TY - JOUR
T1 - Avatars are (sometimes) people too
T2 - Linguistic indicators of parasocial and social ties in player–avatar relationships
AU - Banks, Jaime
AU - Bowman, Nicholas David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, © The Author(s) 2014.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - As principal links between players and many gameworlds, avatars are of central importance in understanding human behavior and communication in play. In particular, the connection between player and avatar is understood as influencing a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral play phenomena. Divergent approaches examine this connection from both parasocial (one-way, non-dialectical) and social (two-way, dialectical) perspectives. This study examined how player–avatar connections may be better understood by integrating an existing parasocial approach (character attachment [CA]) with a social approach (player–avatar relationships [PARs]). A quantitative linguistic analysis of massively multiplayer online game (MMO) player interviews revealed statistically robust associations among language patterns, dimensions of CA, and PAR types. Validating and extending prior research, findings highlight the importance of self-differentiation and anthropomorphization in suspending disbelief so that the avatar may be taken as a fully social agent.
AB - As principal links between players and many gameworlds, avatars are of central importance in understanding human behavior and communication in play. In particular, the connection between player and avatar is understood as influencing a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral play phenomena. Divergent approaches examine this connection from both parasocial (one-way, non-dialectical) and social (two-way, dialectical) perspectives. This study examined how player–avatar connections may be better understood by integrating an existing parasocial approach (character attachment [CA]) with a social approach (player–avatar relationships [PARs]). A quantitative linguistic analysis of massively multiplayer online game (MMO) player interviews revealed statistically robust associations among language patterns, dimensions of CA, and PAR types. Validating and extending prior research, findings highlight the importance of self-differentiation and anthropomorphization in suspending disbelief so that the avatar may be taken as a fully social agent.
KW - Anthropomorphism
KW - avatar
KW - character attachment
KW - massively multiplayer online game
KW - parasocial
KW - relationship
KW - social
KW - suspension of disbelief
KW - video game
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84981156788&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1461444814554898
DO - 10.1177/1461444814554898
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84981156788
SN - 1461-4448
VL - 18
SP - 1257
EP - 1276
JO - New Media and Society
JF - New Media and Society
IS - 7
ER -