Examining Perception and Identification in Avatar‐mediated Interaction
Kristine L. Nowak · 2015
This chapter examines how avatars are being used to self-present, identify, recognize, and make attributions of others in online interactions and the effects of this use on person and message perception and self-concept. It also examines how people are using avatars and the effects of this usage with particular attention to the following: (1) The way people perceive and relate to avatars, focusing on how people make attributions of humanness and social potential of entities, (2) The types of avatars people select and the influence of avatar features on message processing, person perception, and self-presentation of identity, and (3) Implications of the use of avatars for theory development, including suggestions for users and designers of systems using avatars, and critical questions for future research. The chapter considers how people respond to others that are judged to have social potential or are deemed anthropomorphic.