Understanding the Impact of Coherence between Virtual Representations and Possible Interactions on Embodiment in VR: an Affordance Perspective

Abstract

The way users interact with Virtual Reality (VR) environments plays a crucial role in shaping their experience of embodying an avatar. The perception of avatars significantly influences users’ behaviour based on stereotypes, a phenomenon known as the Proteus effect. Moreover, understanding how virtual representations suggest possibilities for action (affordances) has attracted considerable attention in the human-computer interaction community. The aesthetic features of avatars may thus signify false affordances, conflicting with users’ expectations and impacting perceived plausibility, presence and embodiment. To explore this topic, this research focuses on the perception of virtual hands, comparing ghost-like and gloved representations by leveraging their affordances. This paper presents a preliminary assessment of avatar-related affordances, and the protocol of the follow-up VR experiment. Our future contribution lies in a documented study on the coherence between user representation, suggested affordances and actual agency, aiming to inform designers and researchers on how it could enhance VR qualia.