El concepto de portafolio en el campo profesional

A study by Bailenson et al. (Bailenson et al., 2006b) suggests that the portrayal of behaviour in avatars is of importance not only for VEs but also for telecommunications, online gaming and any other media that require the user to be embodied as an avatar. While Gillies and Slater suggest that characters that respond to others with appropriate non-verbal behaviour can improve presence in virtual environments (Gillies and Slater, 2005). Previous studies have shown that users often prefer not to use accurate embodiments (Becerra and Stutts, 2008) but how does avatar representation impact upon interpersonal trust? Avatars are becoming more commonplace and are being used to represent users in virtual worlds, games, instant messaging, social media and more serious training applications. What effect does the selection of an avatar have on the user and others? Bailenson et al. state that, as avatar realism rises, so does the feeling of co-presence while simultaneously decreasing self- disclosure (Bailenson et al., 2006b). Video conferencing has achieved the lowest scores for verbal and non-verbal disclosure (self-disclosure being when an individual divulges information about themselves or their past experiences (Derlaga and Berg, 2013)). This would suggest that the more realistic an avatar becomes, the more guarded an individual becomes concerning what they disclose.

In a study by Rosenburg et al. (Rosenberg et al., 2013) participants assumed the role of either a super hero or a passenger in a helicopter. They were given one of two tasks, either helping a diabetic child find some insulin or having a virtual tour of the city. After the virtual environment experience had finished the experimenter knocked over a box of pens. Participants in the super hero condition helped pick up the pens significantly more times than those who opted to be the passenger in the helicopter. Peña et al. explored how an avatar’s appearance impacts upon the wearer (Peña et al., 2012), examining changes in 64 | P a g e

behaviour. Participants were represented by either a professor or super model avatar. The study found that behaviour was influenced. Participants represented by the super model were more age conscious. Fox et al. (Fox et al., 2013) examined the effects of sexualised avatars on female participants. They described the participants as “wearing” the avatar. Participants were split into two groups: one wearing the sexualised avatar and one the non- sexualised avatar. The results found that the users of the sexualised avatar reported more body related thoughts. Fox et al.stated “Users of video games, online social worlds and other virtual environments should be made aware of the potential implications of the avatar they embody.” The researcher agrees with Fox et al. on this point, as evidence suggests that the avatar that one “wears” subconsciously affects our actions, temporarily altering our behaviour (Peña et al., 2012, Rosenberg et al., 2013, Fox et al., 2013) during and after VE exposure.

Users of virtual environments are not just affected by their own avatar. Pan and Slater examined the response of male participants to attractive female characters within an immersive virtual environment, with the results suggesting similar physiological, behavioural and subjective responses to reality (Pan and Slater, 2007). In a study by Behrend et al. (Behrend et al., 2012) avatar appearance was investigated, this time in the context of a job application. The study showed how attractive avatars were given more favourable feedback than less attractive ones. Interestingly, however, extremely attractive avatars could also produce a negative effect: “Non-linear effects of attractiveness are also possible, leading unusually attractive avatars to be viewed as unprofessional or dishonest. These dynamics are ripe for study”. This indicates that not only are the users of avatars influenced by their appearance, so are others. One problem may be that most avatars are generally quite simple representations of the wearer, as they do not portray the user’s NVB. Without NVB, verbal

communication and avatar appearance may well be the only information that someone has to inform them what the user behind the avatar is like. In some cases, users may not want others to know what they look like, with studies showing a correlation between body image and a user’s desire to be someone else (Becerra and Stutts, 2008). Avatars can be a form of escapism. Utilising them, anyone can become a hero or a star. People may well pick an avatar that represents what they would like to be, aiming to be seen in the best light possible. An example would be a person who might use a profile picture of themselves from when they were ten years younger and super fit. In some cases, unfortunately, it is not possible for people to pick an avatar that resembles them as “the vast majority of games, both online and offline, do not allow for the creation of avatars with a non-white racial appearance.” (Dietrich, 2013).

In another study that used avatars to look at obesity (Dean et al., 2009), it was found that participants interviewed by thinner characters stated that their own reported weight and body mass index (BMI) was correct. However, when interviewed by overweight characters participants said their own reported weight was incorrect and that they had a higher BMI. This suggests that participants were able to be relate more to the overweight avatar and be more truthful, perhaps viewing them as less judgemental. This could represent a problem, as it illustrates that avatar appearance can be used to manipulate user interactions. This technique could also be used positively to educate users on health issues, such as in the doppelganger study (Fox and Bailenson, 2010). In this study an avatar representation of the participant was created that gained and lost weight according to participant actions.

Our perceptions of a virtual character can change depending on whether it is an agent or an avatar. More is expected of characters that are user controlled. Guadagno et al. (Guadagno

et al., 2011) found that a smile from an agent increased empathy whereas a smile from an avatar decreased empathy. They suggest that this may be the result of behavioural and visual realism not matching. The researcher agrees that expectations of agents are not as high. The researcher would suggest that most users would accept the fact that to replicate every human function would be a massive task, so are quite forgiving of agent shortcomings. However, when users know that they are interacting with a person their expectations may be higher.

More realistic avatar appearance and behaviour should facilitate more natural social interactions between users. However, transformed social interaction could pose a problem in the use of virtual characters (Bailenson and Beall, 2006, Bailenson et al., 2004). For example, it is possible to conduct real-time analysis of facial expressions (Yap et al., 2012), however, if unwanted emotions were then filtered out the meaning of a conversation could easily be changed. This kind of technology would make it very difficult for users to know when to trust authored avatars, perhaps making real-time video based 3D reconstruction approaches more relevant for communication.