# Behavioural Realism and Its Impact on Virtual Reality Social Interactions Involving Self-Disclosure
## 4 Discussion
### Limitations  
A limitation of this study involves the physical location of both the participant and interviewer. The physical location between the participant and interviewer differed between conditions, with the interviewer sharing the same physical space as the participants for the iClone UNREAL avatar but not for the Vive Sync avatar. This setup was deliberate because Vive Sync offers the advantage of being more accessible from different locations, and we wanted to compare it with a more advanced avatar that is restricted to the same room as the participant. However, it is worth noting that this difference could have impacted participant perceptions, as physical closeness may influence feelings of comfort and engagement [3; 48; 94; 95; 96]. When comparing the capabilities of avatars, future research should ensure that the physical location of interactions remains the same during the VR social interactions.  
Due to the limited customisable options of the Vive Sync platform, neither avatar was compared to the other within the same virtual environment. Despite efforts to reduce the disparities between the environments, the visual differences of the environment could have introduced confounds that may have affected the participant's perceptions of the avatar [37; 53; 56; 84]. For example, if one environment was perceived as more visually appealing or immersive than the other, it could have positively or negatively influenced participants' experiences, regardless of the avatar's behavioural realism. The Vive Sync environment featured a modern office space with large windows and architectural elements, while the UNREAL environment was a more traditional, enclosed room with basic furnishings. Despite these differences in the environment, participants rated the iClone UNREAL avatar as more realistic, and most participants preferred to interact with it. These findings suggest that while environmental differences could potentially influence participant perceptions, the preferences for the iClone UNREAL avatar highlight the importance of avatar behaviour for shaping VR social interactions.  
The behavioural realism of avatars can influence the effectiveness of VR social interactions, especially in therapeutic contexts where self-disclosure is important. In such contexts, avatars with more motion capture, including the iClone UNREAL avatar, may enhance therapeutic outcomes by including nonverbal communication that helps facilitate trust and engagement [24; 53; 70; 73; 97; 98; 99]. However, for therapists who lack the resources or expertise to implement avatars with full-body motion capture, simpler avatars like Vive Sync may be more accessible and preferred [19; 52; 70; 100; 101; 102]. As such, the optimal choice of avatar depends on weighing the benefits of more realistic avatars against their accessibility and ease of use.  
Conceptualization, A.F., R.H., C.S. and S.L.R.; Methodology, A.F. and S.L.R.; Investigation, A.F.; Data curation, A.F.; Writing--original draft, A.F.; Writing--review & editing, A.F., R.H., C.S. and S.L.R.; Visualization, A.F.; Supervision, R.H., C.S. and S.L.R.; Project administration, A.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
The study was approved and conducted per The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, in agreement with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council, and Universities Australia.  
Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.  
Data Availability Statement: Data for this report can be accessed at [[https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27897543.v1](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27897543.v1)]([https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27897543.v1](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27897543.v1)), accessed on 25 November 2024.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.