Jesse Fox

Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors

Social cognitive theory is often implemented when researchers develop treatments and campaigns for health behavior change. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) enables novel explorations of health behavior modeling. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: vicarious reinforcement, in which a virtual representation of the physical self (VRS) gained or lost weight in accordance with participants physical exercise; an unchanging VRS; or no virtual representation. The reinforcement group performed significantly more exercise in a voluntary phase than those in other conditions. Study 2 separated reward (weight loss) from punishment (weight gain) and also explored model identification by contrasting the effects of a VRS with a VRO (virtual representation of an other); participants exercised significantly more when they viewed the VRS, regardless of whether reward or punishment was shown. In Study 3, participants were exposed to either a VRS running on a treadmill, a VRO running, or a VRS loitering, and we examined effects 24 hours after the experiment. Follow-up surveys revealed that participants in the VRS-running condition demonstrated significantly higher levels of exercise than those in other conditions. We discuss implications for media use and health communication.

Virtual Reality: A Survival Guide for the Social Scientist

In this article, we provide the nontechnical reader with a fundamental understanding of the components of virtual reality (VR) and a thorough discussion of the role VR has played in social science. First, we provide a brief overview of the hardware and equipment used to create VR and review common elements found within the virtual environment that may be of interest to social scientists, such as virtual humans and interactive, multisensory feedback. Then, we discuss the role of VR in existing social scientific research. Specifically, we review the literature on the study of VR as an object, wherein we discuss the effects of the technology on human users; VR as an application, wherein we consider real-world applications in areas such as medicine and education; and VR as a method, wherein we provide a comprehensive outline of studies in which VR technologies are used to study phenomena that have traditionally been studied in physical settings, such as nonverbal behavior and social interaction. We then present a content analysis of the literature, tracking the trends for this research over the last two decades. Finally, we present some possibilities for future research for interested social scientists.

Virtual experiences, physical behaviors: The effect of presence on imitation of an eating avatar

In this study, the role of presence in the imitation of a virtual model was examined. Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) was used to create photorealistic virtual representations of the self that were depicted eating food in a virtual world. Changes in the virtual environment (via a changing or unchanging body) were incorporated to create variance in perceived subjective presence. Based on previous research, presence was hypothesized to affect the relationship between the environmental manipulations and the behavioral outcome of imitating the avatars eating behavior. Here we show that presence did indeed affect imitation, but that the effects varied for men and women in accordance with previous research on sex differences in eating behavior. Men who experienced high presence were more likely than low presence men to imitate the virtual model and eat candy, whereas women who experienced high presence were more likely than low presence women to suppress the behavior and not eat candy.

The embodiment of sexualized virtual selves: The Proteus effect and experiences of self-objectification via avatars

Research has indicated that many video games and virtual worlds are populated by unrealistic, hypersexualized representations of women, but the effects of embodying these representations remains understudied. The Proteus effect proposed by Yee and Bailenson (2007) suggests that embodiment may lead to shifts in self-perception both online and offline based on the avatars features or behaviors. A 2x2 experiment, the first of its kind, examined how self-perception and attitudes changed after women (N=86) entered a fully immersive virtual environment and embodied sexualized or nonsexualized avatars which featured either the participants face or the face of an unknown other. Findings supported the Proteus effect. Participants who wore sexualized avatars internalized the avatars appearance and self-objectified, reporting more body-related thoughts than those wearing nonsexualized avatars. Participants who saw their own faces, particularly on sexualized avatars, expressed more rape myth acceptance than those in other conditions. Implications for both online and offline consequences of using sexualized avatars are discussed.