The effects of avatar customization and virtual human mind perception: A test using Milgram’s paradigm

Abstract

This study investigated how “teacher” avatar customization and exposure to “learner” virtual humans who display mind-affected participants’ behavior and emotions in a re-creation of Milgram’s obedience experiment. Female participants customized avatars that merged their physical self with hero, antihero, or villain archetypes and then interacted with a mindful or non-mindful virtual human; 82.8% of participants went above the maximum electric shock intensity. Women who customized hero avatars delivered lower voltage shocks to a virtual human compared with those who customized antihero and villain avatars. Virtual humans’ display of mind did not affect shock intensity, guilt, or negative emotion though participants reported increased shame after shocking a mindful versus a non-mindful virtual human. Customizing antihero avatars increased shame and negative affect, especially after interacting with mindful virtual humans. We discuss the implications of these findings for the Proteus effect and Computers Are Social Actors perspective in extreme virtual encounters.