“Metaverse” Typology Based on Affordances and Psychological Processes

Abstract

The metaverse is an emerging phenomenon that lacks a widely accepted academic definition. Previous attempts have primarily focused on a technological perspective, ignoring the user perspective that is central in advertising research. However, the metaverse provides fast-changing updates and dynamic interactions, allowing users to actively engage in content creation. A typology using affordances and psychological processes as dimensions bridges the gap between media features and user outcomes, serving as an effective framework. Therefore, in this research, we conducted two studies to develop a typology of metaverse. Study 1 provides a systematic review of literature and uncovers two affordances (social connection and content generation) and three psychological processes (interactivity, motivation, and boundary alteration) to form a typology of metaverse experiences. The metaverse is further defined as “virtual generated space where users can form social connections and generate content, inducing psychological processes including interactivity, motivation, and boundary alteration.” Study 2 conducts interviews and reveals more basic constructs and processes relevant to each dimension, such as embodiment, proximity, realism, autonomy, and personalization. Considered together, this research assists in defining and categorizing existing metaverse experiences based on human-centered dimensions and points to prominent constructs in the metaverse research that are worthy of further discussion.