Proteus effect avatar profiles: Associations with disordered gaming and activity levels

  • 0School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

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Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Gaming avatars significantly impact user behavior, creating distinct proteus effect profiles. Higher proteus effect is linked to increased gaming disorder, while physical activity levels remain unaffected.

Area Of Science

  • Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Digital Media Studies

Background

  • The proteus effect describes how virtual avatars influence user self-perception and behavior.
  • Understanding avatar influence is crucial for addressing potential negative impacts of gaming.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To identify distinct proteus effect profiles among gamers.
  • To investigate the association between these profiles, disordered gaming, and physical activity.

Main Methods

  • Latent class analysis of data from 571 gamers.
  • Longitudinal assessment of gaming disorder symptoms and physical activity.

Main Results

  • Three proteus effect profiles were identified: non-influenced, emotion-perception influenced (highest effect), and emotion-behavior influenced (moderate effect).
  • The high proteus effect group showed significantly higher gaming disorder symptoms at baseline and 6 months.
  • Disordered gaming and proteus effect predicted decreased physical activity over time, though profiles did not directly differ in activity levels.

Conclusions

  • Avatar influence, as measured by the proteus effect, differentially impacts gamers' experiences and functioning.
  • Stronger proteus effect may elevate risks for gaming disorder.
  • Minimal avatar influence appears protective, while disordered gaming can negatively affect physical activity.