<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
describes	O
a	O
phenomenon	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
behavior	O
of	O
an	O
individual	O
,	O
within	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
,	O
is	O
changed	O
by	O
the	O
characteristics	O
of	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
change	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
individual	O
's	O
knowledge	O
about	O
the	O
behaviors	O
that	O
other	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
that	O
virtual	B-Operating_System
environment	I-Operating_System
typically	O
associate	O
with	O
those	O
characteristics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
adjective	O
protean	O
(	O
meaning	O
versatile	O
or	O
mutable	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
concept	O
's	O
name	O
is	O
an	O
allusion	O
to	O
the	O
shape	O
changing	O
abilities	O
of	O
the	O
Greek	O
god	O
Proteus	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
was	O
first	O
introduced	O
by	O
researchers	O
Nick	B-Application
Yee	I-Application
and	O
Jeremy	O
Bailenson	O
at	O
Stanford	O
University	O
in	O
June	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
considered	O
an	O
area	O
of	O
research	O
concerned	O
with	O
the	O
examination	O
of	O
the	O
behavioral	O
effects	O
of	O
changing	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
embodied	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
proposes	O
that	O
the	O
visual	O
characteristics	O
and	O
traits	O
of	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
are	O
associated	O
with	O
specific	O
behavioral	O
stereotypes	B-Language
and	O
expectations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
an	O
individual	O
believes	O
that	O
others	O
will	O
expect	O
certain	O
behaviors	O
from	O
them	O
because	O
of	O
their	O
avatars	B-Application
 '	O
appearance	O
,	O
they	O
will	O
engage	O
in	O
those	O
expected	O
behaviors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
comes	O
from	O
past	O
research	O
in	O
real	O
world	O
scenarios	O
that	O
has	O
shown	O
how	O
certain	O
physical	O
characteristics	O
,	O
like	O
attractiveness	O
and	O
height	O
,	O
are	O
often	O
associated	O
with	O
more	O
positive	O
social	O
and	O
professional	O
outcomes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
experimental	O
manipulations	O
of	O
these	O
characteristics	O
in	O
virtual	O
environments	O
have	O
shown	O
that	O
individuals	O
engage	O
in	O
stereotype-confirming	O
behaviors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
)	O
,	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
is	O
particularly	O
relevant	O
to	O
CMC	O
in	O
which	O
individuals	O
interact	O
by	O
using	O
avatars	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
effect	O
is	O
driven	O
by	O
the	O
increased	O
ability	O
to	O
control	O
one	O
's	O
appearance	O
in	O
an	O
online	O
virtual	B-Operating_System
environment	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
environments	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
control	O
many	O
aspects	O
of	O
their	O
appearance	O
that	O
they	O
cannot	O
easily	O
change	O
in	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
height	O
,	O
weight	O
,	O
facial	O
features	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
psychological	O
concepts	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
are	O
behavioral	O
confirmation	O
,	O
self-perception	O
theory	O
,	O
and	O
deindividuation	O
,	O
although	O
since	O
then	O
further	O
explanatory	O
approaches	O
and	O
influencing	O
factors	O
such	O
as	O
priming	O
and	O
feedback	O
loops	O
through	O
communication	O
have	O
been	O
identified	O
or	O
proposed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
this	O
concept	O
proposes	O
that	O
interacting	O
with	O
individuals	O
who	O
hold	O
preexisting	O
stereotypes	B-Language
will	O
lead	O
the	O
target	O
of	O
those	O
stereotypes	B-Language
to	O
engage	O
in	O
behaviors	O
that	O
will	O
confirm	O
the	O
perceiver	O
's	O
expectations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
differs	O
from	O
behavioral	O
confirmation	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
consider	O
the	O
actions	O
of	O
a	O
perceiver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
its	O
goal	O
is	O
to	O
explain	O
how	O
the	O
individual	O
's	O
own	O
stereotypes	B-Language
and	O
expectations	O
drives	O
the	O
change	O
in	O
behavior	O
,	O
independent	O
of	O
any	O
social	O
interactions	O
that	O
take	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
series	O
of	O
studies	O
on	O
self-perception	O
theory	O
that	O
looked	O
at	O
changes	O
in	O
behavior	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
wearing	O
black	O
,	O
a	O
color	O
associated	O
with	O
negative	O
concepts	O
like	O
death	O
and	O
evil	O
,	O
were	O
influential	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
these	O
studies	O
by	O
Mark	O
G	O
.	O
Frank	O
and	O
Thomas	O
Gilovich	O
,	O
participants	O
who	O
watched	O
video	O
recordings	O
of	O
sports	O
rated	O
NFL	B-Application
and	O
NHL	O
players	O
wore	O
black	O
uniforms	O
as	O
being	O
more	O
aggressive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
carries	O
this	O
idea	O
into	O
virtual	O
environments	O
,	O
where	O
individuals	O
see	O
themselves	O
as	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
which	O
in	O
turn	O
shapes	O
their	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
meta-analysis	O
examining	O
46	O
quantitative	O
experimental	O
studies	O
of	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
found	O
a	O
small-but-approaching-medium	O
effect	O
size	O
that	O
was	O
relatively	O
consistent	O
(	O
between	O
0.22	O
and	O
0.26	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
nearly	O
all	O
variance	O
explained	O
,	O
suggesting	O
that	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
is	O
reliable	O
and	O
sizable	O
relative	O
to	O
other	O
digital	O
media	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Findings	O
from	O
a	O
study	O
that	O
compared	O
the	O
appearance	O
and	O
behaviors	O
of	O
avatars	B-Application
in	O
Second	B-Application
Life	I-Application
to	O
the	O
real	O
world	O
behavior	O
and	O
appearance	O
of	O
their	O
users	O
support	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
study	O
,	O
participants	O
who	O
reported	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
designed	O
their	O
avatars	B-Application
to	O
be	O
more	O
attractive	O
also	O
reported	O
engaging	O
in	O
more	O
confident	O
and	O
extraverted	O
behavior	O
when	O
compared	O
to	O
their	O
real	O
world	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
has	O
also	O
been	O
linked	O
to	O
attitude	O
changes	O
that	O
reflect	O
the	O
stereotypes	B-Language
associated	O
with	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
's	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
study	O
by	O
Jesse	O
Fox	O
,	O
Jeremy	O
N	O
.	O
Bailenson	O
,	O
and	O
Liz	O
Tricase	O
,	O
women	O
were	O
assigned	O
avatars	B-Application
whose	O
appearances	O
were	O
either	O
highly	O
sexualized	O
or	O
non-sexualized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
wearing	O
a	O
head-mounted	B-General_Concept
display	I-General_Concept
,	O
participants	O
were	O
asked	O
to	O
face	O
a	O
virtual	O
mirror	O
that	O
allowed	O
them	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
reflection	O
of	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
virtual	O
conversation	O
with	O
a	O
male	O
avatar	B-Application
who	O
was	O
being	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
researchers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Women	O
who	O
used	O
a	O
sexualized	O
avatar	B-Application
reported	O
having	O
more	O
thoughts	O
about	O
their	O
body	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
researchers	O
concluded	O
that	O
this	O
finding	O
supports	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
by	O
demonstrating	O
that	O
individuals	O
internalized	O
the	O
sexualized	O
aspects	O
of	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
's	O
appearance	O
,	O
which	O
led	O
to	O
greater	O
self-objectification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
studies	O
that	O
suggest	O
how	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
avatars	B-Application
decrease	O
stereotypes	B-Language
about	O
elderly	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
support	O
for	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
comes	O
from	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
studies	O
that	O
used	O
avatars	B-Application
to	O
increase	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
exercise	O
performed	O
by	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Across	O
three	O
studies	O
,	O
the	O
results	O
consistently	O
showed	O
that	O
participants	O
were	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
increase	O
their	O
level	O
of	O
physical	O
activity	O
after	O
observing	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
engage	O
in	O
those	O
behaviors	O
and	O
be	O
rewarded	O
for	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
major	O
difference	O
in	O
this	O
study	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
effects	O
that	O
avatars	B-Application
had	O
on	O
participants	O
 '	O
behavior	O
depended	O
on	O
how	O
much	O
the	O
avatar	B-Application
resembled	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
difference	O
was	O
tested	O
by	O
assigning	O
some	O
users	O
avatars	B-Application
that	O
had	O
been	O
created	O
using	O
photographs	O
of	O
their	O
actual	O
faces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
has	O
also	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
explain	O
successful	O
replications	O
of	O
the	O
work	O
by	O
Frank	O
and	O
Gilovich	O
(	O
1988	O
)	O
and	O
Johnson	O
and	O
Downing	O
(	O
1979	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
results	O
of	O
two	O
studies	O
by	O
Jorge	O
Peña	O
,	O
Jeffrey	O
T	O
.	O
Hancock	O
,	O
and	O
Nicholas	O
A	O
.	O
Merola	O
found	O
that	O
attitude	O
towards	O
aggressive	O
behavior	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	O
setting	O
was	O
increased	O
in	O
individuals	O
who	O
used	O
avatars	B-Application
wearing	O
black	O
cloaks	O
or	O
clothing	O
that	O
resembled	O
KKK	O
uniforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
researchers	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
negative	O
associations	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
avatar	B-Application
's	O
appearance	O
changed	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
attitudes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
the	O
researchers	O
suggested	O
that	O
priming	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
self-perception	O
theory	O
,	O
could	O
explain	O
the	B-General_Concept
Proteus	I-General_Concept
effect	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
