Note, this post was originally designed to go on my personal weblog, but after thinking through many of the concepts I realized it could provide some interesting discussion as the topics relate to MMOs also, not to mention allowing me to start bringing in some other concepts here (as the rebranding/move intended). The original post was also approximately twice as long, and for the sake of keeping things simple to follow I removed a large amount of the background explanations regarding the assumptions and theories presented.

Part One, Assumptions

Nature versus Nurture Corresponding to Identity

1. We are a product of our genetic composition (also expressed as biology).
2. We cannot control our genetic composition.
3. We are a product of our environment (also expressed as our social identity).
4. We can control our environment in varying degrees.
5. Our environment influences who we are, and therefore who we become, more than our genetic composition.
6. The more exercise we control over our environment the more we control who we are.
7. Therefore, we can control who we are, and by extension what we do, to varying degrees.

Identity as a Product of Choice versus Social Influences

1. To the extent that we can control our social identity we control our choices.
2. There are constraints upon our ability to control our environment.
3. We have the ability to make rational and irrational choices that shape our identity (referred to as persona hereafter).
4. To the extent that our social identity and persona are constructed and controlled is the amount of free will we have in shaping both who we are and who we become.

Part Two, TLDR Summary

Part one simply provides the basics in a fairly concise form. The overall theory is, plainly put, that we exercise varying degrees of free will in shaping our identity, based on a combination of genetic predisposition, social influences, and individual choices. Generally speaking, we contribute to shaping our environment and exercise control over creating our identity through such actions.

For the sake of keeping this discussion relatively easy to follow I’ll leave the overall theory summarized as above. For those interested in more debate or detail on the issue, or simply just talking about the thought more, feel free to leave a comment, email, use the forums, hop on twitter… you all know the drill.

Part Three, Creating Our Identity in a Massively Multiplayer Online Environment

The virtual worlds we zoom around in are no different than the physical world we reside in when looking at the concepts above. In both there are external forces beyond our control, individual choices we make that affect the world at large, and the creation of an identity based on each of those factors.

Something we often overlook is how our actions can have a much larger impact than anticipated or imagined. As an example, consider the recent abuse and misuse of the concept of a gear score throughout the realms. Although attempting to trace the origin of such misuse would be futile, realizing that it had to begin with a handful of people and quickly spread (and subsequently became misunderstood by the vast majority of the population from what I have seen) shows us just how large an impact a seemingly small choice could have in constructing a portion of our social identity. Although many of us have no desire to have such a concept attached to us, the simple fact is that in Azeroth, as it stands now, gear score is just as large a part of our identity as our character name when dealing with the general server population.

This illustrates one of the key principles above: we have no control over gear score being applied to our character by the server population, but to the extent that we control our gear we can control our environment indirectly. That is to say, we have the power to change our gear score, and so we have the ability to shape our “gear score identity” even though we do not have the power to stop the server population from misunderstanding and misusing the gear score concept.

Part Four, Responsibility

Classical theories hold two opposing arguments: the first is that we are responsible for our actions, and the second is that social factors shape our actions. Technically, this is the classic psychology versus sociology standpoint. What many people do not realize, however, is that more and more people in both fields are acknowledging that neither extreme can be completely accurate even though there are theories and explanations that attempt to address both extremes (and, honestly, that make sense in a majority of cases). This idea of social problems (wherein society creates the circumstances that determine a person’s actions) versus social responsibility (wherein an individual is responsible for their actions) has long been a debate throughout the behavioral sciences.

As you can see from the outlined concepts above, I side firmly with the concept of individual choice within the constraints of social order (in other words, we exercise a limited amount of free will). This principle is easier to understand when applied to something like World of Warcraft where there are very specific things that can and cannot be done regardless of how hard one might try to do otherwise. The reason this is important is because responsibility then becomes a combination of degrees of individual and social responsibility. Let’s look at the gear score example again to illustrate:

Using the concept of gear score appropriately is certainly individual choice, yet that same choice is not always present when dealing with other people who use the concept incorrectly. Obviously this means that using the concept correctly at all times is not possible if choosing to be a part of the general server population. The responsibility for using gear score correctly is both individually constructed and socially constructed as a result, meaning that both individual choice and socially constructed perceptions must change if the concept is to be accepted and used correctly in all situations.

Part Five, Bringing It All Together

Although I ended up using gear score as the example, this was not originally intended to address that concept directly. With its prevalence in discussions as of late, however, it provides the perfect example to follow these concepts through and apply such a thought exercise to World of Warcraft, especially given the strong feelings and opinions on the subject. With that in mind, this is a general summary of how each portion of the above discussion relates:

The gear score concept is socially constructed and is controlled by a combination of social factors and individual choice. To the extent that an individual can control their gear score they can control their environment. An individual can only control the exercise of their own will (in this case the appropriate use of gear score) to the extent that their social environment allows. Finally, effectively changing misunderstood and misused concepts, such as the current gear score issue, is the responsibility of both the individual and the society (server population).