My avatar and the affirmed self : psychological and persuasive implications of avatar customization
Avatars are now used widely across digital content and services, and creating one's own avatar through customization has become a common user activity on digital media. This study focuses on the process involved in avatar customization, which requires engaged self-reflection. We test whether av...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151039 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Avatars are now used widely across digital content and services, and creating one's own avatar through customization has become a common user activity on digital media. This study focuses on the process involved in avatar customization, which requires engaged self-reflection. We test whether avatar customization enhances persuasive effects through self-affirmation in three lab experiments. Study 1 (N = 126) finds that avatar customization meets the key criteria of the self-affirmation task—self-appraisal and self-awareness—equivalent to a widely-used self-affirmation method based on essay writing. The study also finds that avatar customization significantly enhances how participants feel about themselves. Study 2a (N = 102) and 2b (N = 76) further shows that avatar customization (vs. a matched control) improves persuasion by reducing defensive processing of self-threatening health information. The findings offer important insights for understanding the psychology of avatar customization and its potential utility in communications practice. |
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