Adolescent identity styles and avatar perception: examining the link between identity formation and virtual representation

Identity formation is a fundamental developmental task during adolescence, significantly influenced by how individuals are judged by others. In today’s digital age, such judgements increasingly occur in virtual settings, where the focus often shifts from the user to their virtual representation, or avatar. One of the most relevant frameworks for understanding the process of identity formation is Michael Berzonsky’s social-cognitive model of identity formation, which identifies three distinct identity processing styles: informational, normative, and diffuse-avoidant. This study explores whether correlations exist between adolescent identity styles and external judgements of their avatars. The sample consisted of 130 adolescents (75 females, 55 males), aged between 15 to 17 years. The research participants were instructed to create their own avatars and subsequently control their movements within an arcade game. Following this, the participants completed the Identity Style Questionnaire to determine their identity processing style. Field experts then evaluated the adolescents’ avatars based on several dimensions: masculinity/femininity of the nickname, unconventionality of the nickname, masculinity/femininity of the character, style of clothing (extravagance), attractiveness, friendliness, intelligence, sociability, and trustworthiness of the character, as well as character’s activeness and openness to experience. The results revealed significant correlations between the informational and normative identity styles and the avatars’ physical and psychological attributes as evaluated by experts. These findings provide valuable insights from a developmental psychology perspective and hold practical implications for interdisciplinary collaborations between psychologists and developers, particularly in designing educational and therapeutic computer games.