When Avatars Matter: Leveraging Avatar-mediated Interactions to Enable Creative Performance in Videoconferencing

Avatar-mediated interactions, commonly utilized in videoconferencing, have been shown to enhance individuals’ active participation due to their anonymous nature, although they may also lead to unwanted effects (e.g., social loafing). Regarding the potential dual effects of avatar-mediated interactions, the research about the effectiveness of such interaction forms on creative performance in videoconferencing settings is still in its infancy. Drawing upon the social identity model of deindividuation effects, this study intends to uncover the actual impact of avatar-mediated interactions on creative performance via perceived disinhibition and embodied group identity. Moreover, this study further extends the understanding of the moderating roles of avatar identification and perceived role clarity in the context of avatar-mediated interactions. We believe that this research will provide insights for creative task participants and platform operators to enable creative performance by leveraging avatar-mediated interactions.