Beautifully diverse? Self-representations and diversity preferences in avatar-mediated virtual environments

While online platforms increasingly prioritize diversity by offering extensive avatar customization options, it remains unclear how the avatar features that users are attracted to impact their objective diversity and whether perceived avatar diversity raises user engagement. We conducted two studies using a simulated avatar customization website to examine how user customization of avatars impacts each feature’s objective diversity. Further, drawing from the hyperpersonal model and aesthetic appreciation theory, we present users with groups of avatars that varied in levels of perceived attractiveness and diversity and assess their likelihoods of joining the platform. Study 1 analyzed 136 majority White participants (age range: 21 – 63 years; M = 37.4, SD = 10.8; 49.3% female, 47.8% male, 0.7% non-binary or third gender; 2.2% missing), and study 2 analyzed 128 non-White participants (age range: 21 – 65 years; M = 35.2, SD = 10.2; 47.7% female, 47.7% male; 4.7% missing). The results revealed two types of avatar features that were sample-dependent: (1) aesthetically-normative features, which align with widely accepted attractiveness norms, reduce objective diversity; and (2) aesthetically-expressive features, which allow creative self-expression, increase objective diversity. Regardless of the sample demographic, perceived avatar diversity amplified the positive effect of attractive avatars on users’ likelihood of joining the platform. This research demonstrates the utility of integrating the hyperpersonal model and aesthetic appreciation theory in theorizing the interaction between perceived avatar attractiveness and diversity on user engagement. It also uncovers a socio-technical feedback loop by studying objective and perceived diversity simultaneously. Actionable insights are provided to address the ethical implications of our findings

Attractiveness · Avatar · Metaverse · Personalization · Physical attractiveness · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Social Robot Interaction and HRI