Avatars and Behaviour Avatars are the virtual representations of ourselves in virtual environments (VEs), where we can view our virtual selves in the third person. They have been shown to be influential in effecting change in users both inside and outside of virtual environments. Yee and Bailensons (2007) study established the Proteus Effect, which suggests that individuals will adapt their behaviour outside the virtual environment to match the behaviour of their Running head: Avatar Identification avatar within the virtual environment. Social learning theory suggests that humans learn behaviors through the observation of modelling (Bandura, 1977). For example, Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1963) infamous Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children would imitate adults violent, aggressive behaviours. Bandura (2001) later applied this theory to show how media affect our self-perceptions. Researchers have also shown that individuals create a self-schema (Myers & Biocca, 1992) or an ideal body image based on media representations of ideal body images. Thus, avatars present a valuable opportunity for individuals to create visual representations of their ideal or actual body images, where they can see their distorted self-images in a third person perspective. These self-representations are akin to other media representations, in that they are seen and influence audiences like TV and magazine images. Avatar Identification Model (AIM) The level of identification with ones avatar is dependent on the interaction between an individuals physical and psychosocial identification with the avatarPhysical identification deals with the level of anthropomorphism as well as the level of physical similarity between an avatar and the user. This means that the more realistically human and the more physically similar an avatar is, the greater identification an individual will have with that avatar. Psychosocial identification is a more subjective measure of affect, personality, and behaviour, relating to individuals self-schemas. It is important to note that having high physical identification alone is not sufficient to provide high overall identification. Psychosocial identification is crucial in providing the connection between Running head: Avatar Identification user and avatar as it provides a more personal connection than a simple physical approximation; however, it is tied to physical similarity, such that higher physical similarity allows for greater psychosocial identification. Thus, self-resembling avatars are expected to provide the greatest level of identification because they are both highly anthropomorphic and physically similar to the user, leading to higher psychosocial identification and strong physical approximation. Customized avatars are expected to have less overall identification because they are less physically similar to the user. They still provide a higher level of psychosocial identification than deindividuated avatars, however, as the customization provides a level of personal connection between user and avatar. Psychophysiology in Games Many studies in video game research have pointed to psychophysiological response as a reliable, objective measure for examining the effects of exposure to violent video games (Dillon, Keogh, & Freeman, 2002; Ivory & Kalyanaraman, 2007).t. In fact, there have been many studies Running head: Avatar Identification showing an association of presence and/or visual cues with physiological arousal. For example, Lombard and Ditton (1997) reported that the degree of arousal was closely related to individuals sense of presence in a mediated environment. In addition, several studies have shown that increasing screen size and adding motion to images produce more intense physiological arousal (Detenber, Simons, & Bennett, 1998; Dillon, Keogh, & Freeman, 2002; Lombard et al., 2000; Reeves et al., 1999). Many studies linking playing video games to an increase in physiological arousal, primarily use measures of heart rate as well as slightly less common measures of blood pressure and oxygen consumption (Calvert & Tan, 1994; Kubey & Larson, 1990; Segal & Dietz, 1991).