Effects of first vs. third-person perspective and self- versus other-avatars on user movements in virtual reality

Social science experiments in virtual reality (VR) frequently manipulate the perspective from which a user views an avatar and the identity of an avatar to change participant perceptions and attitudes. However, avatar embodiment may also influence physical behaviors—i.e., the way participants move—during the VR experience. For example, users may shift their position to align with avatars they see from a first-person perspective, a phenomenon known as the self-follower effect. We conducted a between-subjects, pre-registered study to understand how common techniques such as manipulating perspective and appearance might affect participant movements while in VR. We demonstrate that even when participants do not have agency over their avatars’ movements, viewing avatar movements influences their own actions, whether these are viewed from the first or the third-person perspective. These phenomena hold potential as interventions to prompt participant movements in other contexts.