Influence of Movement Energy and Affect Priming on the Perception of Virtual Characters Extroversion and Mood

Tanja Schneeberger, Fatima Ayman Aly, Daksitha Withanage Don, Katharina Gies, Zita Zeimer, Fabrizio Nunnari, Patrick Gebhard

Keywords: virtual characters, character animation, affect priming, perceptual study

Abstract: Movement Energy – physical activeness in performing actions and Affect Priming – prior exposure to information about someone’s mood and personality might be two crucial factors that influence how we perceive someone. It is unclear if these factors influence the perception of virtual characters in a way that is similar to what is observed during in-person interactions. This paper presents different configurations of Movement Energy for virtual characters and two studies about how these influence the perception of the characters’ personality, extroversion in particular, and mood. Moreover, the studies investigate how Affect Priming (Personality and Mood), as one form of contextual priming, influences this perception. The results indicate that characters with high Movement Energy are perceived as more extrovert and in a better mood, which corroborates existing research. Moreover, the results indicate that Personality and Mood Priming influence perception in different ways. Characters that were primed as being in a positive mood are perceived as more extrovert, whereas characters that were primed as being introverted are perceived in a more positive mood.

Submission Type: Long (~8 pages)