

Researchers have been studying the effects our appearance has on how other people react to us for a long time, but they’ve also started to seriously study the psychology of our video game avatars. Videogames and virtual realities, on the other hand, are more flexible.

In real life, though, we’re often limited in the changes we can make to appear taller or more prosperous.

Some of us occasionally make more radical alterations, such as getting tattoos, piercing various dangly bits with metal, or even going in for cosmetic surgery. We decide which hairs to shave and which hairs to style. We decide what clothes and jewelry to wear. When each of us gets up in the morning, we start messing with what might as well be avatar customization tools to change our appearance.
