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Virtual learning environments have been recognized as an area of particular importance by which educators can use to improve desirable learning behaviours. Investigating the impact of different virtual environments on learners' behaviours has become the centre of attention of researchers, especially during COVID-19. The homophily effect of avatar-identity on individuals' perceptions of an environment can be a key for understanding their learning behaviours. This study examined the relationship between key constructs related to avatar homophily (background and attitude) and learners' flow and exploratory behaviour. An online survey was distributed to 157 students (93 males and 64 females with age ranging from 19 to 21 years) who took part in an online learning activity using an avatar-mediated environment (Second Life). The results showed that users' flow experience can be influenced by the function of perceived background and attitude homophily in an avatar-mediated environment. Flow experience was found to mediate the relationship between avatar homophily and learners' exploratory behaviour. This study offers a conceptual understanding of the relationship between homophily and individual's flow state.

The application of different virtual reality interventions has been recently gaining interest from researchers and practitioners. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions increased the use of these technologies to help create much value for educators and students. The relationship between individual experience and engagement in avatar-mediated environments has garnered empirical support, but still little is known about the mediating mechanisms underlying this relation. This study investigated the mediating role of interpersonal attraction (e.g., social, physical, and task attraction) in the link between individual experience and engagement in an avatar-mediated learning environment. A total of 112 participants (21-23 years; 73 male and 39 female) participated in online peer learning sessions in Second Life. After controlling for demographic covariates, the results showed that (1) individual experience was positively associated with students' engagement; (2) social, physical, and task attraction was found to positively mediate the link between experience and engagement. The outcomes from this study provide valuable implications for promoting online learners' engagement in avatar-mediated environments.