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Effects of Avatar Appearance on User Perception and Behavior: Role of Labels and Cognitive Mediation in the Proteus Effect A

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Effects of Avatar Appearance on User Perception and Behavior: Role of Labels and Cognitive Mediation in the Proteus Effect A View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarSpace at University of Hawai'i at Manoa EFFECTS OF AVATAR APPEARANCE ON USER PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOR: ROLE OF LABELS AND COGNITIVE MEDIATION IN THE PROTEUS EFFECT A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICOLOGY DECEMBER 2016 By Justice Quick Thesis Committee: Robert Kelly Aune, Chairperson Min-Sun Kim Hye Eun Lee Keywords: avatar, Proteus Effect, stereotype, self-perception, priming Abstract Previous studies suggest avatar appearance can influence user cognition and behavior (i.e., the Proteus Effect), though the mechanism responsible is debated. This study examined whether the mechanisms proposed by two explanations of the Proteus Effect could be experimentally induced and subsequently measured via assessing user response time when rating their avatar’s traits. This study also explored whether in-game labels used to describe an avatar can bias users’ interpretations of their avatars in label- consistent ways, and potentially lead to similar changes in users’ offline behaviors. It was predicted that users generating their own evaluations of their avatars would do so more quickly than users asked to generate evaluations from the perspective of imagined others, and that users would rate their avatars in a manner stereotypically consistent with the avatar label. Participants were brought into a laboratory and played as an avatar in the desktop computer game The Sims before rating their avatar and squeezing a handgrip apparatus intended to measure potential changes in participants’ offline behavior. General support was found for the effect of label on avatar assessments; these labels biased users toward rating their avatars as having higher levels of 3 of 5 label-consistent traits. No support was found for any effect of label on users’ offline behaviors. Finally, results indicate response time may hold potential as a proxy measure for detecting the proposed mechanisms of the Proteus Effect. Implications of these results are discussed. ii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE .............................................. 1 Virtual Worlds ............................................................................................................................... 6 Avatars .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 7 Interpersonal Effects ................................................................................................... 8 The Proteus Effect ....................................................................................................................... 10 Role Labels ....................................................................................................................... 13 Body Shape Stereotypes ............................................................................................. 15 Hypothesis 1 ...................................................................................................... 16 Offline Carry-over Effects ........................................................................................... 16 Research Question 1 ....................................................................................... 17 Mechanism Behind the Proteus Effect ................................................................................. 17 Self-perception Theory ................................................................................................ 18 Priming Theory ............................................................................................................... 19 Measurement Issues in Previous Research ....................................................................... 22 Role of Cognitive Mediation in Proteus Effect .................................................................. 24 Hypothesis 2 ..................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3. METHODS ............................................................................................................................ 27 Stimulus Materials ....................................................................................................................... 27 Avatar .................................................................................................................................. 27 Avatar Role Label ........................................................................................................... 28 Perspective …………......................................................................................................... 28 iii Participants .................................................................................................................................... 29 Procedure ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Recruitment ..................................................................................................................... 29 Lab Procedure ................................................................................................................. 29 Instruments ........................................................................................................ ............................. 31 Physical Activity ............................................................................................................. 31 Industriousness .............................................................................................................. 31 Perceived Social Support ............................................................................................ 32 Self-restraint .................................................................................................................... 32 Career Satisfaction ........................................................................................................ 33 Offline Carry-over Effects ........................................................................................... 33 User Response Time ..................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 34 Hypothesis 1a-1c .......................................................................................................................... 34 Hypothesis 1d-1e ......................................................................................................................... 35 Research Question 1 ................................................................................................................... 35 Hypothesis 2 ................................................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... ................. 37 Key Findings and Implications ............................................................................................... 37 Limitations and Directions for Future Research ............................................................ 40 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 44 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. ............................... 45 Appendix A: Avatar....................................................................................................................... 45 iv Appendix B: Pre-test Questionnaire ...................................................................................... 46 Appendix C: In-game Labels and World .............................................................................. 47 Appendix D: Perspective Conditions Sample Items ....................................................... 48 Appendix E: Consent Form ........................................................................................................ 49 Appendix F: Physical Activity Scale ....................................................................................... 51 Appendix G: Industriousness Scale ....................................................................................... 52 Appendix H: Perceived Social Support Scale ..................................................................... 53 Appendix I: Self-restraint Scale ………………………………………........................................ 54 Appendix J: Career Satisfaction Scale ................................................................................... 55 Appendix K: Offline Carry-over Effects Measure ............................................................. 56 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. ................................ 57 v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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