Uhg, I really didn’t want to do this, but I also ended up using Second Life for this assignment. It is the best game/environment I could think of where the user can modify their avatar and interact with others (the only other multiplayer game I have is Counter Strike, and I’m pretty sure that my interaction with other players would always be pretty much limited to running around and shooting them in the face, regardless of character looks). So, I downloaded the game, did all the fun set up and made my avatar. He was basically a normal looking guy, but huge. I made a big fat giant. I figured as long as I am entering this new online world, I might as well make as many people see me as possible.
Once I started playing, I basically just wandered around, trying to see what I could and could not do in this game. My interactions with other players were often me explaining that I just started playing this game and asking them how they liked it, what kind of things they like to do on Second Life, etc. According to the Proteus Effect theory of Lee and Bailenson, my avatar would affect the way I interacted with other players. In their paper, they explain it very simply by saying “Users who are deindividuated in online environments may adhere to a new identity that is inferred from their avatars” (Lee and Bailenson, 2007). This is similar to the SIDE theory, but instead of conforming to a group standard when deindividuation occurs, the Proteus Effect says that people with “conform” to their avatar’s looks. Players with attractive avatars were hypothesized to walk closer to other players and have a higher frequency to self disclose. Tall avatars would be more confident and aggressive negotiators. Ugly avatars would also act more aggressively or antisocially.
Because my avatar was basically a giant, the Proteus Effect would say that I would have been fairly aggressive, slow to self disclose, and generally more antisocial than if I had an attractive avatar. I, however, did not feel that to be the case when I was running around the Second Life world. I felt just as comfortable self disclosing with people with my giant as I would if I were in an online environment with no avatar at all. I even met another guy who said he was also in college and I explained to him how I just downloaded Second Life for this class. Overall, I did not feel that the Proteus Effect was prevalent in my first foray into Second Life. But I think that the effect may be influenced by why it is people choose to go into a certain online environment. If I was using Second Life as an escape tool, as I am sure many people do (and even its name implies), maybe I would have felt the Proteus Effect even more. In that situation I would have had more invested in the game. I doubt people who are in environments like Second Life as part of an assignment, or as a short entertaining diversion will be as attached to their character/avatar as those who are on the game all the time, reeling in those
comments:
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-second-life-how-present-is-proteus.html
http://comm245brown.blogspot.com/2007/11/10-hour-with-sasha-proteus-effect-in.html
4 comments:
Logan,
I loved your post. It was funny at times and very well written. You also related back to our class topics very well. It was clever of you to choose a different appearance for your avatar other than the typical features most people would make. I also enjoyed the fact that your findings did not exactly agree with Yee and Bailenson and you explained well how you experience did not conform to their theories. Overall great post!
You did a nice job with this post, Logan. I like that you picked an avatar that was relatively different than you in real life. I also did not experience the Proteus Effect. Your last sentence, however, raises a valid point. People who are spending time in Second Life for an assignment or for another short period of time are far less likely to be attached to their avatar than those who spend hours in this world. Also, if people change themselves as they play they may seem to associate certain avatars with different attitudes and actions.
Good post Logan. I think it's interesting that you entered the game in the mindset you did and were explaining to people how you were playing it for class. I started playing it wanting to pretend like I was any other Second Life player and assimilate because I thought that would be the easiest way to do it. That may have been the wrong choice because I just felt extremely awkward and did experience the Proteus Effect and I had never played Second Life before and never will again. I think the type of attitude and outlook you go into the game with plays a big part in determining whether or not you experience the Proteus Effect.
Good post Logan. I really liked your choice of a character. It makes sense that if you're going to be different to be very different. It's also really interesting that you didn't seem to experience the proteus affect because with a giant character, I think it would be the strongest. You did a good job relating your findings to theory from class.
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