Feature: The Griefer Within
Why do some players act like complete jerks online? We spoke with a prominent psychiatrist to learn new insight into the mindset of online griefers.
By World of Forms
Page 2: More serious psychological disturbances
Shrapnel sizzles past your head. The scorched bodies of your defeated opponents leave a grim trail behind you. You're ripping through the highest kill streak you've ever accomplished in Halo 2. You're untouchable. But suddenly, you're left staring at your own lifeless corpse, victim of a stealth kill from your own teammate. You're left seething in frustration your back-stabbing teammate, who just laughs and berates you over his wireless microphone.
You've just been griefed.
What is a Griefer?
In simple terms, a griefer is a player who intentionally and repeatedly harasses other players in an online game. This can include routinely killing teammates in multiplayer shooters, attacking peaceful gatherings in World of Warcraft, sending insulting or obscene chat messages, and a wide array of other anti-social, game-ruining actions. And there's no doubt that their actions hurt everyone in the video game industry: By some accounts, as many as 25% of game customer support calls deal specifically with griefing. Griefers hurt everyone. But why do they do it?
Griefing as Role Playing
What's going on inside the minds of griefers? To get some answers, we consulted Yulan Liao, M.D., a psychiatrist at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center. She provided some interesting possibilities beyond the most-accepted explanation for grieifing, which is that anonymity encourages cruelty.
Group dynamics many hold some key answers when it comes to explaining griefing behavior. Recent studies have found that certain roles are always assumed by individuals within a group. According to Dr. Liao, griefers could frequently fall into two potential roles: the defiant leader and the scapegoat leader. (In this case, the term "leader" does not refer to the head of a group.)
Dr. Liao explains that "the defiant leader is sometimes with the group, but sometimes has one foot out. He's not sure if his objective should align with the group's objective," Liao continues. "Generally, whenever we form a group, there's a lot of reluctance within us to stay committed to the group. The defiant leader carries that ambivalence for us."
But there's more. "There is also always a scapegoat leader. This is generally a person everyone dislikes. These people are marginalized and ostracized. Not only does the group choose the scapegoat, but the scapegoat often unconsciously chooses to take on the role. Once you are labeled the scapegoat, it is very hard to escape that role." Failure to conform with the group often leads to scapegoat status, Liao explans. "Whoever has characteristics that make him the most different from the rest of the group usually becomes the scapegoat."
Judging by Liao's criteria, a griefer could fit into the role of the defiant leader, expressing their need for defiance through disruptive actions, or a scapegoat leader (particularly if they are marginalized in some way, such as name calling in online games). In the case of a scapegoat griefer, the individual might lash out at their persecutors, whether real or perceived. Of course, a player may be perceived as a griefer because of accidental or competitive actions, and once they are labeled as such, they may choose to fulfill the scapegoat role by purposefully griefing.
![Screen Update: Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory [PC]](/screens/111246/197628-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Infamous [PS3]](/screens/134601/197568-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Mushroom Men - The Spore Wars [Wii]](/screens/135221/125868-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Midnight Club: Los Angeles [Xbox 360]](/screens/136701/197588-1-1.jpg)
