scholarly journals On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R Messinger ◽  
Xin Ge ◽  
Eleni Stroulia ◽  
Kelly Lyons ◽  
Kristen Smirnov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
The Real ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

What is the relationship between avatars and the people they represent in terms of appearance and behavior? In this paper, we hypothesize that people (balancing motives of self-verification and self-enhancement) customize the image of their avatars to bear similarity to their real selves, but with moderate enhancements. We also hypothesize that virtual-world behavior (due to deindividuation in computer-mediated communication environments) is less restrained by normal inhibitions than real-world behavior. Lastly, we hypothesize that people with more attractive avatars than their real selves will be somewhat more confident and extraverted in virtual worlds than they are in the real world. We examine these issues using data collected from Second Life residents using an in-world intercept method that involved recruiting respondents’ avatars from a representative sample of locations. Our quantitative data indicate that, on average, people report making their avatars similar to themselves, but somewhat more attractive. And, compared to real-world behavior, respondents indicate that their virtual-world behavior is more outgoing and risk-taking and less thoughtful/more superficial. Finally, people with avatars more attractive than their real selves state that they are more outgoing, extraverted, risk-taking, and loud than their real selves (particularly if they reported being relatively low on these traits in the real world). Qualitative data from open-ended questions corroborate our hypotheses.

scholarly journals Second Life: A Hope for Ideal, But Only in Its Imaginary

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Xiaowei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Relationship

Second Life, one of the most popular of virtual world was invented by Linden Lab Corporation: its philosophical statement is that Second Life is 'a place where you can turn the pictures in your head into a kind of pixelated reality’ (Rymaszewski, 2007, p. iv). Second Life is, for many reasons to be considered in this essay, a representative example of the (offline/real) world. This paper will argue that virtual worlds such as Second Life are an extension of the real world. Two major questions were posed earlier in this essay: ‘Does the virtual world represent the real world?’ and ‘Is it a refuge for its participants from the real world’. We can answer these questions. First of all, the virtual world is an extension of the real world, because it is built from, and continues to make use of, ideas, meanings, identity categories, performances, narratives and values derived from the real world. Secondly, Second Life is clearly not, in the long term, a refuge for its participants from the real world. Second Life can be understood as a virtual place that allows people to have temporary fun; however, it is only for a moment or for a short period, because the relationship between the virtual and the real world is interpenetrated.

Learning Assignments in Virtual Worlds

2010 ◽  
pp. 54-77
Author(s):  
Tanja Adamus ◽  
Nadine Ojstersek ◽  
Axel Nattland ◽  
Michael Kerres
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Additional Benefit ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Complex Learning ◽  
The Real ◽  
Technical Solutions

The chapter describes different possibilities for the design of learning assignments in virtual worlds with a special emphasis on Second Life. For this purpose, it relates to didactical requirements to obtain criteria for constructing learning assignments for different contexts and conditions. A difference has to be made between distinct forms of simple and complex learning assignments, which have to be solved in the virtual worlds, but serve for the attainment of learning objectives either from the real or the virtual world. Furthermore, it is possible to reach learning objectives concerning the virtual world by means of the real world. It becomes obvious, that the bounds between virtual worlds and the real world are blurring. The decision, whether learning assignments should be edited in virtual worlds, depends on to what extent an additional benefit compared with other (technical) solutions, can emerge in these contexts. For these purposes a closer consideration of virtual worlds‘ specific features becomes relevant.

Lying on the Internet

2012 ◽  
pp. 944-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stepan Konecny
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Real World ◽  
Electronic Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Linguistic Analysis ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
The Real ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Individual Effects

Mass media often presents a warped image of the Internet as an unreliable environment in which nobody can be trusted. In this entry, the authors describe lying on the Internet both in the context of lying in the real world and with respect to the special properties of computer-mediated communication (CMC). They deal with the most frequent motives for lying online, such as increasing one’s attractiveness or experimenting with identities. They also take into account the various environments of the Internet and their individual effects on various properties of lying. The current methods for detecting lies and the potential for future computer-linguistic analysis of hints for lying in electronic communication are also considered.

The Third Culture

2017 ◽  
pp. 318-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Cheng (Sandrine) Han
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Third Culture ◽  
The Real ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Culture Education

The purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of how users of online virtual worlds learn and/or relearn ‘culture' through the use of visual components. The goal of this research is to understand if culturally and historically authentic imagery is necessary for users to understand the virtual world; how virtual world residents form and reform their virtual culture; and whether the visual culture in the virtual world is imported from the real world, colonized by any dominate culture, or assimilated into a new culture. The main research question is: Is the authenticity of cultural imagery important to virtual world residents? This research investigates whether visual culture awareness can help students develop a better understanding of visual culture in the real world, and whether this awareness can help educators construct better curricula and pedagogy for visual culture education.

Theatre in Second Life® Holds the VR Mirror up to Nature

2011 ◽  
pp. 376-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Schrum
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Creative People ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Definition Of

As creative people inhabit virtual worlds, they bring their ideas for art and performance with them into these brave new worlds. While at first glance, virtual performance may have the outward trappings of theatre, some believe they don’t adhere to the basic traditional definition of theatre: the interaction between an actor and an audience. Detractors suggest that physical presence is required for such an interaction to take place. However, studies have shown that computer mediated communication (CMC) can be as real as face-to-face communication, where emotional response is concerned. Armed with this information, the author can examine how performance in a virtual world such as Second Life may indeed be like “real” theatre, what the possibilities for future virtual performance are, and may require that we redefine theatre for online performance venues.

scholarly journals The P.R.O.S.E. (Psychological Research on Synthetic Environments) Project: Conducting In-World Psychological Research on 3D Virtual Worlds

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Real ◽  
3D Virtual Worlds ◽  
Core Questions

The P.R.O.S.E. (Psychological Research on Synthetic Environments) Project was established to investigate the psychology of 3D virtual worlds. Under the auspices of the project, a systematic program of in-world behavioral research is being conducted that addresses three core questions related to the psychology of 3D immersive environments: What are the characteristics of active participants in virtual worlds? Do the principles of psychology that operate in the real world also apply to the virtual world? Do experiences in the virtual world have the capacity to influence behavior and subjective experience in the real world? The current paper describes a series of studies that examine each of these questions and outlines future directions for the project. If projections for a highly populated, ubiquitously accessible (web-based), and seamlessly integrated (interoperable) network of virtual worlds are borne out, a new realm of psychological reality and interaction will have been created that will be increasingly important for behavioral scientists to investigate and understand.

scholarly journals 3D Interactions between Virtual Worlds and Real Life in an E-Learning Community

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Lucke ◽  
Raphael Zender
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Scenarios

Virtual worlds became an appealing and fascinating component of today's internet. In particular, the number of educational providers that see a potential for E-Learning in such new platforms increases. Unfortunately, most of the environments and processes implemented up to now do not exceed a virtual modelling of real-world scenarios. In particular, this paper shows that Second Life can be more than just another learning platform. A flexible and bidirectional link between the reality and the virtual world enables synchronous and seamless interaction between users and devices across both worlds. The primary advantages of this interconnection are a spatial extension of face-to-face and online learning scenarios and a closer relationship between virtual learners and the real world.

Functionalization and the Real Virtual

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ulrich Gehmann ◽  
Martin Reiche
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Step Model ◽  
The Creation

In this article the authors are going to explore a tendency in virtual world design towards the creation of non-functionalized virtual worlds, i.e. worlds which only exist to exist without resembling any function in their design. They are going to show how this tendency is grounded in the ongoing process of formatization in the real world by introducing a 4-step model of de-functionalization and show which chances exist for these non-functional virtual worlds to affect the real world through the mental world conception of the user.

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