Investigating identity formation in a virtual reality narrative experience : becoming your ideal self
Year: 2022
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Virtual reality has grown into a stimulative, cognitive, and embodied tool for the psychological field.Multiple studies have been done investigating the neurological and psychological mechanisms involved in VR.The distinct feeling of presence and body ownership illusion in VR had been shown to be useful in mood improvement and cognitive reconstruction, which can also influence the formation of users' narrative identities in VR.To investigate identity formation mechanisms in VR, 2 pilot studies were done testing factors that trigger self-detachment and out-of-body experience; "seeing oneself as a third-person" was reported to be an influential factor, linked with greater self-awareness.I proposed a VR narrative experience called "becoming your ideal self", which allows the participants to immerse in VR with their ideal self avatar and complete a mission using the social VR platform VRChat.Participants also did a reflective talk with their current self avatar inside VRChat.After this experience, participants rated themselves better in self-awareness and mood state.I also did a qualitative analysis with the interview materials I obtained.This experiment demonstrated an example of how social VR platforms can be applied not only for entertainment but also for our identity formation and personal growth.
Authors: ズ, ジアルイ, クンツェ, カイ, Zu, Jiarui, 祖, 嘉瑞, Kunze, Kai
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7134384825