메타버스 속 멀티 페르소나 경향이
태도, 몰입, 지속사용의도에 끼치는 영향


2023 봄철 3학회 공동학술대회:
미디어경영학회, 정보사회학회, 사이버커뮤니케이션학회

2023-05-12



Changjun Lee

Hanyang University

Dep. Media & Social Informatics

 changjunlee.com

We are..


Creative & Interaction Research Institute

 창의성과인터랙션 연구소


연구책임자 전임연구원 선임연구원 연구원
이창준 교수 최윤슬 연구교수 이승경 박사과정 박영주 석사과정

Research Background


Metaverse

  • Definition

    • A virtual coexistence world that combines online virtual space and reality

    • A compound word of meta meaning transcendence and universe meaning universe

    • A collective virtual world of coexistence in which virtual space and physical space are combined (virtual shared space)

the metaverse is a combination of virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet. The common devices that let you access this virtual space include augmented reality (AR) glasses and virtual reality (VR) headsets.

Research Background


Metaverse

Note: What is Metaverse Art? in Materworks (link)

Research Background


Metaverse is different from the existing SNS


  • Unlike existing SNS, the metaverse environment has a difference in that

    • social exchanges and

    • cultural and economic activities are possible.


  • In addition, users can exist in various forms:

    • From what you can see in MV (Apspearance, Clothing Style, Brand)

    • Even to the invisible things (Personality, Characteristics)


  • All these features become real with AVATAR!

Research Background


Multi-persona

Multi-persona refers to the concept of an individual assuming multiple roles, identities, or personas, often to adapt to different contexts or environments, or to fulfill various needs or expectations.

  • Contexts:

    • Personal life (family, friends, hobbies)
    • Professional life (work, career, networking)
    • Online presence (social media, forums, gaming)
    • Cultural or social settings (community, religion, politics)

Research Background


Multi-persona

Multi-persona refers to the concept of an individual assuming multiple roles, identities, or personas, often to adapt to different contexts or environments, or to fulfill various needs or expectations.

  • Reasons for adopting multi-persona:

    • Adaptability and versatility
    • Privacy and anonymity
    • Personal exploration and growth
    • Meeting diverse expectations or demands
    • Creativity and self-expression

Research Background


Multi-persona

Multi-persona refers to the concept of an individual assuming multiple roles, identities, or personas, often to adapt to different contexts or environments, or to fulfill various needs or expectations.

  • Benefits:

    • Enhanced flexibility and adaptability
    • Improved understanding of different perspectives
    • Greater personal and professional growth
    • Ability to navigate various social situations
    • Increased resilience and coping strategies## Research Background

Literature Review


The Effects of Metaverse Users’ Social and Psychological Factors on Avatar Customization

Here, Multi-persona is the degree to which an avatar is created differently from the actual person (Appearance, Brand, Style, Personality). (Lee et al., Under Review)

Literature Review


Avatar similarity as a way to bridge the gap between the real world and the virtual world

  • People tend to identify more with avatars that physically resemble them, which increases their sense of presence and involvement in the virtual team task (Bailenson, Blascovich, and Guadagno 2008).

  • “Member-avatar similarity” can lead to higher team performance by increasing team members’ involvement in the task Witmer and Singer (1998).

  • A process of self-identification is central here: Stronger identification with avatars increases the feeling of being present in the group and involved in the group task (Bailenson, Blascovich, and Guadagno 2008).

Research Gap..


What happens when it’s not a group task, but simply immersing oneself in the virtual world?

  • Does a stronger self-identification with one’s avatar (Avatar similarity) lead to better immersion, as it does in group tasks?

  • Or is better immersion achieved through a stronger tendency towards multi-personas (avatar dis-similarity)?

Problem Description

  • Explored the factors of boosting users’ Multi-persona tendency

  • However, still unknown mechanisms remain (i.e. Multi-persona → Attitude, Flow, ITU)

Research Questions



  1. Do users’ multi-persona tendencies differ between metaverses based on anonymity and real name?
    • between Real vs. Meta (Real-name based)
    • between Real vs. Meta (Anonymous)
    • between Meta (Real-name based) vs. Meta (Anonymous)


  1. How do multi-persona tendencies affect the way enjoying metaverse?

    • What is the relationship between Multi-persona tendency and Attitude to Metaverse?

    • What is the relationship between Multi-persona tendency and Immersion?

    • What is the relationship between Multi-persona tendency and Intention to use?

Method


Experimental Survey

  • Sample #: 528

  • Questionnaires

    • Avatar customizing

      • Appearance
      • Brand
      • Style
      • Characteristics

    • Attitude to MV, Immersion,
      Intention to Use

    • Socio-deomographic factors

Method

Result: Appearance

Result: Appearance

Result: Brand

Result: Brand

Result: Style

Result: Style

Result: Characteristics

Result: Characteristics

Result: Corr btw Multi-persona


Research Design


Chosen representative experiment: Real vs. Meta(Anonymous)

  • First dimension: Apprearance vs. Style
Appr diff < Median(Appr diff) Appr diff > Median(Appr diff)
Style → (-) to ‘casual’ A B
Style → (+) to ‘formal’ C D


  • Second dimension: Apprearance vs. Brand/Characters
Appr diff < Median(Appr diff) Appr diff > Median(Appr diff)
Brand/Chars → (-) to ‘plain’ E F
Brand/Chars → (+) to ‘lux’ G H


  • The outcome variables interested in: Immersion, Attitude, Intention to Continuous Use

Research Design

First dimension: Apprearance vs. Style

Research Design

Second dimension: Apprearance vs. Brand/Characters

Result: Group Difference in ATT, FLOW, ITU



  • Appearance vs. Style → Flow : No statistical sig. difference among groups

  • Appearance vs. Style → Attitude : No statistical sig. difference among groups

  • Appearance vs. Style → Intention to Use : No statistical sig. difference among groups


  • Appearance vs. Brd/Chr → Flow : No statistical sig. difference among groups

  • Appearance vs. Brd/Chr → Attitude : No statistical sig. difference among groups

  • Appearance vs. Brd/Chr → Intention to Use : No statistical sig. difference among groups

Research Design (NEW)


Multiple Linear Regressions

  • Experimental settings:

    • (1) Real vs. Meta(Anonymous)

    • (2) Real vs. Meta(Real-name based)

    • (3) Meta(Real-name based) vs. Meta(Anonymous)


\[ Y_i = \beta_1 \Delta Appr_i + \beta_2 \Delta Style_i + \beta_3 \Delta Brand_i + \beta_4 \Delta Chars_i + \alpha + \epsilon_i \]

\[ \Delta X_i = X_{i, j=k}-X_{i, j \neq k} \]

  • \(Y_i\) = {Attitude to Metaverse, Flow, Intention to Continuous Use}

  • where \(i\) and \(j\) represent individual and experiment setting, respectively

  • \(j = {\{Real, Meta(real), Meta(anony)\}}\)

Result: Total at a glance

Result: Exp(1) Real vs. Meta(Anonymous)


  • The more differently a user creates their avatar’s Appearance,

    • the greater the probability of a positive attitude towards the metaverse (0.139, P<.01),

    • as well as the likelihood of continued usage (0.084, P<.1).

  • \(\Delta Style_i > 0\) means that user \(i\) creates their avatar’s style towards ‘Casual’ (from ‘Formal’)

  • The more a user creates their avatar’s style to be casual (compared to formal)

    • the lower the probability of continued usage (-0.132, P<.01).

Result: Exp(2) Real vs. Meta(Real-name based)


  • The more differently a user creates their avatar’s Appearance,

    • the greater the probability of a positive attitude towards the metaverse (0.177, P<.001),

    • as well as the likelihood of immersion into the metaverse (0.100, P<.05) and continued usage (0.150, P<.1).

  • \(\Delta Brand_i > 0\) means that user \(i\) creates their avatar’s brand towards ‘no-brand’ (from ‘luxurious’)

  • The more a user creates their avatar’s brand to be no-brand (compared to luxurious)

    • the higher the probability of immersion into the metaverse (0.107, P<.05).

Result: Exp(3) Meta(Real) vs. Meta(Anony)


  • The more differently a user creates their avatar’s Appearance,

    • the greater the probability of a positive attitude towards the metaverse (0.110, P<.05), as well as the likelihood of immersion into the metaverse (0.116, P<.01).

  • The more a user creates their avatar’s style to be casual (compared to formal)

    • the higher the probability of continued usage (0.151, P<.01).

  • \(\Delta Chars_i > 0\) means that user \(i\) creates their avatar’s characters towards ‘Sober’ (from ‘Multi-dimensional’)

  • The more a user creates their avatar’s characters to be plain/sober (compared to multi-dimensional)

    • the lower the probability of a positive attitude towards the metaverse (-0.086, P<.1), as well as the likelihood of immersion (-0.120, P<.05) and continued usage (-0.112, P<.05).

Discussion


What we’ve found are..


  1. Do users’ multi-persona tendencies differ between metaverses based on anonymity and real name?

    • between Real vs. Meta (Real-name based)

    • between Real vs. Meta (Anonymous)

    • between Meta (Real-name based) vs. Meta (Anonymous)



Answer: Indeed!

Discussion


2. How do multi-persona tendencies affect the way enjoying metaverse?


  • Multi-persona in avatar appearance is associated with a positive Attitude (+) towards the metaverse and increased likelihood of Continued usage (+), regardless of the type of metaverse (Exp 1, 2, and 3).

  • Multi-persona in avatar style: A more Casual style is associated with a lower likelihood of Continued usage (-) in anonymous metaverses (Exp 1. Real vs. Meta_a).

  • Multi-persona in avatar brand: No-brand is more associated with a high Immersion (+) in both real-name based and anonymous metaverse (Exp 2. Real vs. Meta_r, and Exp 3. Meta_r vs. Meta_a).

  • Multi-persona in avatar characteristics: Multi-dimensional avatar character is associated with a positive Attitude (+) and high Immersion (+) (Exp 2 and 3).

The tendency to create multi-personal avatars is shown to have an impact on attitudes, immersion, and intention to continue using the meta-verse platform!

Future Plans


  • Robustness check


  • Explore more..

    • e.g.) Multi-perosonal tendency clustering

    • Explore any difference in metaverse usage among clusters


  • Wrapping up the results and find a target journal

Finalize this talk


Thanks for your attention


You can find this presentation here


Any questions & suggestions?



Changjun Lee

Hanyang University

Dep. Media & Social Informatics

 changjunlee.com


References

Bailenson, Jeremy N, Jim Blascovich, and Rosanna E Guadagno. 2008. “Self-Representations in Immersive Virtual Environments 1.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 38 (11): 2673–90.
Scaife, Mike, and Yvonne Rogers. 2001. “Informing the Design of a Virtual Environment to Support Learning in Children.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 55 (2): 115–43.
Witmer, Bob G, and Michael J Singer. 1998. “Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire.” Presence 7 (3): 225–40.