Proteus effect

The Proteus effect proposes that the visual characteristics and traits of an avatar are associated with specific behavioral stereotypes and expectations. When an individual believes that others will expect certain behaviors from them because of their avatars' appearance, they will engage in those expected behaviors. Support for the Proteus effect comes from past research in real world scenarios that has shown how certain physical characteristics, like attractiveness and height, are often associated with more positive social and professional outcomes.{{cite journal|last1=Snyder|first1=Mark|last2=Tanke|first2=Elizabeth D.|last3=Berscheid|first3=Ellen|title=Social perception and interpersonal behavior: On the self-fulfilling nature of social stereotypes.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=35|issue=9|year=1977|pages=656–666|issn=1939-1315|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.35.9.656}}{{cite journal |last=Judge|first=Timothy A. |author2=Daniel M. Cable |title=The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income: Preliminary Test of a Theoretical Model |journal=Journal of Applied Psychology |year=2004 |volume=89 |issue=3 |pages=428–41 |doi= 10.1037/0021-9010.89.3.428 |pmid=15161403}} Moreover, experimental manipulations of these characteristics in virtual environments have shown that individuals engage in stereotype-confirming behaviors.{{cite journal|last1=Yee|first1=N.|last2=Bailenson|first2=J. N.|last3=Ducheneaut|first3=N.|title=The Proteus Effect: Implications of Transformed Digital Self-Representation on Online and Offline Behavior|journal=Communication Research|volume=36|issue=2|year=2009|pages=285–312|issn=0093-6502|doi=10.1177/0093650208330254|citeseerx=10.1.1.363.6170|s2cid=35617170}}

This is part of a larger field of research that looks at the behavior of individuals who engage in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Although CMC comes in many forms (text, audio, video, etc.),{{cite journal|last1=Simpson|first1=J.|title=Computer-mediated communication|journal=ELT Journal|volume=56|issue=4|year=2002|pages=414–415|issn=0951-0893|doi=10.1093/elt/56.4.414|doi-access=free}} the Proteus effect is particularly relevant to CMC in which individuals interact by using avatars. This effect is driven by the increased ability to control one's appearance in an online virtual environment. Virtual world environments allow users to control many aspects of their appearance that they cannot easily change in the real world (e.g., height, weight, facial features).

Three psychological concepts that led to the development of the Proteus effect are behavioral confirmation, self-perception theory, and deindividuation, although since then further explanatory approaches and influencing factors such as priming and feedback loops through communication have been identified or proposed.{{Cite book |last1=Praetorius |first1=Anna Samira |last2=Görlich |first2=Daniel |title=International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games |chapter=How Avatars Influence User Behavior |date=2020-09-15 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3402942.3403019 |language=en |location=Bugibba Malta |publisher=ACM |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1145/3402942.3403019 |isbn=978-1-4503-8807-8|s2cid=221764895 }}

Behavioral confirmation refers to the effects that a perceiver's actions can have on the resulting behavior of an individual. Specifically, this concept proposes that interacting with individuals who hold preexisting stereotypes will lead the target of those stereotypes to engage in behaviors that will confirm the perceiver's expectations.{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Mark|last2=Bargh|first2=John A.|title=Nonconscious Behavioral Confirmation Processes: The Self-Fulfilling Consequences of Automatic Stereotype Activation|journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume=33|issue=5|year=1997|pages=541–560|issn=0022-1031|doi=10.1006/jesp.1997.1329|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Snyder|first1=Mark|last2=Swann|first2=William B|title=Behavioral confirmation in social interaction: From social perception to social reality|journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume=14|issue=2|year=1978|pages=148–162|issn=0022-1031|doi=10.1016/0022-1031(78)90021-5}} The Proteus effect differs from behavioral confirmation in that it does not consider the actions of a perceiver. Instead, its goal is to explain how the individual's own stereotypes and expectations drives the change in behavior, independent of any social interactions that take place.

Self-perception theory states that, when internal cues are weak, individuals determine their attitudes and emotions by making external observations about both their own behavior and the circumstances that led to those behaviors.{{cite book|last1=Bem|first1=Daryl J.|title=Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Volume 6|chapter=Self-Perception Theory|volume=6|year=1972|pages=1–62|issn=0065-2601|doi=10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60024-6|journal=Advances in Experimental Social Psychology|isbn=9780120152063}} It was first introduced as an alternative to cognitive dissonance, which argued that changes in behavior can result from an individual's attempt to eliminate tension from contradicting behaviors and beliefs.{{cite journal|last1=Bem|first1=Daryl J.|title=Self-perception: An alternative interpretation of cognitive dissonance phenomena|journal=Psychological Review|volume=74|issue=3|year=1967|pages=183–200|issn=0033-295X|doi=10.1037/h0024835|pmid=5342882|citeseerx=10.1.1.323.833}} A series of studies on self-perception theory that looked at changes in behavior as a result of wearing black, a color associated with negative concepts like death and evil, were influential in the development of the Proteus effect. In these studies by Mark G. Frank and Thomas Gilovich, participants who watched video recordings of sports rated NFL and NHL players wore black uniforms as being more aggressive. Furthermore, participants who were instructed to wear black jerseys reported greater preferences for engaging in aggressive behaviors against competitors.{{cite journal|last1=Frank|first1=Mark G.|last2=Gilovich|first2=Thomas|title=The dark side of self- and social perception: Black uniforms and aggression in professional sports.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=54|issue=1|year=1988|pages=74–85|issn=0022-3514|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.54.1.74|pmid=3346809|citeseerx=10.1.1.554.8573}} The argument across these studies was that how participants perceived themselves (i.e., wearing a color that has negative associations) led them to adopt negative behaviors. The Proteus effect carries this idea into virtual environments, where individuals see themselves as their avatar which in turn shapes their behavior.

Deindividuation refers to a decrease in self-awareness and self-evaluation as a result of being part of a group. Individuals who experience deindividuation seem to be influenced to a greater degree by identity cues. In a 1979 study by Robert D. Johnson and Leslie L. Downing, participants were instructed to give an electric shock to research assistants while wearing either a KKK disguise or a nurse's uniform.{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Robert D.|last2=Downing|first2=Leslie L.|title=Deindividuation and valence of cues: Effects on prosocial and antisocial behavior.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=37|issue=9|year=1979|pages=1532–1538|issn=0022-3514|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.37.9.1532|pmid=501521}} The results showed that the costumes worn by participants affected the shock level that they administered to the research assistants. Johnson and Downing stated that these findings supported the argument that deindividuation increases the influence that identity cues have on individuals. In virtual environments, deindividuation is believed to be driven by the level of anonymity that this type of setting provides for its users.{{cite journal|last1=Postmes|first1=T.|last2=Spears|first2=R.|last3=Lea|first3=M.|title=Breaching or Building Social Boundaries?: SIDE-Effects of Computer-Mediated Communication|journal=Communication Research|volume=25|issue=6|year=1998|pages=689–715|issn=0093-6502|doi=10.1177/009365098025006006|s2cid=145640433}}

A meta-analysis examining 46 quantitative experimental studies of the Proteus effect found a small-but-approaching-medium effect size that was relatively consistent (between 0.22 and 0.26), with nearly all variance explained, suggesting that the Proteus effect is reliable and sizable relative to other digital media effects.{{Cite journal|last1=Ratan|first1=Rabindra|last2=Beyea|first2=David|last3=Li|first3=Benjamin J.|last4=Graciano|first4=Luis|date=2019-06-20|title=Avatar characteristics induce users' behavioral conformity with small-to-medium effect sizes: a meta-analysis of the proteus effect|journal=Media Psychology|volume=23|issue=5|pages=651–675|doi=10.1080/15213269.2019.1623698|issn=1521-3269|doi-access=free}}

Findings from a study that compared the appearance and behaviors of avatars in Second Life to the real world behavior and appearance of their users support the Proteus effect. In this study, participants who reported that they had designed their avatars to be more attractive also reported engaging in more confident and extraverted behavior when compared to their real world behavior.{{cite journal|last1=Messinger|first1=Paul R.|last2=Ge|first2=Xin|last3=Stroulia|first3=Eleni|author3-link=Eleni Stroulia|last4=Lyons|first4=Kelly|last5=Smirnov|first5=Kristen|last6=Bone|first6=Michael|title=On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself.|journal=Journal of Virtual Worlds Research|date=November 2008|volume=1|issue=2|pages=1–17|doi=10.4101/jvwr.v1i2.352|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |doi-access=free}} A study also found that the effects happen in the short term.{{Cite book|title=Public Communication Campaigns, Fourth Edition|last1=Rice|first1=Ronald|last2=Atkin|first2=Charles|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2012|isbn=9781412987707|location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=280}}

The Proteus effect has also been linked to attitude changes that reflect the stereotypes associated with their avatar's appearance. In a study by Jesse Fox, Jeremy N. Bailenson, and Liz Tricase, women were assigned avatars whose appearances were either highly sexualized or non-sexualized.{{cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=Jesse|last2=Bailenson|first2=Jeremy N.|last3=Tricase|first3=Liz|title=The embodiment of sexualized virtual selves: The Proteus effect and experiences of self-objectification via avatars|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=29|issue=3|year=2013|pages=930–938|issn=0747-5632|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.027|s2cid=206614342 }} While wearing a head-mounted display, participants were asked to face a virtual mirror that allowed them to see the reflection of their avatar. This was followed by a virtual conversation with a male avatar who was being controlled by the researchers. Women who used a sexualized avatar reported having more thoughts about their body image. The researchers concluded that this finding supports the Proteus effect by demonstrating that individuals internalized the sexualized aspects of their avatar's appearance, which led to greater self-objectification. Support for this conclusion comes from a similar study in which more body-related thoughts were reported by women who were asked to wear swimsuit when compared to women who were only asked to try on a shirt while facing a mirror.{{cite journal|last1=Quinn|first1=Diane M.|last2=Kallen|first2=Rachel W.|last3=Cathey|first3=Christie|title=Body on My Mind: The Lingering Effect of State Self-objectification|journal=Sex Roles|volume=55|issue=11–12|year=2006|pages=869–874|issn=0360-0025|doi=10.1007/s11199-006-9140-x|s2cid=145712065}} There are also studies that suggest how the use of avatars decrease stereotypes about elderly groups.

Further support for the Proteus effect comes from a series of studies that used avatars to increase the amount of exercise performed by individuals.{{cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=Jesse|last2=Bailenson|first2=Jeremy N.|title=Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors|journal=Media Psychology|volume=12|issue=1|year=2009|pages=1–25|issn=1521-3269|doi=10.1080/15213260802669474|citeseerx=10.1.1.363.6179|s2cid=2906430}} Across three studies, the results consistently showed that participants were more likely to increase their level of physical activity after observing an avatar engage in those behaviors and be rewarded for them. One major difference in this study is that the effects that avatars had on participants' behavior depended on how much the avatar resembled the user. This difference was tested by assigning some users avatars that had been created using photographs of their actual faces.

The Proteus effect has also been used to explain successful replications of the work by Frank and Gilovich (1988) and Johnson and Downing (1979).{{cite journal|last1=Pena|first1=J.|last2=Hancock|first2=J. T.|last3=Merola|first3=N. A.|title=The Priming Effects of Avatars in Virtual Settings|journal=Communication Research|volume=36|issue=6|year=2009|pages=838–856|issn=0093-6502|doi=10.1177/0093650209346802|s2cid=28123827}} The results of two studies by Jorge Peña, Jeffrey T. Hancock, and Nicholas A. Merola found that attitude towards aggressive behavior in a virtual setting was increased in individuals who used avatars wearing black cloaks or clothing that resembled KKK uniforms. The researchers argued that the negative associations related to the avatar's appearance changed the user's attitudes. Additionally, the researchers suggested that priming, in addition to self-perception theory, could explain the Proteus effect.

Recent studies demonstrated the Proteus effect in real-life contexts outside laboratory conditions. In a study, 13.6 million League Of Legends in-game chat messages were analysed, and found players' avatars influenced their mode of communication, specifically in: vocality, valence, toxicity.{{Cite journal |last1=Şengün |first1=Sercan |last2=Santos |first2=Joao M. |last3=Salminen |first3=Joni |last4=Jung |first4=Soon-gyo |last5=Jansen |first5=Bernard J. |date=2022-04-01 |title=Do players communicate differently depending on the champion played? Exploring the Proteus effect in League of Legends |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162522000889 |journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change |volume=177 |pages=121556 |doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121556 |hdl=10071/24712 |issn=0040-1625|hdl-access=free }}

In 2009, Peña and colleagues proposed priming mechanisms to explain the Proteus effect, challenging Yee and Bailenson's original account of self-perception theory. In their view, stereotypes associated with avatars (e.g. a slim figure) simultaneously activate related attitudes (e.g. athleticism) and inhibit opposing ones (e.g. being sedentary), increasing the likelihood of users behaving in line with their avatars' characteristics. In their study, participants exposed to avatars wearing Ku Klux Klan robes (as opposed to doctor avatars) wrote more aggressive stories and showed less group cohesion. The authors suggested that the avatars' negative stereotypes primed violent attitudes for users. While not refuting self-perception explanations, they claimed priming mechanisms were more parsimonious.{{Cite journal |last1=Peña |first1=Jorge |last2=Hancock |first2=Jeffrey T. |last3=Merola |first3=Nicholas A. |date=2009-12-01 |title=The Priming Effects of Avatars in Virtual Settings |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650209346802 |journal=Communication Research |language=EN |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=838–856 |doi=10.1177/0093650209346802 |issn=0093-6502}}

Later, Yee and Bailenson found that the Proteus effect was amplified by greater avatar embodiment, showing this by presenting videos of moving avatars, rather than static mirror images. They argued that priming accounts assume all external stimuli activate concepts with uniform strength, which cannot explain why higher embodiment strengthens the Proteus effect. In contrast, as self-perception theory treats avatars as extensions of users' physical selves, greater embodiment would influence their attitudes and behavior more strongly.{{Cite journal |last1=Yee |first1=Nick |last2=and Bailenson |first2=Jeremy N. |date=2009-05-14 |title=The Difference Between Being and Seeing: The Relative Contribution of Self-Perception and Priming to Behavioral Changes via Digital Self-Representation |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213260902849943 |journal=Media Psychology |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=195–209 |doi=10.1080/15213260902849943 |issn=1521-3269}}

In 2016, Ratan and Dawson offered a reconciliatory explanation: the avatar first primes relevant concepts, which embodiment then makes personally salient. Together, this builds "avatar self-relevance" - the extent to which avatars closely represent and relate to users, which determines the magnitude of "avatar use effects" - including the Proteus effect. In their study, stronger avatar self-similarity, measured by gender consistency and emotional attachment with avatars, induced stronger negative reactions when participants' avatars were harmed. From these results, the authors proposed avatar self-similarity as a "middle ground between self-perception and priming-oriented explanations".{{Cite journal |last1=Ratan |first1=Rabindra A. |last2=Dawson |first2=Michael |date=2016-12-01 |title=When Mii Is Me: A Psychophysiological Examination of Avatar Self-Relevance |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0093650215570652 |journal=Communication Research |language=EN |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=1065–1093 |doi=10.1177/0093650215570652 |issn=0093-6502}}

Studies have found users' level of embodiment in avatars to influence the strength of the Proteus effect. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proposed a definition specific to virtual environments, comprising:

• Self-location (feeling present in the avatar).
• Agency (feeling control over the avatar's actions).
• Body ownership (feeling the avatar's body belongs to oneself).{{Cite journal |last1=Kilteni |first1=Konstantina |last2=Groten |first2=Raphaela |last3=Slater |first3=Mel |date=2012-11-01 |title=The Sense of Embodiment in Virtual Reality |url=https://direct.mit.edu/pvar/article-abstract/21/4/373/18838/The-Sense-of-Embodiment-in-Virtual-Reality |journal=Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=373–387 |doi=10.1162/PRES_a_00124|hdl=2445/53294 |hdl-access=free }}

For example, using avatars dressed in sports clothes (compared to formal wear) generally increased cardiovascular exercise output, as measured by faster heart rate. This effect became even stronger when the avatars incorporated participants' facial features, which enhanced embodiment through a sense of body ownership.{{Cite journal |last1=Navarro |first1=Jessica |last2=Peña |first2=Jorge |last3=Cebolla |first3=Ausias |last4=Baños |first4=Rosa |date=2022-01-28 |title=Can Avatar Appearance Influence Physical Activity? User-Avatar Similarity and Proteus Effects on Cardiac Frequency and Step Counts |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10410236.2020.1834194 |journal=Health Communication |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=222–229 |doi=10.1080/10410236.2020.1834194 |issn=1041-0236 |pmid=33054371}} Similarly, in offline settings, research also found that higher embodiment strengthens the Proteus effect. In one study, participants assigned to heroic or villainous avatars later displayed more prosocial and antisocial behavior, respectively, in face-to-face tasks. These effects were amplified when participants actively controlled avatars in virtual reality, rather than passively observing them.{{Cite journal |last1=Yoon |first1=Gunwoo |last2=Vargas |first2=Patrick T. |date=2014-04-01 |title=Know Thy Avatar: The Unintended Effect of Virtual-Self Representation on Behavior |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797613519271 |journal=Psychological Science |language=EN |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=1043–1045 |doi=10.1177/0956797613519271 |pmid=24501111 |issn=0956-7976}} However, some studies found no impact of embodiment on the Proteus effect. Some researchers suggested that in intervention studies, even when personally distant avatars were designed to minimise embodiment, participants still managed to form personal attachments with them. This results in similar embodiment levels and Proteus effect magnitudes across experimental conditions.{{Cite journal |last1=Dupraz |first1=Louise |last2=Beaudoin |first2=Marine |last3=Guerraz |first3=Michel |last4=Barra |first4=Julien |date=2024-07-01 |title=Does the avatar embodiment moderate the Proteus effect? |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581924000569 |journal=International Journal of Human-Computer Studies |volume=187 |pages=103272 |doi=10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103272 |issn=1071-5819|doi-access=free }}

The Proteus effect has been found to influence offline behavior after engaging with virtual avatars. In a study, participants who used tall, attractive avatars to play video games, later negotiated more aggressively and assertively with confederates during face-to-face interactions. Other demonstrations were found in studies about prosocial behavior, in which participants using hero avatars (Superman) allocated more pleasant food (chocolate) subsequently when offline, reflecting prosocial behavior, while those using villain avatars (Voldemort) allocated more unpleasant food (chilli sauce), reflecting antisocial behavior.

The duration of the Proteus effect's offline influence is found to be short-lived. In one virtual reality study, participants using older avatars (compared to young) walked slower. This effect briefly persisted when participants were instructed to walk through a corridor offline, but diminished halfway. The authors concluded with "fast post-embodiment decay rates for behavioral changes". While mechanisms behind the Proteus effect's "temporal extends" remain unclear, some researchers have proposed that prolonged attitude changes to extend these behavioral outcomes.{{Cite journal |last1=Reinhard |first1=René |last2=Shah |first2=Khyati Girish |last3=Faust-Christmann |first3=Corinna A. |last4=Lachmann |first4=Thomas |date=2020-03-03 |title=Acting your avatar's age: effects of virtual reality avatar embodiment on real life walking speed |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2019.1598435 |journal=Media Psychology |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=293–315 |doi=10.1080/15213269.2019.1598435 |issn=1521-3269|doi-access=free }}

Studies have found that leveraging avatars with pre-existing stereotypes can promote beneficial behavior.

Using avatars with muscular properties were found to reduce pain sensitivity in participants, by activating attitudes towards pain resistance.{{Cite journal |last1=Yim |first1=Youchan |last2=Xia |first2=Zongheng |last3=Kubota |first3=Yuki |last4=Tanaka |first4=Fumihide |date=2024-05-23 |title=The proteus effect on human pain perception through avatar muscularity and gender factors |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-61409-4 |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=11332 |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-61409-4 |pmid=38783020 |bibcode=2024NatSR..1411332Y |issn=2045-2322|pmc=11632092 }} Adding tactile feedback can further increase embodiment levels (via "ownership of virtual hands"), thereby enhancing pain attenuation effects. The authors described this as "comparable to moderate dose of hydromorphone", and underlined the potential of conducting "avatar therapy for chronic pain" in future clinical practice.{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Hunter G. |last2=Fontenot |first2=Miles R. |last3=Garcia-Palacios |first3=Azucena |last4=Greenleaf |first4=Walter J. |last5=Alhalabi |first5=Wadee |last6=Curatolo |first6=Michele |last7=Flor |first7=Herta |date=2023-05-22 |title=Adding tactile feedback increases avatar ownership and makes virtual reality more effective at reducing pain in a randomized crossover study |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=7915 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-31038-4 |pmid=37217536 |pmc=10203139 |bibcode=2023NatSR..13.7915H |issn=2045-2322}}

Adopting avatars that users perceive to be skilled was found to enhance real performance in different fields, for example:

• Cognitive performance (executive functions) increased when users adopted Albert Einstein avatars during virtual simulation tasks.{{Cite journal |last1=Banakou |first1=Domna |last2=Kishore |first2=Sameer |last3=Slater |first3=Mel |date=2018-06-11 |title=Virtually Being Einstein Results in an Improvement in Cognitive Task Performance and a Decrease in Age Bias |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |language=English |volume=9 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00917 |doi-access=free |pmid=29942270 |issn=1664-1078|pmc=6004376 }}
• Creativity improved when engineers used avatars representing their "ideal innovator" during virtual and later face-to-face brainstorming.{{Cite journal |last1=Guegan |first1=Jérôme |last2=Buisine |first2=Stéphanie |last3=Mantelet |first3=Fabrice |last4=Maranzana |first4=Nicolas |last5=Segonds |first5=Frédéric |date=2016-08-01 |title=Avatar-mediated creativity: When embodying inventors makes engineers more creative |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563216301856 |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |volume=61 |pages=165–175 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.024 |hdl=10985/12194 |issn=0747-5632|hdl-access=free }}
• Music proficiency in West African drumming increased when users experienced an illusory ownership of dark-skinned hands.{{Cite journal |last1=Kilteni |first1=Konstantina |last2=Bergstrom |first2=Ilias |last3=Slater |first3=Mel |date=2013-04-19 |title=Drumming in Immersive Virtual Reality: The Body Shapes the Way We Play |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6479188 |journal=IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=597–605 |doi=10.1109/TVCG.2013.29 |pmid=23428444 |hdl=2445/53803 |issn=1941-0506|hdl-access=free }}

Using avatars with omnipotent characteristics (eg. a Christian God) was found to raise positive self-attitudes of users, including (1) promoting confidence in abilities, and (2) reducing feelings of vulnerability. This effect also translated to lower physiological threat responses (lower heart rate) when participants faced alarming situations in virtual games.{{Cite journal |last1=Frisanco |first1=Althea |last2=Schepisi |first2=Michael |last3=Tieri |first3=Gaetano |last4=Aglioti |first4=Salvatore Maria |date=2022-12-14 |title=Embodying the avatar of an omnipotent agent modulates the perception of one's own abilities and enhances feelings of invulnerability |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26016-1 |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=21585 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-26016-1 |pmid=36517558 |bibcode=2022NatSR..1221585F |issn=2045-2322|pmc=9751071 }}

Although avatar embodiment induces stronger Proteus effects with positive applications, it could also weaken users' internal attitudes, as they increase reliance on external cues from avatars to infer their self-concept. This has been linked to disordered gaming addiction, and indirectly, to further implications of inactive lifestyles.{{Cite journal |last1=Hein |first1=Kaiden |last2=Burleigh |first2=Tyrone L. |last3=Gorman |first3=Angela |last4=Prokofieva |first4=Maria |last5=Stavropoulos |first5=Vasilis |date=2024-12-01 |title=Proteus effect avatar profiles: Associations with disordered gaming and activity levels |journal=Addictive Behaviors Reports |volume=20 |pages=100562 |doi=10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100562 |pmid=39219743 |pmc=11362772 |issn=2352-8532}}

Some avatars carry negative stereotypes, which could result in harmful behavior when users infer attitudes from them. A study found that white-skinned participants using dark-skinned avatars displayed more aggression during intergroup situations in virtual games. This extended to offline environments, where they reported stronger motivations to harm real-life partners afterwards.{{Cite journal |last1=Hawkins |first1=Ian |last2=Saleem |first2=Muniba |last3=Gibson |first3=Bryan |last4=Bushman |first4=Brad J. |date=2021-10-01 |title=Extensions of the proteus effect on intergroup aggression in the real world. |url=https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/ppm0000307 |journal=Psychology of Popular Media |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=478–487 |doi=10.1037/ppm0000307 |issn=2689-6575}}

• Self-fulfilling prophecy
• Social identity model of deindividuation effects
• Virtual Human Interaction Lab

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• Grohol, John. [http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/11/24/the-proteus-effect-how-our-avatar-changes-online-behavior "The Proteus Effect: How Our Avatar Changes Online Behavior"]. PsychCentral. 24 November 2009.
• Klotz, Irene. [http://news.discovery.com/tech/avatar-virtual-reality-exercise.html "Avatars May Inspire Us to Exercise"]. DiscoveryNews. 29 March 2010.
• [http://www.physorg.com/news177100524.html "Research shows avatars can negatively affect users"]. PhysOrg. 10 November 2009.
• Thornton, Terri. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111201030604/http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2011/09/our-avatars-ourselves249.html "Our Avatars, Ourselves"]. PBS. 6 September 2011.
• Zweig, Jason. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703410604576216663758990104 Meet {{"'}}Future You.' Like What You See?"] The Wall Street Journal. 26 March 2011.

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Category:Psychological effects

Category:Virtual avatars