I wanted to see if Proteus Effect actually played a role in my online interaction, so I had to test the two extremes. I decided to play Runescape: “RuneScape is a massively multiplayer on-line role-playing game (MMORPG), it is also the name of a virtual world with monsters to kill, quests to complete and…” The reason I chose this game is because I wanted to gain access to items that would make me appear more attractive. There are certain clothing and accessories that you can only achieve through years of playing, and my brother has dedicated several hours a day for the past 8 years to obtain these items.
First, I started by making the most unattractive avatar possible. The avatar I created was bald and overweight. He wore pants that were torn and a shirt that did not match. After completing the tutorial, I started interacting with people in various ways: by doing the same activities with them, asking questions on controls, and talking about topics that were unrelated to the game. Initially, I knew that my character was unattractive and a low level, so I tried to act more confident. I tried to reduce the interpersonal distance between my avatar and the people I was interacting with and increase self-disclosure by talking to more about out-of-game topics in order to self-disclose more. It was a difficult task to carry out this act of confidence because I knew that my character was unattractive and a low level. In addition to my awareness of my unattractiveness, behavioral confirmation played a large role in the way I online interaction. For the most part, I found that people with higher levels (around 30-60) and thus more attractive were not willing to interact with me; they declined all my trades requests, used profanity and name calling when I tried to get closer to them by using the follow option, ignored me when I was asking about out-of-game questions. I had slightly better luck with other lower level players, but I did not have an interaction that was particularly interesting or in-depth, so I did not have a chance to self-disclose more. I also learned that it was unacceptable to follow random people, so I tried to leave a fair amount of distance between my avatar and other player’s when interacting with them.
At this point, the Proteus Effect was very apparent in my study. The Proteus Effect refers to how an individual’s interactions and behavior conforms to his/her avatar’s presentation. I thought it was possible to bypass this effect and tried to play this game confidently; however, I knew that I was unskilled and unattractive. This ultimately resulted in a negative self representation, which caused interactions to be less successful than expected.
After an unsuccessful first trial, I logged into my brother’s account. The first thing I did was go to the “Make-Over Mage.” I wasted 3000 coins, so that I could change my physical appearance permanently. (This time, my avatar actually had hair.) I also went into his bank, which consists of over 300 items, and withdrew the most attractive looking clothes and accessories. There was a wide selection of very appealing items to wear, but I decided to choose ones that were made specifically for appearance, not necessarily the same items that showed skill. (I also chose a hat that made me look taller). In addition to this, I was one of the highest level players (124). I decided to go back to the same place and hopefully interact with the same people to see if there was a noticeable difference. As I was walking back to this area, people started to follow me, ask questions, tell me about themselves, and trade with me. I knew that there would be a difference because I was much more confident playing my brother’s account, but I still did not expect the difference to this obvious. People approached me and interacted with me without me trying to act confident. I found that it was much easier to play my brother’s account; conversations were much more in-depth and people did not mind when I was closer to them. All the rules that I learned about interactivity in this gaming environment were not applicable to my brother’s account. When I followed random player’s, instead of being yelled it and called a “noob,” I was greeting much more pleasantly.
After playing this game in the two extremes, I found that all of the “effects” of the Proteus Effect to take place. The interpersonal distance of my avatar and others was significantly reduced, since people were following me and others did not mind when I followed them. Self-disclosure also increased because other people’s willingness to interact with me led me to deeper conversations. I also felt more confident because I had a hat, which made me look taller…
Although, I was much more confident playing a more attractive avatar, I do not believe the Proteus Effect contributed to this as much as other factors such as behavioral confirmation. For example, people started to approach me without me having to say a word—I felt even more confident after this happened. The reason that I experienced all the effects was not due to the Proteus Effect, it was because I was more attractive. In other words, my confidence was not caused by me having a more positive self-representation; it was caused by other’s willingness to interact with me.
Edit:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-undead-warlock-in-world-of-warcraft.html
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-one-life-is-enough-for-me.html
Thanks for questions/comments.
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4 comments:
Hi Ellis,
Great post! It was a good idea to play the same game twice with two characters that differed in attractiveness. This seems like a better way to get an accurate understanding of the interactions between the avatar you choose and your behavior, as well as the behavior of others, and subsequent Behavioral confirmation. It interesting that even though you tried to overcome the distancing effects of being an unattractive character, you were thwarted by other players responses and therefore may have developed even lower "avatar-esteem". While the level of the second character you played most likely influenced other players' reactions to you, do you think the higher level was more or less important than the changes in your appearance?
Excellent job and research technique of interacting both as an unattractive avatar and a more attractive one. Very interesting how people initiated conversations with you more often when you were the more well-dressed avatar. Do you think that had you spent more time in the space and had gotten used to it, your interaction through an avatar would have effected your confidence and given you an improved self-presentation?
Ellis, it sounds like you had an interesting time online! I agree with your conclusion that although your results agree with what the Proteus Effect would predict, you shouldn't attribute it to that. As you said, behavioral confirmation played an overwhelming role in how others treated you. Your interactions in each condition occurred in two different, incomparable contexts. When you were ugly, you had to approach everyone and start conversation; you were in control of your interactions. However, when you were more attractive the other players approached you, leaving the topic matter and interaction types out of your control. Thus, it's hard to pinpoint the results on any one effect, but I believe that overall people were nicer to you in the second condition, thus initiating the behavioral confirmation loop than you initiating it as in the first condition.
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