A Dissimilar Virtual Self to Decrease Social Anxiety

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Communication and Technology Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

In virtual reality (VR), people can choose avatars that are dissimilar to the physical self. We predicted that socially anxious individuals (SAIs) would leverage avatar dissimilarity to manage anxiety. In Study 1 (N=105), we manipulated how similar one’s avatar’s face was to one’s actual face during a speech in VR. SAIs that gave the speech with their own face reported higher anxiety than the other experimental groups. Also, SAIs experienced more presence than non SAIs. In Study 2 (N=252), when allowed to choose an avatar to use in a public speaking task, SAIs preferred highly dissimilar self-representations compared to non SAIs. We discuss implications for theories of self-representation as well as for applied uses of VR to treat social anxiety.

Authors

• Laura Aymerich-Franch, Virtual Human Interaction Lab - Stanford

• Jeremy N. Bailenson, Stanford U