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Does Embodying a Divine Avatar Influence Moral Decisions? An Immersive Virtual Reality Study
Althea Frisanco1, Michael Schepisi2, Gaetano Tieri3,4
1Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@sapienza, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|June 11, 2024
Summary
Embodying a virtual God avatar did not alter moral decision-making compared to a human avatar. This suggests the Proteus effect may not strongly influence moral standards in virtual environments.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Virtual Reality
- Ethics
Background:
- The Proteus effect describes behavioral changes due to embodied virtual agent characteristics.
- Its influence on moral decision-making remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if embodying virtual agents with distinct characteristics differentially modulates moral standards.
- To determine if the Proteus effect extends to the moral domain.
Main Methods:
- Participants embodied either a God avatar or a control human avatar in a virtual environment.
- Moral dilemmas (incidental and instrumental) were presented in a text-based format.
- Data collected included choices, decision times, feelings, and physiological responses (skin conductance, heart rate).
Main Results:
- Embodying the God avatar did not significantly alter performance on the moral dilemma task compared to the control avatar.
- No strong Proteus effect was observed under the experimental conditions.
- Significant effects were noted for dilemma type, chosen option, personality, and religious affiliation.
Conclusions:
- The study did not find evidence for the Proteus effect influencing moral standards in this virtual context.
- Task constraints and virtual environment limitations may have influenced the results.
- Further research is needed to understand the conditions necessary for eliciting the Proteus effect in moral decision-making.
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