Does Embodying a Divine Avatar Influence Moral Decisions? An Immersive Virtual Reality Study.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw
; 27(7): 482-489, 2024 Jul.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38860338
ABSTRACT
The term Proteus effect refers to the changes in attitudes and behavior induced by the characteristics of an embodied virtual agent. Whether the effect can extend to the moral sphere is currently unknown. To deal with this issue, we investigated if embodying virtual agents (i.e., avatars) with different characteristics modulate people's moral standards differentially. Participants were requested to embody an avatar resembling the Christian God in His anthropomorphic appearance or a control human avatar and to perform a text-based version of incidental and instrumental dilemmas in a virtual environment. For each participant, we recorded (1) chosen options (deontological vs. utilitarian), (2) decision times, (3) postdecision feelings, and (4) physiological reactions (skin conductance response and heart rate). We found that embodying God vs. a control avatar did not change the performance in the moral dilemma task, indicating that no strong Proteus effect was at play in our experimental conditions. We interpreted this result by examining the constraints and limitations of our task, reasoning about the necessary conditions for eliciting the Proteus effect, and discussing future developments and advances in the field. Moreover, we presented compelling effects concerning dilemma type, chosen option, personality traits, and religion affiliation, thus supporting and extending literature on decision making in moral dilemmas.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Prise de décision
/
Réalité de synthèse
/
Sens moral
Limites:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Langue:
En
Journal:
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw
Sujet du journal:
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
/
PSICOLOGIA
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Italie
Pays de publication:
États-Unis d'Amérique