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Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity
This study investigates the Proteus effect from the first-person perspective and during avatar embodiment in actual exercise. In addition to the immediate measurements of the Proteus effect, prolonged effects such as next-day perception and exercise-related outcomes are also explored. We theorized t...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8531811/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34690859 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.693543 |
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author | Lin, Jih-Hsuan Tammy Wu, Dai-Yun Yang, Ji-Wei |
author_facet | Lin, Jih-Hsuan Tammy Wu, Dai-Yun Yang, Ji-Wei |
author_sort | Lin, Jih-Hsuan Tammy |
collection | PubMed |
description | This study investigates the Proteus effect from the first-person perspective and during avatar embodiment in actual exercise. In addition to the immediate measurements of the Proteus effect, prolonged effects such as next-day perception and exercise-related outcomes are also explored. We theorized the Proteus effect as altered perceived self-concept and explored the association between virtual reality (VR) avatar manipulation and self-concept in the exercise context. While existing studies have mainly investigated the Proteus effect in a non-VR environment or after VR embodiment, we aim to contribute to the literature by addressing this concern to explore how the Proteus effect works in actual VR exercise. Through a 2 (avatar body shape: with a six pack vs. normal) × 2 (sex: male vs. female) between-subject experiment, the results partially support the Proteus effect. Regarding actual physical activity, embodying an avatar with a six pack during exercise creates fewer body movements. No significant effect was found for perceived exertion. We also explored the role of sex as a potential moderator in the association of the Proteus effect on exercise outcomes. The Proteus effect was supported by immediate and next-day self-efficacy for core-muscle exercise only among female participants. The between-subject design allowed us to probe how avatar manipulation of muscular body shape with a six pack as opposed to normal body shape influences participants’ self-concept and exercise outcomes, as limited VR studies have employed within-subject comparisons. This also contributes to the literature by providing an upward comparison (e.g., muscular with a six pack vs. normal) as opposed to the previous downward comparison regarding body fitness (e.g., normal vs. obese). The overall results supported the Proteus effect in the context of core-muscle exercise when comparing normal and ideal body shape avatars. However, the Proteus effect as an altered self-concept and its effects on self-efficacy for exercise were supported among females but not males. Whereas the female participants who embodied avatars with a six pack associated themselves more with the muscular concept than other people, the male participants who embodied avatars with a six pack perceived themselves as more normal than others. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8531811 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-85318112021-10-23 Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity Lin, Jih-Hsuan Tammy Wu, Dai-Yun Yang, Ji-Wei Front Psychol Psychology This study investigates the Proteus effect from the first-person perspective and during avatar embodiment in actual exercise. In addition to the immediate measurements of the Proteus effect, prolonged effects such as next-day perception and exercise-related outcomes are also explored. We theorized the Proteus effect as altered perceived self-concept and explored the association between virtual reality (VR) avatar manipulation and self-concept in the exercise context. While existing studies have mainly investigated the Proteus effect in a non-VR environment or after VR embodiment, we aim to contribute to the literature by addressing this concern to explore how the Proteus effect works in actual VR exercise. Through a 2 (avatar body shape: with a six pack vs. normal) × 2 (sex: male vs. female) between-subject experiment, the results partially support the Proteus effect. Regarding actual physical activity, embodying an avatar with a six pack during exercise creates fewer body movements. No significant effect was found for perceived exertion. We also explored the role of sex as a potential moderator in the association of the Proteus effect on exercise outcomes. The Proteus effect was supported by immediate and next-day self-efficacy for core-muscle exercise only among female participants. The between-subject design allowed us to probe how avatar manipulation of muscular body shape with a six pack as opposed to normal body shape influences participants’ self-concept and exercise outcomes, as limited VR studies have employed within-subject comparisons. This also contributes to the literature by providing an upward comparison (e.g., muscular with a six pack vs. normal) as opposed to the previous downward comparison regarding body fitness (e.g., normal vs. obese). The overall results supported the Proteus effect in the context of core-muscle exercise when comparing normal and ideal body shape avatars. However, the Proteus effect as an altered self-concept and its effects on self-efficacy for exercise were supported among females but not males. Whereas the female participants who embodied avatars with a six pack associated themselves more with the muscular concept than other people, the male participants who embodied avatars with a six pack perceived themselves as more normal than others. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-10-08 /pmc/articles/PMC8531811/ /pubmed/34690859 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.693543 Text en Copyright © 2021 Lin, Wu and Yang. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Lin, Jih-Hsuan Tammy Wu, Dai-Yun Yang, Ji-Wei Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title | Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title_full | Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title_fullStr | Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title_full_unstemmed | Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title_short | Exercising With a Six Pack in Virtual Reality: Examining the Proteus Effect of Avatar Body Shape and Sex on Self-Efficacy for Core-Muscle Exercise, Self-Concept of Body Shape, and Actual Physical Activity |
title_sort | exercising with a six pack in virtual reality: examining the proteus effect of avatar body shape and sex on self-efficacy for core-muscle exercise, self-concept of body shape, and actual physical activity |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8531811/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34690859 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.693543 |
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