The effects of players’ presence experience on the fulfillments of psychological needs and purchase intention－The example of an avatar appearance virtual good

• Main Authors: HOU, KUAN-TING, 侯冠廷
• Other Authors: WANG, MAN-YING
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/qk3c3f

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 心理學系 === 105 === Among various types of virtual goods in online games, avatar appearance helps create feelings of actual presence in the game space and connection with other players. Such experience is closely related to presence. Previous studies of presence distinguished between spatial and social presence. The former refers to the feeling of one’s actual presence in the virtual environment while the latter represents a feeling of co-existence through interacting with other players. Presence allows the player to gain a more positive experience from the game, resulting in the sense of enjoyment (Weibel & Wissmath, 2011). Although enjoyment may facilitate purchase intention in a general sense (Hamari, 2015), it is not known whether presence help elevate players’ intention to buy virtual goods. This latter question constitutes the main concern in this study. Whether the effect of presence on purchase intention is mediated by the need for relatedness as well as if the roles of spatial and social presence differ during this process are also questions of interests in this study. To answer these questions, fifty LOL gamers were recruited to engage in a 5 vs. 5 players vs. computer mode play. Eye movement data of players were recorded during the experiment as well as the rated presence, psychological need fulfillment and the purchase intention of avatar appearance virtual goods. The results of the structural equation model analysis found that the use of using the customized appearance affected the prediction on purchase intention through the effects of social and spatial presence in the game. When the player used the default avatar appearance, social presence plays a more important role that positively affects the level of enjoyment and the fulfillment of relatedness need. The effect of social presence on the purchase intention of avatar appearance virtual goods was also mediated through these latter two variables. If the player adopted the customized avatar appearance, then it was spatial presence that positively affected the level of enjoyment and the fulfillment of relatedness needs. However, the indirect effect of presence on purchase intention was not significant. As such, game performance became an additional factor that influenced purchase intention. These findings support that presence and the fulfillment of psychological needs both affects players’ intention to purchase customized avatar appearance. The roles of spatial and social presence differ subtly with the experience of using the customized or the default appearance.