Avatars and Behavioral Experiments: Methods for Controlled Quantitative Social Behavioral Research in Virtual Worlds

Dimitrij (Mitja) Hmeljak () and Robert L. Goldstone ()
Additional contact information
Dimitrij (Mitja) Hmeljak: Indiana University
Robert L. Goldstone: Indiana University

A chapter in Handbook on 3D3C Platforms, 2016, pp 179-213 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract 3D3C Worlds can support real-time, quantitatively controlled experiments for studying human group behavior. This chapter provides a review of social behavioral research in virtual worlds, their methodologies and goals, such as studies of socio-economical trends, interpersonal communications between virtual world residents, automated survey studies, etc. The chapter contrasts existing research tools in virtual worlds with the goals of studying human group behavior as a complex system—how interacting groups of people create emergent organizations at a higher level than the individuals comprising such groups. Finally, the chapter presents features of virtual world-based group behavior experiments that allow the recreation of controlled quantitative experiments previously conducted in supervised lab sessions or web-based games.

Keywords: Virtual World; Group Behavior; Common Pool Resource; Second Life; Reference Implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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:spr:prochp:978-3-319-22041-3_7

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783319220413

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-22041-3_7

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Progress in IS from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().