Abstract

In this study, 174 undergraduates from the University of Central Florida were asked to rate individual human and animal avatar features from the video game Spore on their level of femininity, masculinity, likability, and how well the feature represented them on a 7 point Likert scale of agreeability. Avatar features were presented on a neutral gray, quadruped body in two different views. It was expected that participants would show higher likability for avatar features that they perceived as corresponding to their Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) gender. Males liked feminine features approximately the same as females, however, in many categories females liked the most masculine features more than the most feminine features. Males liked the most masculine body detail feature more than females, and females liked the most masculine body detail more than males. It also was anticipated that avatar features rated as having both low femininity and low masculinity would be the features rated lowest in likability overall. These features did not have the lowest likability, but were somewhat close to neutral in likability. These results have implications for likable avatar creation for businesses, the military, and education.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2011

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Sims, Valerie

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Psychology

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0003815

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Psychology Commons

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