uestion (Fhat are +our main three purposes or usin!

7hereL)> (2) #e then as,e' the 'o#n#ar' @uestion (Fhat charac

teristics o 7here help +ou achieve each purposeL)> () an' #e =nall+

as,e' the up#ar' @uestion (Fh+ is each purpose important to

+ouL)$ n our proce'ure. the overarchin! @uestion correspon's to

the con se@uence @uestion o a conventional la''erin!

techni@ue> the 'o#n#ar' @uestion correspon's to the attribute

@uestion> an' the up#ar' @uestion correspon's to the value@uestion (see i!$ 1)$ s previousl+ state'. because our ocus is

on the relation ships o elements rather than o their

classi=cation into attributes. conse@uences. an' values. #e use'

our o#n terms rather than those three labels$ lso. base' on our

pilot stu'+. #e or'ere' the three @uestions$ n the pilot stu'+.

most o our respon'ents an s#ere' their conse@uences or

values instea' o attributes to the attribute @uestion (the

'o#n#ar' @uestion in our stu'+)$ n this situation. #e ha'

'i=cult+ continuin! to probe because the+ ha' alrea'+ ans#ere'

their hi!hl+ abstractive purposes$ or eEample. #hen #e as,e'

the attribute @uestion (i$e$. Fhat characteristic ma,es 7here

attractive to +ouL). man+ respon'ents ans#ere' ust un or

meetin! ne# people #hich correspon'e' to conse@uences or

values rather than attributes$ 7hus. #e ha' to as, the attribute@uestion a!ain (i$e$. Fhat characteristic o 7here help +ou achieve

this purposeL)$ n or'er to con'uct more eective #eb surve+

base' la''erin! proce'ure. #e nee'e' to mo'i+ a la''erin! pro

ce'ure. an' place' the overarchin! @uestion =rst$ ur proce'ure.

in #hich an interme'iate @uestion (conse@uence @uestion) is

place' =rst. is also consistent #ith thou!ht" humans set a !oal at

an interme'iate level rather than eEplicitl+ pursuin! a hi!hl+ ab

stract !oal. an' then 'eci'e operational strate!ies to attain it (4i

,in. 1:85)$

N$ 4esults an' anal+sis

7he anal+sis consiste' o t#o sta!es" (1) co'in! an' (2) !ener

atin! a !oal structure (a hierarchical !oal map)$

archin! @uestion. an' li,e#ise ans#ers to the overarchin! @ues

tion correspon' to a means or ans#ers to the up#ar' @uestion$

or instance. i a subect respon's 7echnical eatures to the 'o#n

#ar' @uestion> Social relations to the overarchin! @uestion> an'

musement to the up#ar' @uestion. t#o 'irect lin,a!es are cre

ate'" 7echnical eatures L Social relations. an' Social rela

tions L musement$ Fe can also consi'er an in'irect lin,a!e> or

instance. elicitin! the lin,a!e o 7echnical eaturesL musement

rom the lin,a!e o 7echnical eatures L Social relations L

muse ment$ &ltimatel+ all lin,a!es #ere summari?e' in an

implication matriE #hich 'epicts the number o times each topic

(co'e) lea's to each other topic in responses (lenos,+. 2002)$ s

can be seen in 7able N. each topic in the ro# lea's to the other topics in the col umn$ or instance. 75 (Social relations) le' to 78

(Ascapism) 2 times> 711 (7echnical eatures) le' to 710 (musement)

5 times$

7+pical meansen' chain stu'ies classi+ responses into attri

butes. conse@uences. an' values an' then pro'uce a hierarchical

structure o attributes L purposes L values$ n or'er to

miti!ate classi=cation errors. the current stu'+ emplo+e' an

alternative metho' propose' b+ Ba!o??i an' Dabhol,ar (1::N)

an' Mieters et al$ (1::5)$ nstea' o classi+in! responses into

three labels. this approach. #hich is base' on net#or, anal+sis

(Scott. 1::1). pro 'uces a hierarchical structure b+ comparin!

the number o times each element is mentione' as the means

versus the en'$ 7he ap proach uses out'e!rees an' in'e!rees in

or'er to estimate abstractness o each element$ ut'e!rees o a particular element reer to the number o times the element

serves as the source or ori!in (means) o lin,a!es #ith other

elements (i$e$. the ro# sum o the element in an implication

matriE). #hereas in'e!rees o the element in'icate the number

o times the element serves as the obect or en' o lin,a!es #ith

others (i$e$. the column sum o the element in an implication

matriE) (Mieters et al$. 1::5)$ bstractness o an element is the

ratio o in'e!rees over in'e!rees plus out'e!rees o the

element. an' ran!es rom 0 to l (Mieters et al$. 1::5)$ Alements

#ith hi!h abstractness scores are re!ar'e' mainl+ as en's.

#hile ones #ith lo# abstractness scores are thou!ht o

primaril+ as means$ Base' on the alternative approach. #e create'

an implication matriE (see 7able N)$ ''itionall+. in or 'er or

inormative anal+sis. this stu'+ calculate' centralit+ o each

element. #hich represents the 'e!ree to #hich the element has a

central role in the structure (no,e Burt. 1:82)$ Centralit+ is cal

7able 2

Demo!raphics o participants$

N$1$ Co'in!

re@uenc+ Mercent or anal+sis. the responses rom three probin! @uestions #ere

!e 18–2N 10 18$6 co e $ ne o t e aut ors co e t e ata us n! an open co n!

25–N 6 11$1 ce'ure in #hich co'es #ere not pre'etermine' but rather

5–NN 1 2N$1 rom the 'ata$ 7his resulte' in N5 'etaile' co'es present in theN5–5N 11 20$N 'ata$ n cases #here the 'ata containe' more than one to ic55 or ol'er 5$5

9o ans#er


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i!$ 1$ 3a''erin! proce'ure$

7able

7opics (superco'es) an' subco'es$

7opics Co'es

71$ ''iction (remove') ''iction%hoo,e'

72$ Creatin! Creatin! virtual obects%'ecoratin! o#n avatar or propert+%creativit+

7$ A'ucational tool (remove') A'ucational tool

7N$ Ascapism Ascapin! rom realit+%ree rom 'isabilit+

75$ Social relations Social interaction%meetin! people%chattin!%social events%'atin!

in'in! rien'l+ users

Havin! time #ith amil+ or oGine rien's

Helpin! people

Forl'#i'e availabilit+%interactin! #ith 'iverse people

76$ AEplorin! AEplorin!%travelin!%a'venturin!%#al,in! aroun'

3ots o places%lar!e scale o the virtual #orl'

7$ inancial Aconomic ree'om%auction s+stem

inancial%runnin! a business%ma,in! mone+

78$ no#le'!e ac@uisition c@uirin! ne# i'eas

Doin! research

mprovin! practical s,ills (pro!rammin!)

7:$ Mositive a'ministration (remove') ree membership


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7able N

mplication matriE$

bstractness Centralit+ 7opics 71 72 7 7N 75 76 7 78 7: 710 711 ut'e!rees

0$000 0$018 71$ ''iction

0$NN2 0$25 72$ Creatin! N N 5 1 5 2 2N

0$800 0$060 7$ A'ucational tool 2 2

0$1 0$156 7N$ Ascapism 1 2 N

0$52 0$N61 75$ Social relations 2 1 1 2 1 21 1 6

0$158 0$11N 76$ AEplorin! 2 N 8 2 160$250 0$0:6 7$ inancial 2 1 2 12

0$22 0$108 78$ no#le'!e ac@uisition 1 1 2 1 5

0$16 0$02 7:$ Mositive a'ministration 2 1 1 10

0$25 0$N1 710$ musement 1 2 12 1 1 2 1:

0$1:5 0$2N6 711$ 7echnical eatures 1 18 1 2 5

n'e!rees 0 1: 8 1: N1 N 1 2 50 8 16

Cut'e!ree" the number o times the element serves as the source or ori!in (means) o lin,a!es #ith other elements$

n'e!ree" the number o times the element serves as the obect or en' o lin,a!es #ith others$

bstractness" (in'e!rees)%(in'e!rees I out'e!rees)$

Centralit+" (in'e!ree I out'e!ree)%the sum o all active cells$

Out-derajat: jumlah kali elemen yang berfungsi sebagai sumber atau asal (berarti)hubungan dengan unsur-unsur lain.

Di derajat: jumlah kali elemen yang berfungsisebagai objek atau akhir dari hubungan dengan orang lain.

Abstractness: (dalam derajat) / (dalam derajat + out-derajat).

emusatan: (dalam derajat + out-derajat) / jumlah dari semua sel-sel aktif

7able 5

Statistics or 'eterminin! a cuto level$'istinctive !oals. such as Creation. inancial. an' AEplorin!$ n the

other han'. S;F users have 'ierential !oals. or Creation. inan

Cuto

level 9umber o

active cells

in the

implication

matriE

Mercenta!e o

active cells at

or above the

cuto level (Q)

9umber o

active

lin,a!es in the

implication

matriE

Mercenta!e o

active lin,a!es

at or above the

cuto level (Q)

cial. an' no#le'!e ac@uisition. rom those o


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i!$ 2$ Hierarchical !oal map or a social virtual #orl's$


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n eEaminin! lin,a!es. #e have seven =n'in!s$ irst. the main

chain is 7echnical eature L Social relations L musement$

7his chain is 2$Q o all relations in the implication matriE$

Secon'. AEplorin! is a source or Social relations an' musement$

7hir'. Creatin! supports the hi!hest abstraction out o three pur

poses inclu'in! musement. Ascapism. an' no#le'!e ac@uisition$

ourth. Social relations unctions as a means or Ascapism$

ith. Ascapism lea's musement$

SiEth. musement has a stron! reciprocal ee'bac, loop #ith

Social relations$ Both can be a means or an en' or each other>

in other #or's. the both are 'eepl+ inter#oven$

inall+. Creatin! has a reciprocal ee'bac, loop #ith inancial$

7he results sho# that Social relations an' musement are main

!oals or usin! S;Fs rom the vie#point o abstractness an' cen

tralit+. in'icatin! that S;F users have !oals that are similar to

;C members an' it can be consi'ere' an

intrinsic !oal in pla+in!


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#eblo!s$ inall+. this stu'+ 'i' not control variance cause' b+ cul

ture. #hich ma+ unction as a crucial variable in ull+ un'erstan'

in! S;F users !oals. in a sense that 7here is a #orl'#i'e

c+berspace an' the users come rom various countries$ 7hus. cul

tural consi'eration can be a prominent aspect in research on

S;F users behaviors$

4eerences

'ar. A$. Huberman. B$ $ (2000)$ ree ri'in! on !nutella$ irst on'a+. 5$

vailable" Thttp"%%###$hpl$hp$com%research%i'l%papers%!nutella%!nutella$p' U$

Ba!o??i. 4$ M$. Dabhol,ar. M$ $ (1::N)$ Consumer rec+clin! !oals an' their eect

on 'ecisions to rec+cle" meansen' chain anal+sis$ Ms+cholo!+ ar,etin!. 11.

1–N0$

Bartle. 4$ (200)$ Desi!nin! virtual #orl's$ n'ianapolis" 9e# 4i'ers Mress$

Botschen.

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Computers in Human Behavior 21