Table 1.
Avatar identification scores according to gender and avatar characteristics.
| Avatar identificationa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | n | M (SD) | F(2,992) | Partial η2 | Post-hocb |
| Gender | |||||
| 1. Male | 725 | 40.77 (15.39) | 15.40* | 0.03 | 2 > 1 |
| 2. Female | 243 | 46.61 (13.76) | |||
| 3. Other | 25 | 44.16 (14.62) | |||
| Avatar type | |||||
| 1. Human | 897 | 42.45 (15.15) | 1.06 | – | – |
| 2. Non-human creature | 82 | 41.48 (15.49) | |||
| 3. Non-human non-creature | 14 | 36.86 (15.19) | |||
| Number of avatars controlled | |||||
| 1. 1 main avatar | 435 | 44.36 (14.88) | 7.81* | 0.02 | 1 > 2–3 |
| 2. 2+ avatars | 511 | 40.87 (15.19) | |||
| 3. No main avatar | 47 | 38.53 (15.68) | |||
| Avatar perspective | |||||
| 1. First-person only | 128 | 40.07 (16.06) | 8.57* | 0.02 | 3 > 1–2 |
| 2. Third-person only | 675 | 41.60 (15.09) | |||
| 3. Both perspectives | 190 | 46.22 (14.30) | |||
| Initial avatar customizability | |||||
| 1. Single default | 212 | 39.54 (15.55) | 8.11* | 0.02 | 3 > 1–2 |
| 2. Multiple defaults | 196 | 40.52 (15.86) | |||
| 3. Fully customizable | 585 | 43.87 (14.63) | |||
| In-game avatar customization | |||||
| 1. No option | 133 | 38.99 (17.15) | 11.24* | 0.02 | 3 > 1–2 |
| 2. Some options | 383 | 40.51 (14.50) | |||
| 3. Many options | 477 | 44.63 (14.80) | |||
| Game genre | |||||
| 1. MMO | 419 | 43.60 (15.22) | 3.95* | 0.02 | 3 < 1–2 |
| 2. RPG | 253 | 43.38 (14.67) | |||
| 3. MOBA | 80 | 37.64 (16.37) | |||
| 4. FPS | 125 | 40.34 (15.08) | |||
| 5. Other | 116 | 40.48 (14.64) | |||
*p < .01. aHigher scores indicated stronger avatar identification (Range: 17–85). Total score on the main subscale. bBonferroni post-hoc analyses, except for gender and avatar customization options when there were unequal variances assumed (Games-Howell). MMO: Massively Multiplayer Online; RPG: Role-Playing Game; MOBA: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena; FPS: First Person Shooter.