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The Proteus Effect: The Effect of Transformed Self-Representation on Behavior
"... Virtual environments, such as online games and web-based chat rooms, increasingly allow us to alter our digital self-representations dramatically and easily. But as we change our self-representations, do our self-representations change our behavior in turn? In 2 experimental studies, we explore the ..."
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Cited by 74 (9 self)
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Virtual environments, such as online games and web-based chat rooms, increasingly allow us to alter our digital self-representations dramatically and easily. But as we change our self-representations, do our self-representations change our behavior in turn? In 2 experimental studies, we explore the hypothesis that an individual’s behavior conforms to their digital self-representation independent of how others perceive them— a process we term the Proteus Effect. In the first study, participants assigned to more attractive avatars in immersive virtual environments were more intimate with confederates in a self-disclosure and interpersonal distance task than participants assigned to less attractive avatars. In our second study, participants assigned taller avatars behaved more confidently in a negotiation task than participants assigned shorter avatars. We discuss the implications of the Proteus Effect with regards to social interactions in online environments.
The unbearable likeness of being digital; the persistence of nonverbal social norms in online virtual environments
- Cyberpsychology and Behavior
, 2007
"... Every day, millions of users interact in real-time via avatars in online environments, such as massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These online environments could potentially be unique research platforms for the social sciences and clinical therapy, but it is crucial to first ..."
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Cited by 73 (6 self)
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Every day, millions of users interact in real-time via avatars in online environments, such as massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These online environments could potentially be unique research platforms for the social sciences and clinical therapy, but it is crucial to first establish that social behavior and norms in virtual environments are comparable to those in the physical world. In an observational study of Second Life, a virtual community, we collected data from avatars in order to explore whether social norms of gender, interpersonal distance (IPD), and eye gaze transfer into virtual environments even though the modality of movement is entirely different (i.e., via keyboard and mouse as opposed to eyes and legs). Our results showed that established findings of IPD and eye gaze transfer into virtual environments: (1) male-male dyads have larger IPDs than female-female dyads, (2) male-male dyads maintain less eye contact than female-female dyads, and (3) decreases in IPD are compensated with gaze avoidance as predicted by the Equilibrium Theory. We discuss implications for users of online games as well as for social scientists who seek to conduct research in virtual environments.
Transformed social interaction: decoupling representation from behavior and form in collaborative virtual environments. PRESENCE: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments
, 2004
"... Computer-mediated communication systems known as collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) allow geographically separated individuals to interact verbally and nonverbally in a shared virtual space in real time. We discuss a CVE-based research paradigm that transforms (i.e., filters and modifies) non ..."
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Cited by 64 (26 self)
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Computer-mediated communication systems known as collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) allow geographically separated individuals to interact verbally and nonverbally in a shared virtual space in real time. We discuss a CVE-based research paradigm that transforms (i.e., filters and modifies) nonverbal behaviors during social interaction. Because the technology underlying CVEs allows a strategic decoupling of rendered behavior from the actual behavior of the interactants, conceptual and perceptual constraints inherent in face-to-face interaction need not apply. Decoupling algorithms can enhance or degrade facets of nonverbal behavior within CVEs, such that interactants can reap the benefits of nonverbal enhancement or suffer nonverbal degradation. Concepts underlying transformed social interaction (TSI), the ethics and implications of such a research paradigm, and data from a pilot study examining TSI are discussed. 1
2006a), A virtual reprise of the stanley milgram obedience experiments, PLoS ONE 1(1
"... Background. Stanley Milgram’s 1960s experimental findings that people would administer apparently lethal electric shocks to a stranger at the behest of an authority figure remain critical for understanding obedience. Yet, due to the ethical controversy that his experiments ignited, it is nowadays im ..."
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Cited by 46 (11 self)
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Background. Stanley Milgram’s 1960s experimental findings that people would administer apparently lethal electric shocks to a stranger at the behest of an authority figure remain critical for understanding obedience. Yet, due to the ethical controversy that his experiments ignited, it is nowadays impossible to carry out direct experimental studies in this area. In the study reported in this paper, we have used a similar paradigm to the one used by Milgram within an immersive virtual environment. Our objective has not been the study of obedience in itself, but of the extent to which participants would respond to such an extreme social situation as if it were real in spite of their knowledge that no real events were taking place. Methodology. Following the style of the original experiments, the participants were invited to administer a series of word association memory tests to the (female) virtual human representing the stranger. When she gave an incorrect answer, the participants were instructed to administer an ‘electric shock ’ to her, increasing the voltage each time. She responded with increasing discomfort and protests, eventually demanding termination of the experiment. Of the 34 participants, 23 saw and heard the virtual human, and 11 communicated with her only through a text interface. Conclusions. Our results show that in spite of the fact that all participants knew for sure that neither the stranger nor the shocks were real, the participants who saw and heard her tended to respond to the situation at the subjective, behavioural and physiological levels as if it were real. This result
Virtual self-modeling: The effects of vicarious reinforcement and identification on exercise behaviors
, 2009
"... Social cognitive theory is often implemented when researchers develop treatments and campaigns for health behavior change. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) enables novel explorations of health behavior modeling. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment ..."
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Cited by 34 (10 self)
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Social cognitive theory is often implemented when researchers develop treatments and campaigns for health behavior change. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) enables novel explorations of health behavior modeling. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: vicarious reinforcement, in which a virtual representation of the physical self (VRS) gained or lost weight in accordance with participants ’ physical exercise; an unchanging VRS; or no virtual representation. The reinforcement group performed significantly more exercise in a voluntary phase than those in other conditions. Study 2 separated reward (weight loss) from punishment (weight gain) and also explored model identification by contrasting the effects of a VRS with a VRO (virtual representation of an other); participants exercised significantly more when they viewed the VRS, regardless of whether reward or punishment was shown. In Study 3, participants were exposed to either a VRS running on a treadmill, a VRO running, or a VRS loitering, and we examined effects 24 hours after the experiment. Follow-up surveys revealed that participants in the VRS-running condition demonstrated significantly higher levels of exercise than those in other conditions. We discuss implications for media use and health communication. Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977, 2001) describes the power of a model demonstrating a behavior to encourage modeling by an observer. Several factors, including the similarity of the model, the observer’s perceived ability to perform the behavior, and the rewards and punishments associated with
A Social-Cognitive Framework for Pedagogical Agents as Learning Companions
"... Teaching and learning are highly social activities. Seminal psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bandura have theorized that social interaction is a key mechanism in the process of learning and development. In particular, the benefits of peer interaction for learning and motivation in classr ..."
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Cited by 31 (0 self)
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Teaching and learning are highly social activities. Seminal psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bandura have theorized that social interaction is a key mechanism in the process of learning and development. In particular, the benefits of peer interaction for learning and motivation in classrooms have been broadly demonstrated through empirical studies. Hence, it would be valuable if computer-based environments could support a mechanism for a peer-interaction. Though no claim of peer equivalence is made, pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs)-- animated digital characters functioning to simulate human-peer-like interaction-- might provide an opportunity to simulate such social interaction in computer-based learning. The purpose of this paper is first to ground the instructional potential of PALs in several social-cognitive theories, which include distributed cognition, social interaction, and Bandura’s social-cognitive theory. The paper discusses how specific concepts of the theories might support various instructional functions of PALs, acknowledging concepts that PALs cannot address. Next, based on the theoretical perspectives, the paper suggests seven key constituents for designing PALs that in human-peer interactions have proven significant: PAL competency, interaction type, gender, affect, ethnicity, multiplicity, and feedback. Finally, the paper reviews the current status of PAL research with respect to these constituents and suggests where further empirical research is necessary.
The Effect of Behavioral Realism and Form Realism of Real-Time Avatar
- Faces on Verbal Disclosure, Non-/verbal Disclosure, Emotion Recognition, and Copresence in Dyadic Interaction, Presence
, 2006
"... The realism of avatars in terms of behavior and form is critical to the development of collaborative virtual environments. In the study we utilized state of the art, realtime face tracking technology to track and render facial expressions unobtrusively in a desktop CVE. Participants in dyads interac ..."
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Cited by 30 (3 self)
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The realism of avatars in terms of behavior and form is critical to the development of collaborative virtual environments. In the study we utilized state of the art, realtime face tracking technology to track and render facial expressions unobtrusively in a desktop CVE. Participants in dyads interacted with each other via either a videoconference (high behavioral realism and high form realism), voice only (low behavioral realism and low form realism), or an “emotibox ” that rendered the dimensions of facial expressions abstractly in terms of color, shape, and orientation on a rectangular polygon (high behavioral realism and low form realism). Verbal and non-verbal self-disclosure were lowest in the videoconference condition while self-reported copresence and success of transmission and identification of emotions were lowest in the emotibox condition. Previous work demonstrates that avatar realism increases copresence while decreasing self-disclosure. We discuss the possibility of a hybrid realism solution that maintains high copresence without lowering self-disclosure, and the benefits of such an avatar on applications such as distance
A dualprocess model of reactions to perceived stigma
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
, 2004
"... The authors propose a theoretical model of individual psychological reactions to perceived stigma. This model suggests that 2 psychological systems may be involved in reactions to stigma across a variety of social contexts. One system is primarily reflexive, or associative, whereas the other is rule ..."
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Cited by 29 (1 self)
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The authors propose a theoretical model of individual psychological reactions to perceived stigma. This model suggests that 2 psychological systems may be involved in reactions to stigma across a variety of social contexts. One system is primarily reflexive, or associative, whereas the other is rule based, or reflective. This model assumes a temporal pattern of reactions to the stigmatized, such that initial reactions are governed by the reflexive system, whereas subsequent reactions or “adjustments ” are governed by the rule-based system. Support for this model was found in 2 studies. Both studies examined participants ’ moment-by-moment approach–avoidance reactions to the stigmatized. The 1st involved participants ’ reactions to persons with HIV/AIDS, and the 2nd, participants ’ reactions to 15 different stigmatizing conditions. By definition, of course, we believe that a person with a stigma is not quite human. (Goffman, 1963, p. 5) The painted bird circled from one end of the flock to the other, vainly trying to convince its kin that it was one of them. But, dazzled by its brilliant colors, they flew around it unconvinced. The painted bird would be forced farther and farther away as it zealously tried to enter
Mutual gaze and task performance in shared virtual environments
- Journal of Visualization and Computer Animation
, 2002
"... Non-verbal behaviour, particularly gaze direction, plays a crucial function in regulating conversations and providing critical social information. In the current set of studies, we represented interactants in a shared immersive virtual environment. Interactants sat in physically remote rooms, entere ..."
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Cited by 27 (14 self)
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Non-verbal behaviour, particularly gaze direction, plays a crucial function in regulating conversations and providing critical social information. In the current set of studies, we represented interactants in a shared immersive virtual environment. Interactants sat in physically remote rooms, entered a common virtual room and played games of 20 questions. The interactants were represented by one of three types of avatars: (1) human forms with head movements rendered in real time; (2) human forms without head movements rendered; or (3) human voice only (i.e., a conference call). The data demonstrated that interactants in the rendered head movement condition rated a higher level of co-presence, liked each other more, looked at each other’s heads more, and spoke for a lower percentage of time during the game, compared to the other two conditions. We discuss implications for the design of shared virtual environments, the study of non-verbal behaviour and the goal of facilitating
A metaanalysis of the impact of the inclusion and realism of human-like faces on user experiences in interfaces
- In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’07
, 2007
"... The use of embodied agents, defined as visual human-like representations accompanying a computer interface, is becoming prevalent in applications ranging from educational software to advertisements. In the current work, we assimilate previous empirical studies which compare interfaces with visually ..."
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Cited by 25 (0 self)
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The use of embodied agents, defined as visual human-like representations accompanying a computer interface, is becoming prevalent in applications ranging from educational software to advertisements. In the current work, we assimilate previous empirical studies which compare interfaces with visually embodied agents to interfaces without agents, both using an informal, descriptive technique based on experimental results (46 studies) as well as a formal statistical meta-analysis (25 studies). Results revealed significantly larger effect sizes when analyzing subjective responses (i.e., questionnaire ratings, interviews) than when analyzing behavioral responses such as task performance and memory. Furthermore, the effects of adding an agent to an interface are larger than the effects of animating an agent to behave more realistically. However, the overall effect sizes were quite small (e.g., across studies, adding a face to an interface only explains approximately 2.5 % of the variance in results). We discuss the implications for both designers building interfaces as well as social scientists designing experiments to evaluate those interfaces. Author Keywords Computer-mediated communication, quantitative methods,
