Revisiting gender preference for a first-person shooter videogame: Effects of non-verbal sensitivity and gender on enjoyment

In this study, we investigated the effects of gender (male vs. female) and non-verbal sensitivity (high vs. low) on game experience after playing a first-person shooter videogame. The results of Experiment 2 (n = 50) showed that participants with high non-verbal sensitivity experienced more positive valence and a greater level of arousal than participants with low non-verbal sensitivity. The biological sex of the participants became non-significant, after taking into consideration non-verbal sensitivity. The results of a mediation analysis showed that the emotional valence and arousal mediated the effects of non-verbal sensitivity on the enjoyment of the videogame. Implications with respect to a new understanding of gender preference for certain genres of videogames by identifying specific gender-related skills are discussed.