Who is it? Introduction of a Scale measuring Identification of Acquaintances in Avatar-Mediated Communication

Social virtual reality (SVR) enables users to represent themselves through personalized avatars using avatar configurators designed to resemble user's real-world appearance. This feature holds promise for facilitating social presence and social connectedness among spatially separated acquaintances meeting in SVR. While previous research has extensively explored avatar representation in VR, the majority of studies have not included acquaintances as samples. Resulting, there is a lack of measurements assessing whether users are subjectively able to identify their interaction partners in avatar-mediated communication. The paper presents a methodological contribution by introducing a new instrument measuring the subjective feeling of identification of acquaintances. Scale reliability, prospective validity, and sensitivity were examined in two quantitative studies. Results demonstrated good internal consistency (α1=.81, α2=.75). The scale showed positive correlations with social presence and social connectedness. Moreover, it effectively distinguished between theoretically distinct avatar conditions. Brief recommendations for scale usage and directions for further investigations are given.