Attractive video game avatars make you feel better-looking IRL. April 2009

Wednesday, April 08, 2009 Rob 0 Comments

In the first episode of the Psychology of Attractiveness Podcast we find out why women who are breastfeeding prefer a man with a higher pitched voice. Also, is this the real life, or is this just fantasy? How the appearance of your avatar in your favourite online game can affect your behaviour, even when you return to the real world. Plus, can we ignore facial beauty? We take a look at new research that shows nothing attracts attention like, well, attractiveness.


Download the MP3


The characteristics of the avatar you pick in World of Warcraft might rub off on your real-world personality.

You can also hear examples of the voices Apicella and Feinberg used in their study in their data supplement.

The articles covered in the show:

Apicella, C. L. & Feinberg, D. R. 2009 Voice pitch alters mate-choice-relevant perception in hunter-gatherers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 276, 1077-1082. Read summary

Yee, N., Bailenson, J. N. & Ducheneaut, N. 2009 The Proteus effect: implications of transformed digital self-representation on online and offline behavior. Communication Research 36, 285-312. Read summary

Sui, J. & Liu, C. H. 2009 Can beauty be ignored? Effects of facial attractiveness on covert attention. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 16, 276-81. Read summary

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