Games as personality profiling tools

In this paper we investigate whether a personality profile can be determined by observing a player's behavior in a game. Five personality traits are used to define a personality profile. They are adopted from the Five Factor Model of personality. The five traits are measured by the NEO-PI-R questionnaire. For our purpose, we developed a game module for the game Neverwinter Nights. The module automatically stores a player's behavioral data. Experimental trials were run measuring the behavior of 44 participants. The experiment produced game behavior scores for 275 game variables per player. Correlation analysis shows relationships between all five personality traits and the video game data. From these results, we may conclude that a video game can be used to create an adequate personality profile of a player.

I. Introduction

Personality is a way for humans to describe themselves and others. Personality descriptions are made up of statements about behavior patterns that are stable over time and across situations [7]. An example of a personality description is that people who consistently act friendly to those around them are considered to have an agreeable personality. Scientists have been searching for models to describe personality. During the twentieth century, the Five Factor Model (FFM) has emerged as the most widely accepted model for that purpose [4].