Investigating the Impact of Customized Avatars and the Proteus Effect during Physical Exercise in Virtual Reality

Martin Kocur; Melanie Kloss; Christoph Schaufler; Valentin Schwind; Niels Henze

doi:10.1145/3706598

Investigating the Impact of Customized Avatars and the Proteus Effect during Physical Exercise in Virtual Reality

Martin Kocur, Melanie Kloss, Christoph Schaufler, Valentin Schwind, Niels Henze

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedings › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) allows to embody avatars. Coined the Proteus effect, an avatar’s visual appearance can influence users’ behavior and perception. Recent work suggests that athletic avatars decrease perceptual and physiological responses during VR exercise. However, such effects can fail to occur when users do not experience avatar ownership and identification. While customized avatars increase body ownership and identification, it is unclear whether they improve the Proteus effect. We conducted a study with 24 participants to determine the effects of athletic and non-athletic avatars that were either customized or randomly assigned. We developed a customization editor to allow creating customized avatars. We found that customized avatars reduced perceived exertion. We also found that athletic avatars decreased heart rate while holding weights, however, only when being customized. Results indicate that customized avatars can positively influence users during physical exertion. We discuss the utilization of avatar customization in VR exercise systems.

Original language	German (Austria)
Title of host publication	CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400713941
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598
Publication status	Published - 25 Apr 2025

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10.1145/3706598

Cite this

@inproceedings{4f88b1de16334d6886315b5747593778,

title = "Investigating the Impact of Customized Avatars and the Proteus Effect during Physical Exercise in Virtual Reality",

abstract = "Virtual reality (VR) allows to embody avatars. Coined the Proteus effect, an avatar{\textquoteright}s visual appearance can influence users{\textquoteright} behavior and perception. Recent work suggests that athletic avatars decrease perceptual and physiological responses during VR exercise. However, such effects can fail to occur when users do not experience avatar ownership and identification. While customized avatars increase body ownership and identification, it is unclear whether they improve the Proteus effect. We conducted a study with 24 participants to determine the effects of athletic and non-athletic avatars that were either customized or randomly assigned. We developed a customization editor to allow creating customized avatars. We found that customized avatars reduced perceived exertion. We also found that athletic avatars decreased heart rate while holding weights, however, only when being customized. Results indicate that customized avatars can positively influence users during physical exertion. We discuss the utilization of avatar customization in VR exercise systems.",

author = "Martin Kocur and Melanie Kloss and Christoph Schaufler and Valentin Schwind and Niels Henze",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

day = "25",

doi = "10.1145/3706598",

language = "Deutsch ({\"O}sterreich)",

booktitle = "CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

}

Investigating the Impact of Customized Avatars and the Proteus Effect during Physical Exercise in Virtual Reality. / Kocur, Martin; Kloss, Melanie; Schaufler, Christoph et al.
CHI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, 2025.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedings › Conference contribution › peer-review

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T1 - Investigating the Impact of Customized Avatars and the Proteus Effect during Physical Exercise in Virtual Reality

AU - Kocur, Martin

AU - Kloss, Melanie

AU - Schaufler, Christoph

AU - Schwind, Valentin

AU - Henze, Niels

PY - 2025/4/25

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N2 - Virtual reality (VR) allows to embody avatars. Coined the Proteus effect, an avatar’s visual appearance can influence users’ behavior and perception. Recent work suggests that athletic avatars decrease perceptual and physiological responses during VR exercise. However, such effects can fail to occur when users do not experience avatar ownership and identification. While customized avatars increase body ownership and identification, it is unclear whether they improve the Proteus effect. We conducted a study with 24 participants to determine the effects of athletic and non-athletic avatars that were either customized or randomly assigned. We developed a customization editor to allow creating customized avatars. We found that customized avatars reduced perceived exertion. We also found that athletic avatars decreased heart rate while holding weights, however, only when being customized. Results indicate that customized avatars can positively influence users during physical exertion. We discuss the utilization of avatar customization in VR exercise systems.

AB - Virtual reality (VR) allows to embody avatars. Coined the Proteus effect, an avatar’s visual appearance can influence users’ behavior and perception. Recent work suggests that athletic avatars decrease perceptual and physiological responses during VR exercise. However, such effects can fail to occur when users do not experience avatar ownership and identification. While customized avatars increase body ownership and identification, it is unclear whether they improve the Proteus effect. We conducted a study with 24 participants to determine the effects of athletic and non-athletic avatars that were either customized or randomly assigned. We developed a customization editor to allow creating customized avatars. We found that customized avatars reduced perceived exertion. We also found that athletic avatars decreased heart rate while holding weights, however, only when being customized. Results indicate that customized avatars can positively influence users during physical exertion. We discuss the utilization of avatar customization in VR exercise systems.

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