Can We 'Solve' Anonymity in Economic Experiments? Virtual Humans in High-Immersive Environments as a Method of Identification

Kaloyana Naneva ()
Additional contact information
Kaloyana Naneva: Université Côte d'Azur, GREDEG CNRS

Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, 2024, vol. 8, issue S1, 33-39

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to explore the potential of using virtual humans in Virtual Reality environments as a method to ensure participant anonymity while at the same time maintaining the dynamics of face-to-face interactions. Anonymity is a fundamental principle in experimental design, applied to avoid external pressures such as social desirability bias, concerns about social image, social sanctions, and attraction - or behavior - based preferences. It is essential to allow subjects' decisions to reflect their true preferences in private circumstances. However, increased anonymity has been associated with a rise in the perceived social distance between players. While previous identification methods-such as showing a photograph or sharing a participant's name-have proven effective in encouraging contributions, they often compromise anonymity and deviate from established experimental protocols. In contrast, in our daily lives, we can seldom ensure complete anonymity in our actions. The study proposes the use of interactive avatars within highly immersive VR environments as an identifier providing anonymity while simultaneously reducing social distance by mimicking the nuances of real-world human engagements. Furthermore, virtual humans provide control over the social connectedness within interactions as their appearance and behavior can be adapted to isolate effects that are difficult to study in real-life settings.

Keywords: anonymity; cooperation; immersive technologies; social distance; virtual reality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://sabeconomics.org/journal/RePEc/beh/JBEPv1/articles/JBEP-8-S1-3.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:beh:jbepv1:v:8:y:2024:i:s1:p:33-39

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy is currently edited by Michelle Baddeley

More articles in Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy from Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SABE ().