The fifth player: understanding bystander responses to gender-based exclusion in esports

Abstract

Children and adolescents draw on multiple factors to inform their bystander judgments and behaviors to gender-based exclusion. The current study aimed to understand how these factors collectively inform bystanders' judgments, attitudes, and the five-step Bystander Intervention Model (BIM). Data was collected from 227 middle school (11-14 years, Mage = 12.56, 131 girls), and 345 high school (15-18 years, Mage = 15.68, 216 girls) students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions, varying by the excluder’s intentionality (good vs. bad), bystander peer norms (supporting vs. opposing exclusion), and the victim’s response (active vs. passive). Moral judgments (acceptability, fairness), intergroup judgments (victim inclusion, victims’ behavior, future inclusion of victim and excluder), and attitudes towards exclusion (funniness, seriousness) were evaluated. Bystander intervention behavior was measured using the five-step BIM. Social-cognitive skills (ToM, empathy, humor styles) and gender-related factors (gender stereotype endorsement, growth mindset in esports) were measured. Results indicated that gender shaped intergroup judgments: boys were more likely to judge exclusion acceptable than girls. Intentionality of the excluder shaped moral judgments: exclusion done with good intentionality was more acceptable. Peer norms interacted with intention and victim response: exclusion was seen acceptable only in the bad intentions, passive victim, and supportive norms conditions. Higher ToM, cognitive and affective empathy, affiliative humor, and growth mindset, and lower aggressive humor, endorsement of gender stereotypes predicted steps in the five-step BIM. Overall, findings offer insights for bystander intervention programs by illustrating how naturally interacting factors in dynamic social interactions shape bystanders’ judgments, attitudes, and behaviors.