Valletta, ElisaKalus, AlexanderBogon, JohannaHenze, Niels2024-08-212024-08-212024https://dl.gi.de/handle/20.500.12116/44354In virtual reality (VR), users can be represented by avatars, that do not necessarily match their own body image. Using a first-person perspective and giving the user full control of the avatar can reinforce the illusion that the virtual body belongs to the user. This can lead to the Proteus effect, where the representation of the avatar influences the user’s behaviour, attitude, perception or performance. This influence depends on how the visual characteristics of the avatar are perceived and what expectations and experiences are associated with this appearance. Several studies have investigated the effect of embodying an avatar that does not match one's own body in terms of physical fitness, for example using muscular or overweight avatars. However, it is unknown which body characteristics exactly can be represented by avatars in such a way that they can be perceived by users and thus create a Proteus effect. We propose a systematic evaluation of five physical characteristics to understand which physical characteristics can be recognizably transferred to an avatar and thus induce the Proteus effect. In addition to understand which physical characteristics can induce the Proteus effect, the proposed approach can help analysing further avatar characteristics.enhttp://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/RestrictedAccessText/Workshop Paper10.18420/muc2024-mci-ws06-213