Avatar Gender Research Articles

Producing patient-avatar identification in animation video information on spinal anesthesia by different narrative strategies.

Visual approaches to health information reduce complexity and may bridge challenges in health literacy. But the mechanisms and meanings of using animated video in communication with patients undergoing surgery are not well described. By comparing two versions of a two-dimensional animated video on spinal anesthesia, this study tested the patient-avatar identification within two different narrative models. To explore the perspectives of total hip arthroplasty, we employed qualitative methods of interviews and ethnographic observation. The animated presentation of the spinal anesthesia procedure was immediately recognized by all participants as reflecting their experience of the procedure independent of the narrative form. The avatar gender did not affect this identification. We found no preference for either narrative form. This study supports the potential of animation video in health informatics as a didactic model for qualifying patient behavior. Animation video creates a high degree of identification that may work to reduce pre-surgical anxiety.

Reasons for Avatar Gender Swapping by Online Game Players

Players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) frequently select avatars of the opposite gender, a phenomenon known as gender swapping. While this phenomenon is widely recognized, little is known about the underlying reasons. This study thus examines why players use opposite-gender avatars. Heterogeneity sampling is used to maximize information completeness. Data are obtained from interviews with 21 MMORPG players in Taiwan. The core theme identified is “increased enjoyment”, which itself integrates six more specific themes or aspects (social interaction, harassment avoidance, obtaining free gifts, fooling others, fantasy experiences and playing superior avatars) through which players derive increased enjoyment from game playing with gender-swapped avatars. This exploratory work creates a foundation for future research to develop and test hypotheses linking gender-swapping with player psychology or behavior.

The role of stereotypical beliefs in gender-based activation of the Proteus effect

Informed by the Proteus effect, the current study examined the moderating effect of belief in stereotypes on the relationship between avatar appearance and user behavior, via an interactive fiction. The results of a one-factor (avatar gender: male vs. female), between-subjects experiment revealed that female avatars elicited more frequent masculine behaviors (particularly among individuals high in feminine gender stereotypes) and that male avatars elicited more frequent feminine behaviors. Conversely, self-reported gender led to stereotypic behaviors as expected. A moderating effect of awareness of the avatar’s influence on stereotypically gender-based decisions on frequency of gender-typed behavior was not found, suggesting individuals are not aware of the influence of avatars on their subsequent decisions.

The strategic female: gender-switching and player behavior in online games

As players craft and enact identities in digital games, the relationship between player and avatar gender remains unclear. This study examines how 11 in-game chat, movement, and appearance behaviors differed by gender and by men who did and did not use a female avatar – or ‘gender-switchers’. Drawing on social role and feminist theories of gender, we argue that gender differences in behavior align with the social roles and norms that establish appropriate and inappropriate behavior for men and women. Thus we complicate questions of ‘gender-switching’ by examining not only player gender, but also player psychological Gender Role as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory to examine how gender does – and does not – manifest in digital worlds. Analysis revealed that men may not necessarily seek to mask their offline gender when they use a female avatar, but there is evidence they do reinforce idealized notions of feminine appearance and communication. Movement behaviors, however, show no differences across men who do and do not gender-switch. That is, selecting avatar gender may be less a matter of identity expression, and more a strategic selection of available multi-modal codes that players take up in their navigation of this digital space.

Playful gender swapping: user attitudes toward gender in MMORPG avatar customisation

Avatar gender is a basic element of an MMORPG user's identity. Gender customisation in a virtual space is an expansion of identity, an attempt to express oneself in more diverse ways. A survey showed that numerous users manage gender-swapped avatars, and men in particular prefer using female avatars. This study analysed user attitudes toward gender using a Q methodology. In the process, it confirmed the generalisations and motivating factors of gender swapping. The advanced graphic technology and high degree of freedom available in recent MMORPGs has led to an increased demand for avatar physical qualities, and the motives that underlie gender selection have become more diverse and complex. In particular, the notion of experimental and playful creation through customisation has been illuminated and treated as the core consideration of game design.

Avatar Gender and Ethical Choices in Fable III

This study investigates how players make ethical decisions in Fable III, a video game, with consideration to avatar gender. Thirty males, 18 to 34 years old, were recruited; 20 were assigned to play Fable III, with half assigned to play as a male avatar (Condition 1), and half assigned as a female avatar (Condition 2). Any ethical thinking skills and thought processes used were identified using a researcher-developed coding scheme. Analysis suggests that all game players, regardless of avatar gender, practiced ethical thinking—35 skills and 19 thought processes were identified and categorized. There were few differences found between conditions; however, when gender was a salient factor in a decision, this affected ethical decisions more frequently. Those in Condition 1 more frequently reported a personal connection to their avatar, and Condition 2 participants reported that gender factored into decisions more at the beginning of the game rather than at the end.

MMORPG 커스터마이징에서 젠더에 대한 플레이어 태도 연구

아바타의 젠더는 MMORPG 플레이어의 아이덴티티를 구성하는 기본 요소로서, 게임 특성상 플레이어가 스스로 창조할 수 있는 커스터마이징 시스템을 갖추고 있어 아바타 젠더에 관해 현실과는 다른 태도를 보임을 알 수 있다. 가상공간에서 젠더 커스터마이징은 자신을 보다 다양하게 표현하고자 하는 아이덴티티의 확장이라고 보아야 할 것이다. 다수의 유저들은 젠더스와핑된 아바타를 관리하고 있으며 특히 남성이 여성성의 아바타 페르소나를 선호하는 것으로 조사되었다. 본 연구에서는 Q 방법론를 통해 플레이어의 젠더에 관한 태도를 분석하고, 그 과정에서 젠더스와핑의 일반화 현상 및 동기 요인을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구 자료는 MMORPG 커스터마이징 시스템의 사용성 평가를 위한 중요한 기준으로 활용할 수 있을 것이다.

Influence of Avatar Choice on Teacher Expectations and Perceptions of Student Success

The gender and ethnicity of students have been shown to affect teacher expectations. As part of a Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE), people socially interact via avatars that have the capability to be customized to details of ethnicity and gender. Teachers in MUVEs instruct students with little knowledge of potential biases and prejudices toward avatars of different genders and ethnicities. This study’s purpose was to examine the influence of student avatar choice of gender and ethnicity on teachers’ expectations. Teachers were asked to review a transcript, image, and video of a student avatar and then respond about the student’s intellectual and relational abilities. Results indicate that avatar gender and ethnicity influence teachers’ expectations. Results may help teachers discover potential biases and prejudices toward some student avatars, as well as level the playing field for student avatars of differing genders and ethnicities.

The Stoic Male

Men are more reluctant to seek help for their problems than women. This difference is attributed to social expectations regarding the male gender role. Today, help-seeking is moving online: instead of traditional peer groups and counselors, people depend on online communities and e-counselors. But online users can appear in guises that differ from their physical sex. An empirical study was conducted in an online game to examine whether users’ avatars’ gender influences how they seek and receive help. Analysis is based on user-to-user communications and back-end data. Results indicate that male avatars are less likely to receive sought-for help than female avatars and more likely to be the recipients of indirectly sought help. The authors conclude that avatar gender influences help seeking independent of physical sex: Men overcome their inhibition for help seeking when using female avatars. Practitioners should ensure that means for indirect help seeking are available in order not to exclude male-pattern help seekers.

Doing gender versus playing gender in online worlds: Masculinity and femininity in Second Life and Guild Wars

The 1987 West and Zimmerman article ‘Doing gender’ argues that throughout our daily lives, we are always ‘doing gender’, reinforcing what is acceptable behaviour for females and males according to socially defined gender roles. Through the examination of a qualitative study, this article explores the relationship between ‘doing gender’ and ‘playing gender’ in online virtual worlds, comparing differences in the conception and performance of gender in Second Life, primarily a social world, and Guild Wars, primarily a role-playing game. It also explores players’ perceptions of their own avatar gender choices, gendered play styles more broadly, as well as perceptions of in-game gender ratios.

Collecting conversations: three approaches to obtaining user-to-user communications data from virtual environments

Transcripts of conversations are a valuable research resource in social sciences and can be used to make inferences about subjects’ behaviour and intentions. Large-scale communications records can be coded and analysed statistically for generalisable results. Virtual environments are a good place to gather communications records, because they exhibit a wide variety of subject behaviours. However, compared to traditional channels such as forums and chat rooms, virtual environments can be more challenging to obtain data from. In this article, we describe three approaches to collecting user-to-user communications data from virtual environments: requesting back-end records from the operator of the environment, recruiting “data donors” among the users, and setting up researchers’ own “listening posts”. The data collection approaches are evaluated empirically in Uncharted Waters Online, a Japanese massively-multiplayer game. Avatar gender ratio is used as a diagnostic variable to compare the representativeness of the resulting data sets. Both data donors and listening posts yielded data with a gender ratio that corresponds to the back-end records, but the back-end gender ratios differed significantly between two different servers. We conclude that all three approaches can be statistically viable: the choice of method depends more on desired sampling scope and on practical factors such as resources and timetable; but when defining a sampling frame, it cannot be assumed that one server is necessarily representative of the whole platform.

Human interactions and personal space in collaborative virtual environments

As humans start to spend more time in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) it becomes important to study their interactions in such environments. One aspect of such interactions is personal space. To begin to address this, we have conducted empirical investigations in a non immersive virtual environment: an experiment to investigate the influence on personal space of avatar gender, and an observational study to further explore the existence of personal space. Experimental results give some evidence to suggest that avatar gender has an influence on personal space although the participants did not register high personal space invasion anxiety, contrary to what one might expect from personal space invasion in the physical world. The observational study suggests that personal space does exist in CVEs, as the users tend to maintain, in a similar way to the physical world, a distance when they are interacting with each other. Our studies provide an improved understanding of personal space in CVEs and the results can be used to further enhance the usability of these environments.

Experimental Results of Affective Valence and Arousal to Avatar's Facial Expressions

The objectives of this study were to propose a method of presenting dynamic facial expressions to experimental subjects, in order to investigate human perception of avatar's facial expressions of different levels of emotional intensity. The investigation concerned how perception varies according to the strength of facial expression, as well as according to an avatar's gender. To accomplish these goals, we generated a male and a female virtual avatar with five levels of intensity of happiness and anger using a morphing technique. We then recruited 16 normal healthy subjects and measured each subject's emotional reaction by scoring affective arousal and valence after showing them the avatar's face. Through this study, we were able to investigate human perceptual characteristics evoked by male and female avatars' graduated facial expressions of happiness and anger. In addition, we were able to identify that a virtual avatar's facial expression could affect human emotion in different ways according to the avatar's gender and the intensity of its facial expressions. However, we could also see that virtual faces have some limitations because they are not real, so subjects recognized the expressions well, but were not influenced to the same extent. Although a virtual avatar has some limitations in conveying its emotion using facial expressions, this study is significant in that it shows that a new potential exists to use or manipulate emotional intensity by controlling a virtual avatar's facial expression linearly using a morphing technique. Therefore, it is predicted that this technique may be used for assessing emotional characteristics of humans, and may be of particular benefit for work with people with emotional disorders through a presentation of dynamic expression of various emotional intensities.

Avatar gender and personal space invasion anxiety level in desktop collaborative virtual environments

We report an investigation exploring the effect of avatar gender on the anxiety level caused by personal space (PS) invasion in desktop collaborative virtual environments (DCVE). We outline an experiment in which participants, of both genders, whose avatars’ PS were “invaded” by other avatars of either gender, reported their anxiety levels through the use of a post-experiment questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire are analysed and discussed. The results suggest that the combination of the gender of the invading avatar and the avatar being invaded has an influence on the PS invasion anxiety level and that the ranking of gender combination groups has a striking difference from those observed for PS invasion in physical environments. Results also show that the participants in general did not register high anxiety, contrary to what one might expect from personal space invasion in the physical world.