Examining the Proteus effect in the Context of Healthy Food Choices and Intentions to Eat Healthy: the role of avatar body size, avatar allocation type and visual perspective
van der Waal,Nadine Janssen,Loes Antheunis,Marjolijn van der Laan,Nynke
van der Waal,Nadine
Janssen,Loes
Antheunis,Marjolijn
van der Laan,Nynke
Abstract
As avatars gain prominence in health-promoting applications, understanding how health-related avatar appearance characteristics could affect users’ behavior is crucial. Drawing upon the Proteus effect, avatars can positively and negatively affect health behaviors, depending on whether the avatar appearance is aligned with stereotypes about healthy or unhealthy behavior. Investigating avatar appearances is essential to understand potential negative health effects. Three experiments in a non-immersive virtual supermarket examined whether controlling an overweight avatar negatively affected (1) intentions to eat healthy and (2) food choice healthiness in the virtual supermarket, thereby investigating avatar allocation type (Study 1) and visual perspective (Study 2) as moderators. The studies employed 2 (Avatar body size: overweight vs. healthy weight) by 2 (Avatar allocation type: self-assigned vs. experimenter-assigned [Study 1]; Visual perspective: first-person vs. third-person [Studies 2 and 3]) between-subjects designs. None of the studies demonstrated the Proteus effect, and no moderating role of avatar allocation type was found (Study 1). Unexpectedly, controlling an overweight avatar resulted in stronger intentions to eat healthy from a third-person perspective only (Study 2), which led to the hypothesis that the overweight avatar functioned as a fear stimulus. To test this, a health message was added that highlighted obesity as a health risk (Study 3). The addition of this message did not affect intentions to eat healthy and food choice healthiness. The combination of fear appeal and self-perception theory as explanatory frameworks for behavioral responses to avatars opens avenues for new research, such as exploring specific conditions that trigger each effect.
Description
Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Date
2023-12-01
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Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Keywords
Arousal, Behavior, Consumption, Embodiment, Fear appeals, Online, Promotion campaigns, Real, Self-representation, Stereotype threat, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Citation
van der Waal, N, Janssen, L, Antheunis, M & van der Laan, N 2023, 'Examining the Proteus effect in the Context of Healthy Food Choices and Intentions to Eat Healthy : the role of avatar body size, avatar allocation type and visual perspective', PRESENCE: Virtual and Augmented Reality, vol. 32, pp. 231-259. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00410