Photo/Illutration The faces of a human observer and an avatar before their expressions change (Provided by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology)

People are more willing to take risks when interacting with avatars instead of humans, a study has shown.

Avatar-based communication has become widespread in recent years, including at online meetings and automated checkout counters at stores.

A team from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) conducted an experiment involving 79 men and women to determine how emotional reactions and decision-making change when people interact with avatars.

Participants were asked to choose one of two options presented on a screen: One guaranteed success and a reward of 100 yen ($0.70); the other had a 33-percent probability of success for a 300-yen award.

The screen also showed the face of an “observer,” either a real human or their avatar.

When the participants chose the riskier option and gained the reward, the observer showed an admiring expression.

But when they failed, the observer looked contemptuous.

The participants who chose the lower-risk option moved on to the next round of the experiment. In those cases, the observer’s expression did not change.

The process was repeated, with the face of the observer switching between human and avatar forms about every 10 times.

The results showed that participants tended to take the riskier option when observed by an avatar.

According to the researchers, the difference in behavior was caused by the ambiguity of not knowing how the observer would respond.

The team also conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect changes in the blood flow in the brain and activity patterns of the amygdala, which regulates emotions.

Differences were found between participants who interacted with humans and those observed by avatars.

The researchers said the participants were less worried about the uncertain reactions when dealing with avatars.

People who care about how others think of them were more prone to making riskier decisions when dealing with avatars, according to the study.

The researchers said the study can help to explain why it is easier for people to speak during teleconferences featuring avatars instead of actual human faces and why shoppers buy more than necessary when store staff are avatars.

“People change their behavior when they interact with avatars,” said Masahiko Haruno, head of the Neural Information Engineering Laboratory Center at the NICT. “The latest study can offer a warning.”

The team’s findings were published in U.S. scientific journal PLOS Biology at (https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003122).

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