Abstract
The use of expressive avatars for digital self-representation have become more prevalent for online interactions today. People with social anxiety have a greater disposition to social stress, and thus people with higher trait social anxiety should exhibit improved social performance when using avatars as communication intermediaries. Past communication studies have demonstrated positive effects of avatar representation for social anxiety. However, much of the research was conducted using avatars with poorer visual quality and behavioural fidelity, thus there are conflicting learning outcomes about social interaction benefits via expressive avatar use. Here, camera facial-tracking technology was used to naturally track and render user’s expressive facial expressions on higher visual and behavioural fidelity avatars. To assess the effectiveness of these expressive avatars as a communication tool, quantitative and qualitative data from 17 young adults (22.8 ± 2.2 years, 53% men) from the Singapore University of Technology and Design was collected. Relative performance of disclosure, stress appraisal, and social performance against a participant’s trait anxiety score under 3 different computer mediated communication conditions of varying visual and behavioural fidelity was assessed. Computer mediated communication was found to be inferior compared to in-person communication modes for overall disclosure, and participants generally preferred Face-to-face computer communication to Avatar communication. This is because detailed interpolation of facial deformation of human expression unto a digital avatar representation was still not yet achieved. Key results confirmed that CMC modes provide more restful physiological states, with higher Secondary Appraisal scores (Mean = 31.94) than Primary Appraisal scores (Mean = 17.47). Trait Anxiety Score has a positive correlation with the ‘Honesty/Accuracy’ aspect of Disclosure (r=0.357, p=0.08). with stronger correlational results for Non-Avatar CMC (r=0.5, p=0.021) than Avatar CMC (r=0.392, p=0.06), showing that CMC facilitates stronger Honesty/Accuracy of Disclosure among trait-anxious participants, but high fidelity expressive avatars are still inferior compared to regular video conferencing. Avatar communication also promotes more restful physiological states through more resources provided for the individual to cope with perceived threat and stress. Trait Anxiety was also found to have a positive correlation with parasympathetic index scores for both Non-Avatar(r=0.514, p=0.05) and Avatar CMCs(r=0.534, p=0.04) From these findings, the benefits provided by CMC show promise to help facilitate trait-anxious individuals to perform better in synchronous communication interaction.