A Theoretical Review of the Proteus Effect: Understanding the Underlying Process

Users of virtual environments tend to display behaviors/attitudes that are congruent with the appearance of the avatars they embody.

We have an ability to be transported into a narrative, to the extent that we forget, for a moment, it’s fictitious nature.

Stories can be thought of as a way to simulate or recount critical scenarios without suffering the possible consequences of these situations.

One study showed people show genuine fear when their VR body might be in danger. People seem to adapt their behavior when extra limbs are added to their virtual bodies.

The Proteus Effect

Proteus is believed to be the son of Poseidon. He’s described by Homer as “the old man of the sea” and the herdsman of sea monsters and animals. Proteus knew past, present and future.

Proteus had the ability to change his shape at will. This last feature is thought to reflect the ever changing quality of the sea which the god originated.

Protean – to change one’s tendencies frequently.

2007 Stanford paper

Sought to see if behavior changed when physical characteristics of the avatars changed. Avatars could be attractive, neutral, or unattractive. They observed their virtual avatar in the virtual mirror for one minute.

Compared to the participants using less attractive avatars, users embodying an attractive avatar tended to come physically closer, and also reveal more information about themselves (self-disclosure.)

The second experiment varied the heights of the avatars, and had to negotiate splitting a sum of money. Users embodying a taller avatar tended to propose more unfair splits (to their advantage) compared to the shorter avatars. Participants embodying shorter avatars were more likely to accept those offers that did not benefit them.

Participants tended to display behaviors that were congruent with the features of their virtual representations. (People commonly believe attractive individuals are more confident and taller more likely to be leaders).

Proteus effect as the process by which users conform their behavior to the expectations evoked by the physical appearance of their avatars. In other words, users embodying an avatar seem to exhibit behaviors that an outside observer would consider consistent with the appearance of their avatars.

Further Demonstrations

Some research focuses on body characteristics and others use of characters (uniforms, famous individuals, non-human figures.)

Participants embodying female avatars had worse scores on tests compared to participants embodying male avatars (while being tested on math questions while embodying customized avatars.)

Several studies have failed to show behavioral differences using avatars of different genders. It might be explained by individuals tend to have complex attitudes toward gender and associated stereotypes.

Study on decrease in participants’ walking speed post-VR use when embodying an elderly avatar compared to a younger avatar.

Regarding character studies, one study showed an increase in performance on a cognitive task when using an avatar resembling Albert Einstein. Another, increased divergent thinking abilities, a component of creative thinking, when embodying an avatar of Leonardo da Vinci.

One, a link between use of avatars in black cloaks or KKK uniform and aggression.

Avatars, either ones representing typical users of public transport or ones that were reminiscent of the stereotypical image of an inventor:

The distinction between the two groups was communicated through the avatars’ clothes (e.g., jeans and tee-shits vs a laboratory coat). In this experiment, engineers were asked to come up with innovative applications of a new technology in public transport. Results showed that the ones embodying the inventor avatars found more technological-centered ideas whereas the ones embodying user avatars were more likely to propose user-centered ideas. These results showed how the appearance of the avatars, and more specifically their clothing, shaped the creative thinking of engineers.

Theoretical Hypotheses of the Effect

Self Perception theory - SPT states that where one’s internal states (attitudes, emotions, cognition) are unclear, one might infer them from external clues they exhibit (behaviors, circumstances in which a behavior occurs)
1. Individuals come to know their own attitudes, emotions and other internal states partially by inferring them from observations of their own overt behavior and/or the circumstances this behavior occurs.
2. Thus, to the extent that internal cues are weak, ambiguous or uninterpretable, the individual is functionally in the same position as an outsider observer, an observer who must necessarily rely upon those same external cues to infer the individual’s inner state. Therefore, when they see themselves embodying the famous physicist, they must put more effort into the cognitive task to perform well. This allows users to maintain a coherent image of the smart scientist.
Deindividuation - a person’s behavior id drive by situational norms instead of personal ones. This can lead them to display anti-normative behaviors they would normally never engage in. This has been used to explain extreme behaviors such as ones seen in football hooligans.
1. computer mediated interaction might be prone to induce deindividuation because of anonymity, distance, or lack of accountability.
Priming - The sight of the avatar activates networks of concepts associated with the avatar’s appearance. This prompts the user to display behaviors related to these concepts.
Cognitive Dissonance - The user aims to keep their behavior and attitudes coherent with what the appearance of their avatar suggests to avoid feeling dissonance.
Embodiment - The user’s subjective experience of embodying the virtual body of the avatar and processing it as it was their own body.
Perspective-Taking - The experience of embodying an avatar of a different individual prompts the user to feel empathy toward them. The user then adopts attitudes that oppose any negative stereotypes associated with that individual.

Conclusion

From an evolutionary perspective, having this degree of flexibility in response to new situations seems coherent. A good balance between flexibility and consistency would represent an evolutionary advantage. A completely inconsistent person that would change entirely depending on each situation would be too unreliable within a society. Likewise, an inflexible person, always behaving according to the same norms, would struggle to survive whenever their environment inevitably changes. The Proteus effect could therefore be a very modern demonstration of this intrinsic adaptability to new realities.

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Proteus Effect