Avatar Type, Self-Congruence, and Presence in Virtual Reality

Tianqi Huang, Yue Li*, Hai Ning Liang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceedingConference Proceedingpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Avatars serve as users' virtual identities and hold a significant role in shaping the user experience within the realm of Virtual Reality (VR). The appearance of individual avatars and the perceived self-congruence within the environment are likely to influence users' perceived presence in VR. In this paper, we present a study that investigates four types of avatars in VR: anime, human, animal, and item. Participants were asked to choose an avatar before entering a virtual environment (classroom, gallery, café, street, and forest) populated with avatars of different types and to evaluate their perceived self-congruence within the environment and the perceived presence. Our study results showed no significant difference in presence when users use different avatars. However, there is a correlation between users' perceived self-congruence and social presence. We discuss the findings and provide suggestions for the future use of avatars in VR.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 11th International Symposium of Chinese CHI
Subtitle of host publicationGenerative, Reflective, Envisioning, Chinese CHI 2023
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages61-72
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9798400716454
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Nov 2023
Event11th International Symposium of Chinese CHI, Chinese CHI 2023 - Bali, Indonesia
Duration: 13 Nov 202316 Nov 2023

Publication series

NameACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Conference

Conference11th International Symposium of Chinese CHI, Chinese CHI 2023
Country/TerritoryIndonesia
CityBali
Period13/11/2316/11/23

Keywords

  • presence
  • self-congruence
  • social presence
  • virtual avatar
  • virtual reality

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Avatar Type, Self-Congruence, and Presence in Virtual Reality'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this