The Promoting Effect Of Obese Avatar On Health Cognition And Its Influencing Factors

With the improvement of living standards,people’s health awareness continues to improve.More and more people are pursuing a healthier lifestyle,such as regular exercise and healthy diet.A healthy lifestyle helps to prevent and control the occurrence and development of various diseases.Therefore,it is of great significance to help people establish healthy living habits.Virtual experience has the potential to change cognition and behavior in reality.Avatars in the virtual world can activate many health-related concepts.This research investigates the influence of avatar figure on user’s health cognition and health behavior,and aims to explore the indirect path of target activation of avatar figure and corresponding restrictive factors.Study 1 explores whether the avatar figure can cause the goal priming effect.52 college students were randomly assigned to the obese avatar group or the normal avatar group,and manipulated the avatar to live a day in The Sims 4.The results show that,compared with the normal avatar group,the obese avatar group spent more time engaging in healthier activities and made healthier choices for meals in the virtual environment.After the game,the self-efficacy on physical activity of this group also improved.Study 2 explores whether the individual’s own goal status will restrict the goal priming effect caused by the avatar’s figure.A total of 128 subjects were recruited for the experiment,using a 2(avatar figure: obese,normal)×2(goal status: weight loss goal,no weight loss goal)between-subject experimental design.Study 2 repeated the results of study 1.But the results show that,there was no significant difference on the behavior in virtual environments and health cognition and health behavior in reality between the subjects with or without weight loss goals when manipulating the obese avatar.Study 3 explores how the embodied presence moderate the goal priming effect of individuals with different goal status.A total of 120 subjects were recruited for the experiment,using a 2(goal status: weight loss goal,no weight loss goal)×2(embodied presence: high,low)between-subject experimental design.The results show that,compared with the no weight loss group,the weight loss group had healthier behavioral intentions and behavioral preferences in reality when manipulating the obese avatar.This research mainly draws the following conclusions:(1)When the attainment means are provided,the obese avatar can activate the user’s goal concept network,and the subjects will manipulate the avatar to eat healthier and exercise more in the virtual environment.This goal priming effect will affect the subjects’ evaluation of the health of the avatar and improve their exercise self-efficacy.(2)The individual’s own goal status will not affect the goal priming effect of the obese avatar.(3)The improvement of embodied presence will not affect the behavior in the virtual environment,but it can enhance the connection between the individual and the avatar,thereby promoting the activation and strengthening of the individual’s concept of weight loss,and improving healthy behavioral intentions and behavioral preferences in reality.This research enriches the understanding of the relationship between the individual and the avatar,and the influence mechanism of avatar characteristics on reality cognition and behavior.Provide certain guidance for the design and application of health-related virtual environments.