Do casual gaming environments evoke stereotype threat? Examining the effects of explicit priming and avatar gender.

Despite relatively equal participation rates between females and males in casual gaming, females often report stigmatisation and prejudice towards their gaming competency within this sub-domain. Applying the theoretical framework of “stereotype threat”, this research examined the influence of explicit stereotype priming on females' casual gameplay performance and related attitudes. It also investigated whether the gender of the game avatar heightens susceptibility to stereotype threat. One hundred and twenty females were allocated randomly to one of four experimental conditions in a 2 (Condition: Stereotype threat, Control) x 2 (Avatar gender: Feminine, Masculine) between-subjects design. They completed a short gaming task and measures of social identity, competence beliefs, gameplay self-efficacy and self-esteem. Findings indicate that priming explicitly a negative gender-related stereotype did not appear to have a significant detrimental impact on gameplay performance or gameplay-related attitudes. Additionally, gameplay performance was not affected significantly by manipulating the gender of the gaming avatar. These findings suggest that, although females appear to be knowledgeable about negative gender-gaming stereotypes, these might not impact performance. Moreover, females tend not to endorse these beliefs as a true reflection of their gaming ability, representing a positive finding in view of the prevailing negative attitudes they face in gaming domains

Effects of appearance and gender on pre-touch proxemics in virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) environments are increasingly popular for various applications, and the appearance of virtual characters is a critical factor that influences user behaviors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of avatar and agent appearances on pre-touch proxemics in VR. To achieve this goal, we designed experiments utilizing three user avatars (man/woman/robot) and three virtual agents (man/woman/robot). Specifically, we measured the pre-touch reaction distances to the face and body, which are the distances at which a person starts to feel uncomfortable before being touched. We examined how these distances varied based on the appearances of avatars, agents, and user gender. Our results revealed that the appearance of avatars and agents significantly impacted pre-touch reaction distances. Specifically, those using a female avatar tended to maintain larger distances before their face and body to be touched, and people also preferred greater distances before being touched by a robot agent. Interestingly, we observed no effects of user gender on pre-touch reaction distances. These findings have implications for the design and implementation of VR systems, as they suggest that avatar and agent appearances play a significant role in shaping users’ perceptions of pre-touch proxemics. Our study highlights the importance of considering these factors when creating immersive and socially acceptable VR experiences

Body-Borne Computers as Extensions of Self

The opportunities for wearable technologies go well beyond always-available information displays or health sensing devices. The concept of the cyborg introduced by Clynes and Kline, along with works in various fields of research and the arts, offers a vision of what technology integrated with the body can offer. This paper identifies different categories of research aimed at augmenting humans. The paper specifically focuses on three areas of augmentation of the human body and its sensorimotor capabilities: physical morphology, skin display, and somatosensory extension. We discuss how such digital extensions relate to the malleable nature of our self-image. We argue that body-borne devices are no longer simply functional apparatus, but offer a direct interplay with the mind. Finally, we also showcase some of our own projects in this area and shed light on future challenges

Avatars and computer-mediated communication: a review of the definitions, uses, and effects of digital representations

Avatars are growing in popularity and present in many interfaces used for computer-mediated communication (CMC) including social media, e-commerce, and education. Communication researchers have been investigating avatars for over twenty years, and an examination of this literature reveals similarities but also notable discrepancies in conceptual definitions. The goal of this review is to provide a general overview of current debates, methodological approaches, and trends in findings. Our review synthesizes previous research in four areas. First, we examine how scholars have conceptualized the term “avatar,” identify similarities and differences across these definitions, and recommend that scholars use the term consistently. Next, we review theoretical perspectives relevant to avatar perception (e.g., the computers as social actors framework). Then, we examine avatar characteristics that communicators use to discern the humanity and social potential of an avatar (anthropomorphism, form realism, behavioral realism, and perceived agency) and discuss implications for attributions and communication outcomes. We also review findings on the social categorization of avatars, such as when people apply categories like sex, gender, race, and ethnicity to their evaluations of digital representations. Finally, we examine research on avatar selection and design relevant to communication outcomes. Here, we review both motivations in CMC contexts (such as self-presentation and identity expression) and potential effects (e.g., persuasion). We conclude with a discussion of future directions for avatar research and propose that communication researchers consider avatars not just as a topic of study, but also as a tool for testing theories and understanding critical elements of human communication. Avatar mediated environments provide researchers with a number of advantageous technological affordances that can enable manipulations that may be difficult or inadvisable to execute in natural environments. We conclude by discussing the use of avatar research to extend communication theory and our understanding of communication processes

Embodying Compassion in Virtual Reality using Celebrity Avatars

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the use of a virtual reality paradigm in facilitating self-compassion for self-critical people, embodied in compassionate or uncompassionate celebrity avatars. Specifically, the study explored if this intervention could help reduce people’s self-criticism, negative affect and fears of compassion and increase self-compassion, motivation to act compassionately and positive affect. It was predicted that embodying the avatar of a compassionate celebrity would trigger the proteus effect and thus enhance the positive outcomes of the intervention. METHOD: Forty-eight participants who scored highly on a measure of self-criticism were randomly assigned to embody either a celebrity they perceived as highly compassionate or uncompassionate. They were given psycho-educational material concerning compassion and were supported to write a compassionate script. Participants then engaged in a virtual reality scenario where, embodied as a celebrity, they gave compassion to a distressed child before a recording of this compassion was played back to them whilst re-embodied as the child. All participants completed measures of compassion, self-criticism and positive and negative affect before and after the virtual reality intervention. RESULTS: Following the intervention, participants in both conditions reported significantly reduced fears of compassion and self-criticism and significantly increased self-compassion, self-reassurance and motivation to be compassionate to themselves and others. Contrary to predictions, there was no significant difference in outcomes between participants who embodied a compassionate or uncompassionate celebrity. There was no significant change in positive and negative affect following the intervention however an insecure attachment style was predictive of experiencing less relaxed and safe/warm emotions following the compassionate scenario. CONCLUSION: The study provides promising results for the application of a virtual reality intervention in helping self-critical people cultivate compassion for themselves and reduce their fears of compassion. This area of research however is in its infancy and further studies investigating the longer-term use of the intervention in clinical populations is important. Researchers and clinicians should hold in mind that for people with attachment difficulties, the use of VR in this context should be proceeded with additional support and sensitivity. The findings suggest that the identity of the embodied avatar (compassionate or not) does not impact the positive outcomes of this intervention. Possible explanations for failure to evidence the proteus effect are discussed

Proteus meets Eris? Understanding the influence of pseudonymous self-representation on instant messenger discussions

This dissertation proposes a novel definition of anonymity, drawing on past definitions as well as psychological theory, to propose that pseudonymous identities can have a complex and nuanced influence in emphasizing certain personality traits when used in online discussion. This dissertation connects this definition to the Proteus Effect — the observation that individuals adopt behavior stereotypical of the avatars they use in virtual worlds (Yee & Bailenson, 2007) — to test how the presence and character of avatars in an online instant messenger influences aggression during political discussions. A 2x2 factorial experiment is used to evaluate participant aggression following small group deliberations between groups of participants assigned aggressive and unaggressive usernames and avatars, as well as accounts displaying an avatar and username vs only a username. A follow-up online experiment is used to show that similar effects of identity on behavior can be achieved simply by assigning participants to participate in similar tasks as moderators or as themselves

Avatar skin(s): An autoethnographic journey to my place of education

This autoethnography presents the avatar as a liberating learning platform for those who live on the edges of hegemonic and heteronormative society. I call this platform "avatar as place of education." I illustrate how my avatar was a place for processing self-learning (learning about myself) by recounting and exploring my queer identity development through my experiences as student, educator, and gamer traveling between virtual and physical worlds. I write to inquire and to seek to achieve an understanding of my avatar place and my emotional response to marginalization as a lesbian. To craft this autoethnography, I draw data from physical world memories, journals, photographs, and from in-world experiences in Second Life (SL). I situate this project in educational technology and draw from women's and gender studies, and from studies about place, virtual gaming characters, "avatars," and avatar customization to inform my analysis.I conceptualize avatar as place of education because they: first, exercise agency for their physical world counterparts and vice/versa; second, may become deliberate through changing avatars, third, have educative meaning and value for all individuals but may serve as an especially crucial aspect of education for marginalized youth; fourth, relate reciprocally and teach the user through feedback and transfer. Lastly, users' intentional creations of avatar places have potential value as an avenue to experience virtual world choices about social norms, identity, and community. Avatar places offer self-education, self-creation and self-knowledge possibilities for many people exploring aspects of their identity, especially for those marginalized in society.This study contributes to research regarding player needs, avatar customizations, and game design, and reinforces research that details the heteronormative affordances of North American game design which exclude culturally and sexually marginalized students from personal identity options in avatar interfaces (Consalvo, 2012; Ducheneaut, Wen & Yee, 2009; Nakamura, 2002, 2013; Pulos, 2013; Schmieder, 2009; Taylor, 2003). Virtual world participation helps negotiate heteronormative practices. My work also extends discourse about queer-friendly opportunities and practices in schools. This work is productive in arguing for commercial virtual worlds in formal education to meet the needs of 21st century technology skills

Social Comparisons in the Classroom Revisited: Insights Into Underlying Processes Using Immersive Virtual Reality as a Research Tool

Social comparisons are commonplace in every classroom and widely acknowledged as central determinants of students’ academic self-evaluations (see, e.g., Dijkstra et al., 2008; Trautwein & Möller, 2016). Most prominently, in educational psychology research, social comparisons have been assumed to be the cause behind the well-known Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect (BFLPE; Marsh, 1987), suggesting negative effects of higher class-average (or school-average) achievement on students’ academic self-concept while controlling for individual achievement. Whereas existing research has provided compelling evidence of the effects of certain reference groups on students’ self-evaluations (Marsh et al., 2017; Marsh & Seaton, 2015), the actual mechanisms behind the proposed effects and how students process social information while learning are still a black box. The present dissertation was aimed at gaining insights into the respective underlying processes (i.e., the “inner workings” of this black box) by using immersive virtual reality (IVR) as a research tool. IVR technology provides an unprecedent opportunity for educational psychology research to integrate ecological validity and experimental control in research designs to gain authentic and yet standardized insights into classroom processes, such as social comparisons and beyond (see, e.g., Blascovich et al., 2002). To this end, the present dissertation was aimed at a theoretical as well as a methodological advancement of research on social comparisons in the classroom. To address these objectives, the dissertation drew on three empirical studies with an IVR classroom including an experimental manipulation of classmates’ performance-related behavior. First, pursuing a more in-depth theoretical understanding of social comparisons and the respective processing of social information in the classroom, the dissertation aimed to identify covert and overt social comparison behaviors that (a) reflect students’ cognitive and behavioral responses to social comparison information in an IVR classroom and (b) ultimately explain individual differences in students’ self-concepts. Studies 1 and 2 used students’ self-reports (of their interpretation of classmates’ performance-related behavior) and eye movement data (e.g., visual attention on classmates) to identify different social comparison processes in the IVR classroom and to provide insights into the mechanisms that underlie the BFLPE. Second, aiming to provide insights into how IVR classrooms can be used as an experimental tool in educational psychology research, Study 3 focused on the configuration of an IVR classroom to authentically simulate and control a (social) classroom environment. The study provides insights into how different fields of view, virtual avatar visualization styles and virtual classmates’ performance-related behaviors affect students’ processing of social information provided in the IVR classroom. Taken together, by using an IVR classroom as an experimentally controlled yet authentic research setting, the present dissertation was able to advance the theoretical understanding of social comparisons and respective processing of social information in the classroom that ultimately explain individual differences in students’ self-concept. Moreover, the present dissertation demonstrates how IVR classrooms and the corresponding standardized process data can be used to gain insights into classroom processes, such as social comparisons. The dissertation thereby provides implications for research on both social comparisons in the classroom and the use of IVR as an experimental tool in educational and social psychology research in general