“We won” vs. “They lost”: Exploring ego-enhancement and self-preservation tendencies in the context of video game play

The human tendencies to employ ego-enhancement and self-preservation strategies have been examined in the context of competitive events such as political elections and sports team affiliations. But do video game players use these same strategies to cope with game outcomes? A 2 × 2 experiment (N = 91) was conducted to examine if winning or losing in a staged video game bowling tournament and performing below-average or above-average on an unrelated trivia task would result in ego-enhancement or self-preservation tendencies. Results not only indicated that both strategies are utilized in the context of video game play, but also suggested a complex relationship between avatar resemblance and game enjoyment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

► People are known to engage in ego-enhancement and self-preservation behaviors in the context of sports fandom.
► We examined if these same tendencies would be present in the context of team video game play.
► Results indicate that both tendencies do occur in relation to team video game play.
► In addition, a relationship between perceived avatar resemblance and emotions was also discovered.