Mia Consalvo (born 29 May 1969) is an American professor of

Communication Studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

presently at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and holds the post of Canada Research Chair in Game Studies and Design, Communication Studies. Consalvo has authored a number of scholarly books and publications on the topic of

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

in contemporary society and the culture of gameplay.

Background

Education

Consalvo was born in 1969 in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...

. She received her BA in Communications from

Lyndon State College Lyndon State College was a public liberal arts college in Lyndon, Vermont. In 2018, it merged with Johnson State College to create Northern Vermont University; the former campus of Lyndon State College is now the university's Lyndon campus. ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. She subsequently received her MA in Communications from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, and her PhD in Mass Communications from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Activities

Consalvo held the post of president of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) from 2012 to 2016. She previously held the post of president of the

Association of Internet Researchers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(AoIR) from 2009 to 2011. Consalvo's research focus has included cheating in online games. According to her research, cheating for real world profit has been occurring for at least two decades, costing the video game industry millions of dollars. A common form of cheating involves the use of “bots” designed to automate certain game processes and gather materials valuable in a particular game, and selling these game materials to other players. Consalvo's research has included a study on online gender swapping and demonstrated clear differences between online gaming behaviour among male and female players. According to Consalvo, males playing games using female avatars still display male patterns of movement. Additionally, these players act differently from actual female players in chat conversations. Consalvo has also researched bullying of females, LGBT and minority players in games, pointing to the frequency of in-game bullying as an indicator of the state of online gaming culture. On the topic of video games and violence, Consalvo found that sport-themed video games actually produced positive feelings among users.

Books

* ''Atari to Zelda. Japan's Videogames in Global Contexts'' (2016). Mia Consalvo, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. * ''Players and Their Pets: Gaming Communities from Beta to Sunset'' (2015). Mia Consalvo & Jason Begy, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN. * ''Sports Videogames'' (2013). Mia Consalvo, Konstantin Mitgutsch & Abe Steins (Eds.), Routledge, New York. * ''The Handbook of Internet Studies'' (2011). Mia Consalvo & Charles Ess (Eds.), Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA. * ''Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames'' (2007). Mia Consalvo, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. * ''AoIR Internet Research Annual'' Volume 4 (2006). Mia Consalvo and Caroline Haythornthwaite (Eds.), Peter Lang, New York. * ''AoIR Internet Research Annual'' Volume 3 (2005). Mia Consalvo and Kate O’Riordan (Eds.), Peter Lang, New York. * ''AoIR Internet Research Annual'' Volume 2 (2005). Mia Consalvo and Matthew Allen (Eds.), Peter Lang, New York. * ''AoIR Internet Research Annual'' Volume 1: Selected Papers From the Association of Internet Researchers Conferences 2000-2002 (2004). Mia Consalvo, Nancy Baym, Jeremy Hunsinger, Klaus Bruhn Jensen, John Logie, Monica Murero, & Leslie Regan Shade (Eds.), Peter Lang, New York. * ''Women and Everyday Uses of the Internet: Agency and Identity'' (2002). Mia Consalvo and Susanna Paasonen (Eds.), Peter Lang, New York.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Consalvo, Mia American women scientists 1969 births Academic staff of Concordia University People from Biddeford, Maine Living people Academics from Maine American emigrants to Canada American women academics Women in the video game industry