Today, 23th of May I am presenting at the metameets 09 conference. My topic is the psychological relation between avatar and creator. This is my presentation.

1. Metameets 2009
22-24 May 2009
The psychologicalconnection -betweenvirtualworlds and reallife.

2. Metameets 2009
22-24 May 2009
The psychologicalconnection -betweenvirtualworlds and reallife.
• Whoam I
• Types of avatar selfexpression
• Identitydevelopment

3. Whoam I
Rianne Gardien Rian Hirvi
Real Life Secondlife
Bachelor student Socializer| firedancer | builder
The HagueUniversity MysticAcademy |The Black Spot | [PML]
Over 4000 hours | 3 years Over 1500 hours|2 years
Socialeducational counselor Inworld

4. Types of avatar selfexpression
small psychological distance large
appearance
different sameperson role play
lookingdiffently another person
similar
a copy
….
of itscreator
similar different
personality

5. small psychological distance large
appearance
different
similar
a copy
of itscreator
similar different
personality

6. Avatar as a copy of itscreator
SL helpsme to project myrealself and feelingsinto
SL, and the otherwayaround as well (Beeflin Grut)
SL made itpossiblefor me to test socialinteractions and
thingsIwouldn’t do in RL. (FlufFredriksson)
I foundthat the soul of me is ok to be, throughbeing me
on SL and therefore I amable to touch base with the
real me in RL. (AhsanNadezda)

7. small psychological distance large
appearance
different sameperson
lookingdiffently
similar
similar different

8. Avatar with the samepersonality
I got to knowmyselfbetter and felt more confidentbeingmyself. I
made a lot of friends, doingwellsocially in SL, meantthat I could do
wellsocially in RL. (HokonCazalet)
I own a club, owning a club helped me to be more confident and to
speak up formyself.
Itlearned me to organisebetteraswell.(Alianne75 Barrymore)
I had a hard life, SL helped me to explore and realisethat I
amnotbroken, thatthings are howthey are and canbegood. I felt
more confortable in SL becauseIdon’t have to seepeopleagainwhen
I make big mistakes, or I canmutepeoplewhenthey are
reallycreepy(CasiopaXue)

9. small psychological distance large
appearance
different role play
another person
similar
similar different
personality

10. Avatar as anotherperson.
Usuallythroughroleplay, I don’tlearnanythingparticularly
special it’sjust a fantasy, and doesn’t have
anyrealapplication RL unlessyoucountacting and
writingskills as improving.(SilverGreybeard)
I alreadyknowhow I am RL and express myselfhere as well
in the samemanner.
Creativety opens in mymind and I learn more
aboutmycharacter and others. (Shannon Iwish)
My experiences in sldon’t have a big influenceonmyrl, it’s
more likemyrlaffectsmysl. I use the knowledge I gained in
the army to help mycombatstrategizingduringroleplaying.
(DariaGuisse)

11. Avatar as anotherperson.
I have become more confidentso I guessshe
has pulled out some of myconfidence.
(DariaGuisse)
The personalgrowth I get is from a
goodfriendship.
When I portrait a different character I learn
more aboutmyself.(Shannon Iwish)

12. Identitydevelopment
Lookingglassself,
A persondefinesitselfthroughthe social mirror.
(Cooly 1902 &Mead 1934)

13. Lookingglassself
What does oursocial mirror look like.
Real Life Secondlife
Family Avatars and theircreators
Peers
Limitedspace World wide
Smallvariety of cultures Biggervariety of cultures
Famely, agedoesntmatter Feweragebasednetworks
Peers, mainlysameage
Itcanbe hard to get in touch Easier to makenewfriends
withpeople
Networks and groups are Socialnetworks are visible and
lessvisiblewichmakesit harder to easierto joinorleave
find and jointhem

14. Lookingglassself
SpecificallySL has made myrelationships in RL
deeper and more adventurous, loving more
peoplemeansgetting close to and understanding
more people, so I canunderstand more
aboutpeople in generalincludingthose close to
me in RL and myself. (Beeflin Grut)
SL helped me to meet manypeoplefrom all
around the world and broadenmypersonal goals
and horizonsbecause of thosefriendships.
(CasiopaXue)

15. Metameets 2009
22-24 May 2009
The psychologicalconnection -betweenvirtualworlds and reallife.
Rianne Gardien | Rian Hirvi