My avatar makes me feel good? The effect of avatar personalisation and virtual agent interactions on self-esteem

References

• Autodesk. n.d.-a. Autodesk Maya: Create expansive worlds, complex characters, and dazzling effects. https://www.autodesk.com.sg/products/maya/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription.
   Google Scholar
• Autodesk. n.d.-b. Try 3ds Max free for 30 days. https://www.autodesk.com.sg/products/3ds-max/free-trial.
   Google Scholar
• Bailey, J. O., J. N. Bailenson, and D. Casasanto. 2016. “When Does Virtual Embodiment Change Our Minds?” Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 25 (3): 222–233. https://doi.org/10.1162/PRES_a_00263.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bailey, R., K. Wise, and P. Bolls. 2009. “How Avatar Customizability Affects Children’s Arousal and Subjective Presence during Junk Food–Sponsored Online Video Games.” CyberPsychology & Behavior 12 (3): 277–283. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0292.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Blascovich, J., and J. Tomaka. 1991. “Measures of Self-Esteem.” Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes 1: 115–160.
   Google Scholar
• Bogdanovych, A., T. Trescak, and S. Simoff. 2016. “What Makes Virtual Agents believable?” Connection Science 28 (1): 83–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540091.2015.1130021.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brown, J. D. 2010. “High Self-Esteem Buffers Negative Feedback: Once More With Feeling.” Cognition and Emotion 24 (8): 1389–1404. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903504405.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Brown, J. D., and M. A. Marshall. 2006. “The Three Faces of Self-Esteem.” In Self-Esteem Issues and Answers: A Sourcebook of Current Perspectives, edited by M. H. Kernis, 4–9. Psychology Press.
   Google Scholar
• Burgers, C., A. Eden, M. D. van Engelenburg, and S. Buningh. 2015. “How Feedback Boosts Motivation and Play in a Brain-Training Game.” Computers in Human Behavior 48: 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.038.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carr, C. T., Y. Kim, J. J. Valov, J. E. Rosenbaum, B. K. Johnson, J. T. Hancock, and A. L. Gonzales. 2021. “An Explication of Identity Shift Theory: Getting Our Shift Together.” Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications 33 (4): 202–214. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000314.
   Google Scholar
• Cheng, H., and A. Furnham. 2003. “Personality, Self-Esteem, and Demographic Predictions of Happiness and Depression.” Personality and Individual Differences 34 (6): 921–942. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00078-8.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cohen, J. L., N. Dowling, G. Bishop, and W. J. Maney. 1985. “Causal Attributions: Effects of Self-Focused Attentiveness and Self-Esteem Feedback.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 11 (4): 369–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167285114003.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Davis, D., and T. C. Brock. 1975. “Use of First Person Pronouns as a Function of Increased Objective Self-Awareness and Performance Feedback.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 11 (4): 381–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(75)90017-7.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• DeHart, T., and B. W. Pelham. 2007. “Fluctuations in State Implicit Self-Esteem in Response to Daily Negative Events.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43 (1): 157–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.01.002.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• DeHart, T., B. W. Pelham, and H. Tennen. 2006. “What Lies Beneath: Parenting Style and Implicit Self-Esteem.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.12.005.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Diener, E., and M. Wallbom. 1976. “Effects of Self-Awareness on Antinormative Behavior.” Journal of Research in Personality 10 (1): 107–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(76)90088-X.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Döllinger, N., M. Beck, E. Wolf, D. Mal, M. Botsch, M. E. Latoschik, and C. Wienrich. 2023a. “If It’s Not Me It Doesn’t Make a Difference” – The Impact of Avatar Personalization on User Experience and Body Awareness in Virtual Reality.” 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR).
   Google Scholar
• Döllinger, N., E. Wolf, M. Botsch, M. E. Latoschik, and C. Wienrich. 2023b. “Are Embodied Avatars Harmful to our Self-Experience? The Impact of Virtual Embodiment on Body Awareness.” Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580918.
   Google Scholar
• Duval, S., and R. A. Wicklund. 1972. A Theory of Objective Self Awareness. Academic Press.
   Google Scholar
• Duval, S., and R. A. Wicklund. 1973. “Effects of Objective Self-Awareness on Attribution of Causality.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 9 (1): 17–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(73)90059-0.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ethier, K. A., T. S. Kershaw, J. B. Lewis, S. Milan, L. M. Niccolai, and J. R. Ickovics. 2006. “Self-Esteem, Emotional Distress and Sexual Behavior Among Adolescent Females: Inter-Relationships and Temporal Effects.” Journal of Adolescent Health 38 (3): 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.12.010.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fejfar, M. C., and R. H. Hoyle. 2000. “Effect of Private Self-Awareness on Negative Affect and Self-Referent Attribution: A Quantitative Review.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 4 (2): 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0402_02.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fischer, P., A. Kastenmüller, and T. Greitemeyer. 2010. “Media Violence and the Self: The Impact of Personalized Gaming Characters in Aggressive Video Games on Aggressive Behavior.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46 (1): 192–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.06.010.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Generated Photos. n.d. Generated faces. https://generated.photos/faces.
   Google Scholar
• Georgiou, Y., and E. A. Kyza. 2017. “The Development and Validation of the ARI Questionnaire: An Instrument for Measuring Immersion in Location-Based Augmented Reality Settings.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 98: 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.09.014.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guimarães, M., R. Prada, P. A. Santos, J. Dias, A. Jhala, and S. Mascarenhas. 2020. “The Impact of Virtual Reality in the Social Presence of a Virtual Agent.” Proceedings of the 20th ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1145/3383652.3423879.
   Google Scholar
• Harris, M. A., and U. Orth. 2020. “The Link Between Self-Esteem and Social Relationships: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 119 (6): 1459–1477. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000265.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Heatherton, T. F., and J. Polivy. 1991. “Development and Validation of a Scale for Measuring State Self-Esteem.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 60 (6): 895–910. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.895.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Heatherton, T. F., and C. L. Wyland. 2003. “Assessing Self-Esteem.” In Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures, edited by S. J. Lopez, and C. R. Snyder, 219–233. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10612-014
   Google Scholar
• Hollingdale, J., and T. Greitemeyer. 2013. “The Changing Face of Aggression: The Effect of Personalized Avatars in a Violent Video Game on Levels of Aggressive Behavior.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43 (9): 1862–1868. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12148.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hooi, R., and H. Cho. 2013, January. The Virtual “Me” is the Actual Me: Self-Disclosure in Virtual Environment [Paper presentation]. 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 883–892. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2013.546.
   Google Scholar
• Horstmann, A. C., J. Gratch, and N. C. Krämer. 2021. “I Just Wanna Blame Somebody, Not Something! Reactions to a Computer Agent Giving Negative Feedback Based on the Instructions of a Person.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 154: 102683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102683.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hvass, J., O. Larsen, K. Vendelbo, N. Nilsson, R. Nordahl, and S. Serafin. 2017. “Visual Realism and Presence in a Virtual Reality Game.” 2017 3DTV Conference: The True Vision-Capture, Transmission and Display of 3D Video (3DTV-CON), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1109/3DTV.2017.8280421.
   Google Scholar
• IBM. n.d. IBM SPSS Statistics GradPack and Faculty Packs. https://www.ibm.com/spss.
   Google Scholar
• Ickes, W. J., R. A. Wicklund, and C. B. Ferris. 1973. “Objective Self Awareness and Self Esteem.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 9 (3): 202–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1031(73)90010-3.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Joshanloo, M. 2022. “Self-Esteem Predicts Positive Affect Directly and Self-Efficacy Indirectly: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study.” Cognition and Emotion, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2022.2095984.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kang, H., and H. K. Kim. 2020. “My Avatar and the Affirmed Self: Psychological and Persuasive Implications of Avatar Customization.” Computers in Human Behavior 112: 106446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106446.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Keefe, K., and T. J. Berndt. 1996. “Relations of Friendship Quality to Self-Esteem in Early Adolescence.” The Journal of Early Adolescence 16 (1): 110–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431696016001007.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kelly, A. E., and R. R. Rodriguez. 2006. “Publicly Committing Oneself to an Identity.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 28 (2): 185–191. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp2802_8.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kocur, M., M. Kloss, V. Schwind, C. Wolff, and N. Henze. 2020. “Flexing Muscles in Virtual Reality: Effects of Avatars’ Muscular Appearance on Physical Performance.” Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1145/3410404.3414261.
   Google Scholar
• Kothgassner, O. D., and A. Felnhofer. 2020. “Does Virtual Reality Help to Cut the Gordian Knot between Ecological Validity and Experimental Control?” Annals of the International Communication Association 44 (3): 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2020.1792790.
   Google Scholar
• Krämer, N. C. 2008. “Social Effects of Virtual Assistants. A Review of Empirical Results with Regard to Communication.” International Workshop on Intelligent Virtual Agents, 507–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85483-8_63.
   Google Scholar
• Krämer, N., S. Kopp, C. Becker-Asano, and N. Sommer. 2013. “Smile and the World will Smile with You – The Effects of a Virtual Agent’s Smile on Users’ Evaluation and Behavior.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 71 (3): 335–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2012.09.006.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Krause, H. V., K. Baum, A. Baumann, and H. Krasnova. 2021. “Unifying the Detrimental and Beneficial Effects of Social Network Site Use on Self-Esteem: A Systematic Literature Review.” Media Psychology 24 (1): 10–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1656646.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Leary, M. R., and R. F. Baumeister. 2000. “The Nature and Function of Self-Esteem: Sociometer Theory.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 32: 1–62.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Leung, G., A. K. Ng, and H. Y. Lau. 2021. “Effect of Height Perception on State Self- Esteem and Cognitive Performance in Virtual Reality.” International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, 172–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77932-0_15.
   Google Scholar
• Ma, F., and X. Pan. 2022. “Visual Fidelity Effects on Expressive Self-Avatar in Virtual Reality: First Impressions Matter.” 2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1109/VR51125.2022.00023.
   Google Scholar
• Makransky, G., L. Lilleholt, and A. Aaby. 2017. “Development and Validation of the Multimodal Presence Scale for Virtual Reality Environments: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Item Response Theory Approach.” Computers in Human Behavior 72: 276–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.066.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Marschner, L., S. Pannasch, J. Schulz, and S. T. Graupner. 2015. “Social Communication with Virtual Agents: The Effects of Body and Gaze Direction on Attention and Emotional Responding in Human Observers.” International Journal of Psychophysiology 97 (2): 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.05.007.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McGee, R. O. B., and S. Williams. 2000. “Does Low Self-Esteem Predict Health Compromising Behaviours Among Adolescents?” Journal of Adolescence 23 (5): 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0344.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Meta. n.d. Get started with Meta Quest 2. https://www.meta.com/quest/products/quest-2/.
   Google Scholar
• Myers, D. G., and E. Diener. 1995. “Who is Happy?” Psychological Science 6 (1): 10–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1995.tb00298.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nass, C., J. Steuer, and E. R. Tauber. 1994. “Computers are Social Actors.” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 72–78.
   Google Scholar
• Nosek, M. A., S. Robinson-Whelen, R. B. Hughes, and T. M. Nosek. 2016. “An Internet-Based Virtual Reality Intervention for Enhancing Self-Esteem in Women with Disabilities: Results of a Feasibility Study.” Rehabilitation Psychology 61 (4), https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000107.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Park, J. 2018. “The Effect of Virtual Avatar Experience on Body Image Discrepancy, Body Satisfaction and Weight Regulation Intention.” Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 12 (1), https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2018-1-3.
   Google Scholar
• Radiah, R., D. Roth, F. Alt, and Y. Abdelrahman. 2023. “The Influence of Avatar Personalization on Emotions in VR.” Multimodal Technologies and Interaction 7 (4): 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/mti7040038.
   Google Scholar
• Ridgway, J. L. 2018. “Before and After Avatar Exposure: The Impact of Body Scanning Technology on Body Satisfaction, Mood, and Appearance Management.” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 36 (2): 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X17749924.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rosenberg, M. 1965. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Ruhland, K., C. E. Peters, S. Andrist, J. B. Badler, N. I. Badler, M. Gleicher, B. Mutlu, and R. McDonnell. 2015. “A Review of Eye Gaze in Virtual Agents, Social Robotics and HCI: Behaviour Generation, User Interaction and Perception.” Computer Graphics Forum 34: 299–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/cgf.12603.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Silvia, P. J., and T. S. Duval. 2001. “Objective Self-Awareness Theory: Recent Progress and Enduring Problems.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 5 (3): 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0503_4.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sowislo, J. F., and U. Orth. 2013. “Does Low Self-Esteem Predict Depression and Anxiety? A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.” Psychological Bulletin 139 (1): 213–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028931.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sundar, S. S., and S. S. Marathe. 2010. “Personalization Versus Customization: The Importance of Agency, Privacy, and Power Usage.” Human Communication Research 36 (3): 298–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2010.01377.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Trepte, S., and L. Reinecke. 2010. “Avatar Creation and Video Game Enjoyment: Effects of Life-Satisfaction, Game Competitiveness, and Identification with the Avatar.” Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications 22 (4): 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000022.
   Google Scholar
• Unity Technologies. n.d. Go Create. https://unity.com/.
   Google Scholar
• Van Looy, J., C. Courtois, M. De Vocht, and L. De Marez. 2012. “Player Identification in Online Games: Validation of a Scale for Measuring Identification in MMOGs.” Media Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2012.674917.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Vasalou, A., A. N. Joinson, and J. Pitt. 2007. “Constructing My Online Self: Avatars that Increase Self-Focused Attention.” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 445–448. https://doi.org/10.1145/1240624.1240696.
   Google Scholar
• Vrabel, J. K., V. Zeigler-Hill, and A. C. Southard. 2018. “Self-Esteem and Envy: Is State Self-Esteem Instability Associated with the Benign and Malicious Forms of Envy?” Personality and Individual Differences 123: 100–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.11.001.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Waller, K. L., and T. K. MacDonald. 2010. “Trait Self-Esteem Moderates the Effect of Initiator Status on Emotional and Cognitive Responses to Romantic Relationship Dissolution.” Journal of Personality 78 (4): 1271–1299. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00650.x.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Waltemate, T., D. Gall, D. Roth, M. Botsch, and M. E. Latoschik. 2018. “The Impact of Avatar Personalization and Immersion on Virtual Body Ownership, Presence, and Emotional Response.” IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 24 (4): 1643–1652. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2018.2794629.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Xu, M., B. Liu, R. Gu, S. Yang, H. Wang, and X. Zhu. 2021. “Self-Awareness Buffers the Consequences of Negative Feedback: Evidence from an ERP Study.” International Journal of Psychophysiology 164: 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.02.004.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yee, N., and J. Bailenson. 2007. “The Proteus Effect: The Effect of Transformed Self- Representation on Behavior.” Human Communication Research 33 (3): 271–290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00299.x.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yee, N., and J. N. Bailenson. 2009. “The Difference Between Being and Seeing: The Relative Contribution of Self-Perception and Priming to Behavioral Changes via Digital Self-Representation.” Media Psychology 12 (2): 195–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260902849943.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yee, N., J. N. Bailenson, and N. Ducheneaut. 2009. “The Proteus effect: Implications of Transformed Digital Self-Representation on Online and Offline Behavior.” Communication Research 36 (2): 285–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650208330254.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zimmerman, M. A., L. A. Copeland, J. T. Shope, and T. E. Dielman. 1997. “A Longitudinal Study of Self-Esteem: Implications for Adolescent Development.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 26 (2): 117–141. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024596313925.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zollhöfer, M., M. Martinek, G. Greiner, M. Stamminger, and J. Süßmuth. 2011. “Automatic Reconstruction of Personalized Avatars From 3D Face Scans.” Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds 22 (2–3): 195–202. https://doi.org/10.1002/cav.405.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar