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Hire Dr. Rachel K.

United States

Profile Summary

I graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in May 2005 with a B.A. in Psychology. As I always had an interest in psychotherapy, I began looking into various clinical graduate programs shortly after graduation and enrolled the M.A. in Counseling Psychology program at Santa Clara University in 2006. My time at SCU was exceptionally rewarding, both professionally and personally, as it provided me with first-hand experience as to how psychological research can be applied to real-world situations and scenarios. However, it was clear to me early on that I was more interested in pursuing a research-based, rather than a clinical, career in psychology. I was fortunate enough to secure a PhD researcher position at the University of York in York, England. Under the supervision of Dr. Julian Oldmeadow, my work aligned across two branches of inquiry: the cultural stereotype of online gamers and relationship between social (in)competence and online video game involvement. While the first highlighted the centrality of the negative social perceptions of online game players, the second examined the validity of this perception through an assessment of the relationship between video game involvement and social competence. My PhD research projects included survey-based and experimental research designs and led to several international conference presentations and publications in top peer-reviewed journals, such as Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society and Computers In Human Behavior. Recently, my PhD thesis was converted into a research monograph, entitled Video games and social competence, and published by Routledge in December 2014. I recently completed a 2-year post doctoral position working with Prof. Dr. Thorsten Quandt at the University of Münster in Germany as an associate researcher for the large-scale, ERC-project “SOFOGA” (Social Foundations of Online Gaming). SOFOGA was a three-year project examining a range of game-related variables among a representative German sample and remains the largest EU-funded games research project to date. My work in this project focused on examining the potential inter- and intra-personal social impact of online video game involvement. This primarily involved enlisting cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches to survey-based and experimental research designs within large data sets. During my time at Münster, I gave numerous talks at international conferences on my work in this project as well as published several articles in top peer-reviewed journals such as Computers in Human Behavior and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Through the course of my work on SOFOGA, I gained experience with a range of advanced quantitative data analysis techniques, including moderated and mediated regression analyses and cross-lagged path analysis via structural equation modeling.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Psychology
• ☆ Social Psychology
• ☆ Media Studies
• ☆ Cyberpsychology
• ☆ Counseling & Mental Health Support

Services

• Writing
• Consulting
• Data & AI
• Product Development

Work Experience

Independent Consultant

Self-Employed

July 2016 - Present

Research Associate

University of Muenster

November 2012 - October 2014

PhD Researcher

University of York

September 2009 - August 2013

Education

PhD Psychology

University of York

August 2009 - January 2014

M.A. Counseling Psychology

Santa Clara University

August 2006 - May 2008

B.A. Psychology

University of Texas, Dallas

September 2001 - May 2005

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

OTHER

Rachel Kowert, Linda Kaye, Sally Quinn (2019). Online multiplayer gaming and well-being . Edge Hill University.

Rachel Kowert, Linda Kaye, Sally Quinn (2019). Online multiplayer gaming and well-being . Edge Hill University.

Rachel Kowert, Nicholas D. Bowman, Christopher J. Ferguson(2015). The Impact of Video Game Play on Human (and Orc) Creativity . 39--60Elsevier {BV}

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Sara M. Cole(2016). Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt (eds.), The Video Game Debate . Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures. (15). p. 1--1. Electric

Rachel Kowert, Emese Domahidi, Johannes Breuer, Ruth Festl, Thorsten Quandt(2016). A Longitudinal Analysis of Gaming- and Non-Gaming-Related Friendships and Social Support among Social Online Game Players . Media Psychology. p. 1--20. Informa {UK} Limited

Rachel Kowert, Jens Vogelgesang, Ruth Festl, Thorsten Quandt(2015). Psychosocial causes and consequences of online video game play . Computers in Human Behavior. 45. p. 51--58. Elsevier {BV}

Rachel Kowert, Johannes Breuer, Ruth Festl, Thorsten Quandt(2015). Sexist Games=Sexist Gamers? A Longitudinal Study on the Relationship Between Video Game Use and Sexist Attitudes . Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 18. (4). p. 197--202. Mary Ann Liebert Inc

Rachel Kowert, Nicholas David Bowman, Elizabeth Cohen(2015). When the ball stops, the fun stops too: The impact of social inclusion on video game enjoyment . Computers in Human Behavior. 53. p. 131--139. Elsevier {BV}

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow(2015). Playing for social comfort: Online video game play as a social accommodator for the insecurely attached . Computers in Human Behavior. 53. p. 556--566. Elsevier {BV}

Rachel Kowert, Emese Domahidi, Ruth Festl, Thorsten Quandt(2014). Social gaming, lonely life? The impact of digital game play on adolescents' social circles . Computers in Human Behavior. 36. p. 385--390. Elsevier {BV}

Rachel Kowert, Emese Domahidi, Thorsten Quandt(2014). The Relationship Between Online Video Game Involvement and Gaming-Related Friendships Among Emotionally Sensitive Individuals . Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 17. (7). p. 447--453. Mary Ann Liebert Inc

Rachel Kowert, Ruth Festl, Thorsten Quandt(2014). Unpopular, Overweight, and Socially Inept: Reconsidering the Stereotype of Online Gamers . Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 17. (3). p. 141--146. Mary Ann Liebert Inc

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow(2013). (A)Social reputation: Exploring the relationship between online video game involvement and social competence . Computers in Human Behavior. 29. (4). p. 1872--1878. Elsevier {BV}

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow, Sally Quinn(2013). Attachment style, social skills, and Facebook use amongst adults . Computers in Human Behavior. 29. (3). p. 1142--1149. Elsevier {BV}

DATA SET

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow Social Identity with the Community of Gamers Measure . PsycTESTS Dataset. American Psychological Association ({APA})

Rachel_Kowert, r/Science Science AMA Series: I'm Dr. Rachel Kowert, a research psychologist, gamer, and parent based in Austin, Texas. I have spent my career studying video games and the gamers who love them. AMA! . The Winnower. The Winnower, {LLC}

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow Emotional Motivations for Play Scale . PsycTESTS Dataset. American Psychological Association ({APA})

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow, Sally Quinn Facebook Usage and Experience Measure . PsycTESTS Dataset. American Psychological Association ({APA})

Rachel Kowert, Julian A. Oldmeadow, Sally Quinn Abridged Social Skills Inventory . PsycTESTS Dataset. American Psychological Association ({APA})