Spatial Behavior in Virtual Worlds: Two Field Studies on Inter-avatar Distance.

We conducted two field studies on social spatial behavior of avatar dyads in virtual worlds. We examined individual characteristics (i.e., gender, culture, and personality), the relationship between individuals (i.e., duration of past and present interactions, and group membership), and the environment in which they interact (i.e., indoor vs. outdoor location), as potential determinants of the distance between two avatars. While these factors have been found to influence interpersonal distance in the physical world, only the factors that were immediately available and visually salient influenced inter-avatar distance in the virtual world. The results are discussed with a note of caution against generalizing observations of social behavior in virtual worlds to physical-world behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]