Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging
Today, avatars often represent users in digital worlds such as in video games or workplace applications. Avatars embody the user and perform their actions in these artificial environments. As a result, users sometimes develop the feeling that their self merges with their avatar. The user realizes th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.714464/full |
| _version_ | 1818339015117504512 |
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| author | Jochen Müsseler Sophia von Salm-Hoogstraeten Christian Böffel |
| author_facet | Jochen Müsseler Sophia von Salm-Hoogstraeten Christian Böffel |
| author_sort | Jochen Müsseler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Today, avatars often represent users in digital worlds such as in video games or workplace applications. Avatars embody the user and perform their actions in these artificial environments. As a result, users sometimes develop the feeling that their self merges with their avatar. The user realizes that they are the avatar, but the avatar is also the user—meaning that avatar’s appearance, character, and actions also affect their self. In the present paper, we first introduce the event-coding approach of the self and then argue based on the reviewed literature on human-avatar interaction that a self-controlled avatar can lead to avatar-self merging: the user sets their own goals in the virtual environment, plans and executes the avatar’s actions, and compares the predicted with the actual motion outcomes of the avatar. This makes the user feel body ownership and agency over the avatar’s action. Following the event-coding account, avatar-self merging should not be seen as an all-or-nothing process, but rather as a continuous process to which various factors contribute, including successfully taking the perspective of the avatar. Against this background, we discuss affective, cognitive, and visuo-spatial perspective taking of the avatar. As evidence for avatar-self merging, we present findings showing that when users take the avatar’s perspective, they can show spontaneous behavioral tendencies that run counter to their own. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:20:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b65c70055dc4a429d96410748c6b9f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:20:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b65c70055dc4a429d96410748c6b9f02022-12-21T23:40:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-03-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.714464714464Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self MergingJochen MüsselerSophia von Salm-HoogstraetenChristian BöffelToday, avatars often represent users in digital worlds such as in video games or workplace applications. Avatars embody the user and perform their actions in these artificial environments. As a result, users sometimes develop the feeling that their self merges with their avatar. The user realizes that they are the avatar, but the avatar is also the user—meaning that avatar’s appearance, character, and actions also affect their self. In the present paper, we first introduce the event-coding approach of the self and then argue based on the reviewed literature on human-avatar interaction that a self-controlled avatar can lead to avatar-self merging: the user sets their own goals in the virtual environment, plans and executes the avatar’s actions, and compares the predicted with the actual motion outcomes of the avatar. This makes the user feel body ownership and agency over the avatar’s action. Following the event-coding account, avatar-self merging should not be seen as an all-or-nothing process, but rather as a continuous process to which various factors contribute, including successfully taking the perspective of the avatar. Against this background, we discuss affective, cognitive, and visuo-spatial perspective taking of the avatar. As evidence for avatar-self merging, we present findings showing that when users take the avatar’s perspective, they can show spontaneous behavioral tendencies that run counter to their own.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.714464/fullperspective takingminimal selfavatar-self mergingTheory of Event Codingavatar embodimentspatial compatibility |
| spellingShingle | Jochen Müsseler Sophia von Salm-Hoogstraeten Christian Böffel Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging Frontiers in Psychology perspective taking minimal self avatar-self merging Theory of Event Coding avatar embodiment spatial compatibility |
| title | Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging |
| title_full | Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging |
| title_fullStr | Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging |
| title_short | Perspective Taking and Avatar-Self Merging |
| title_sort | perspective taking and avatar self merging |
| topic | perspective taking minimal self avatar-self merging Theory of Event Coding avatar embodiment spatial compatibility |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.714464/full |
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