University of Texas study indicates game avatars might affect users’ in-game actions

University of Texas Assistant Professor Jorge Pena has finished a study on the way game avatars affect a player’s in-game actions and he believes a bad avatar = bad actions.

In a study earning coverage in the Austin American Statesman, Pena did two separate experiments.

In the game Jedi Knight II, the experiment randomly assigned white or black robes to gamers. Experiment number two gave them roles as either Klu Klux Klan members or physicians. A control group got transparent avatars. Pena said those cast with “negative” avatars exhibited anti social and aggressive behaviors in both team building exercises and when asked to describe ambiguous pictures.

“What’s interesting here is not only did using the avatar in the dark uniform affect a negative attitude and point to individual problems, but also showed less group cohesion.”

According to Pena, the effects on study participants were automatic and for the most part, unconscious. The Statesman piece also looks at the relationship between gamers who play on opposing sides of conflicts in games including World of Warcraft. In some cases, the fictional battle between the Horde and the Alliance leads to real animosities between players.

I think some of this is because of the largely anonymous nature of playing games online. It is a lot easier to be completely rude to someone you will likely never meet in person.

I’m shuddering at the prospect that Jack Thompson already has a copy of this study.

Read [Austin American Statesman]