It's Not Easy Trying to be One of the Guys: The Effect of Avatar Attractiveness, Avatar Sex, and User Sex on the Success of Help-Seeking Requests in an Online Game

Abstract

Interactions in online environments are influenced by many of the same gender and sex-role stereotypes that people use in offline interactions. However, less research has examined systematically how the traits of an avatar and the avatar's user interact to influence stereotypical responses in virtual spaces. A field experiment manipulated avatar attractiveness, avatar sex, user sex, and favor difficulty to measure responses to a requested favor across 2,300 interactions in an online game. Attractive avatars received more help than less attractive avatars, but female users received less help than male users when represented by avatars that were less attractive or male.

Acknowledgements

This research was completed in fulfillment of a master's degree in Communication in the Department of Communication at Virginia Tech. T. Franklin Waddell would like to thank his co-author, Dr. James D. Ivory, who served as the chair of the thesis committee, and Dr. Beth Waggenspack and Dr. Robert Magee, who served as thesis committee members, for their dedication and extensive support during the completion of this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

T. Franklin Waddell

T. Franklin Waddell (M.A., Virginia Tech) is a doctoral candidate in Mass Communication at Pennsylvania State University. His research examines the effects of new communication technologies including avatars, virtual environments, robots, and social television.

James D. Ivory

James D. Ivory (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Virginia Tech. His research interests include the content, users, and social impact of video games, simulations, and virtual environments.