Avatar Task, version 3

Instruction Manual written by Catherine E. Myers & Usra Ahmed

Last Updated: 18 March 2016

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

Contents
Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Terms and Conditions of Use ......................................................................................................... 1
Task Description ............................................................................................................................. 2
Past and Ongoing Work with this Task/Software ....................................................................... 2
Instructions for Running Avatar v. 3 Software ............................................................................... 3
To Run the Software ................................................................................................................... 3
To Exit ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 4
References ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Original article describing this task ............................................................................................ 6
Other articles and abstracts reporting research using this task/software .................................... 6
Appendix: Post-test Questionnaire ................................................................................................. 7

Terms and Conditions of Use

The Avatar v. 3 task software was programmed by Catherine E. Myers. Task design was
originally described in Myers et al. (2016) Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 55, pp. 804-816
(Experiment 2); task stimuli are original designs created by Ann L. Krusznis.
Development and testing of this software was funded by the National Institutes of Health and by
the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development, through the Clinical
Sciences Research & Development Program. This software is in the Public Doman and may be
freely copied and used in non-commercial products, provided that the original reference is
appropriately cited and the following statement is included: This software [is adapted from
software which] was written by Catherine E. Myers, under funding from the National Institutes
of Health and the Department of Veterans Affair, Office of Research and Development.
No guarantees are given or implied.
Use of this software implies acceptance of these terms.

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

Task Description
The Avatar task is a computer-based tool for assessing behavioral inhibition (BI), a personality
trait characterized by the tendency to withdraw from or avoid novel social and non-social
stimuli. BI is believed to be a relatively stable personality trait and those with this trait may be at
heightened risk for development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorders.
Current methods of assessing BI (and avoidance behavior in general) typically rely on selfreport, which is subject to demand characteristics and other limitations, particularly in
psychiatric populations that may not have awareness of deficit or accurate understanding of
social norms. Thus, the computer-based platform may represent a way to assess avoidant
behaviors by watching how the participant performs, rather than asking directly for selfassessment.
In the task, the user chooses an on-screen character (avatar) to represent himself or herself in
the task. The avatar then moves through a series of scripted scenarios containing several choice
points, where the user can select which of several pre-defined behaviors the avatar should
execute next. These behaviors are scored according to whether they represent relatively
inhibited or avoidant behavior, or relatively uninhibited behavior. Total scores on the task have
been shown to correlate well with self-assessed BI, as well as with self-assessed PTSD symptom
severity.

Past and Ongoing Work with this Task/Software

-

In putatively healthy college students, version 1 task scores correlate strongly with
avoidant personality assessed via questionnaire (Myers et al., 2016, Experiment 1); the
correlation is weakened when subjects play as a hypothetical other (task version 3;
Myers et al., 2016, Experiment 2). Preliminary findings were presented as a poster at
SFN (Myers et al., 2014).
In a second population of college students, task scores (version 1) correlate with
avoidant coping strategies but not with other coping strategies such as positive
reframing and social coping; preliminary findings presented as a poster at SANS (Allen
et al., 2016).

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

Instructions for Running Avatar v. 3 Software

This task is as described in Myers et al. (2016), Experiment 2. Software was written by
Catherine E. Myers, based on a design by all the authors in Myers et al. (2016), using as stimuli
original artwork contributed by Ann L. Krusznis.
The program is a standalone (compiled) application that should run under Mac OS X version
10.6.8 or higher (currently running under 10.9.4). Please report any problems to Catherine Myers
at Catherine.Myers2@va.gov; however, software is provided "as is" and no guarantee is made or
implied, and routine technical support cannot be offered without prior collaborative agreement.

To Run the Software

1. Copy the program onto the hard drive, unzip if needed, and double-click to open.
2. Use of this software implies acceptance of certain terms. Click on the button labeled
"View Terms and Conditions of Use" to view these terms and then click "I accept" to
accept these terms or click "I do not accept" to exit the software.
3. Click on "Run New Subject". Enter subject ID and experimenters name as prompted.
a. IMPORTANT: Do not use spaces, dashes, or punctuation in the subject ID field,
or the program may not save the data for this subject properly. Only use letters,
numbers, and underscore (_) in the subject ID.
b. The ID information you enter will be used to create a filename under which the
data will be stored; this file will generally be saved on the desktop.
4. When prompted to enter condition, type U (instructions will ask subject to act as you
normally would in real life) or R (instructions will ask subject to act like a
hypothetical other = a typical Rutgers student). Note that condition U is identical to
version 1 of the task.
5. When the first instruction screen comes up, read it aloud or have the subject read it aloud
to you. The subject then uses the mouse button to click on "Go on" and advance the
screen. Next, the subject uses the mouse to click on and select one of the available
avatars (see example below), and then click on "Go on."

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

6. At this point the first scenario begins. On each trial, the subject views a picture of the
avatar in a situation and is given three possible response options (see example below;
here subject has chosen a dark-haired female avatar). The subject selects one by clicking
on the box next to his/her choice, then clicking "Go on."

7. If the subject has any questions during the task, the experimenter may re-state the
instructions but should NOT provide any additional information regarding the task.
8. When the program finished (signaled by "Thank you" screen), use mouse click to exit
back to start-up menu, then click "Quit" to exit program. Note: it is a good idea to Quit
the program after each subject, to make sure that the data file is properly closed.
9. Following administration of the computer-based task, participants are given a paper-andpencil (not computer-based!) questionnaire to assess computer experience and task
engagement. These may be scored and used to group subjects post-hoc (see Myers et al.,
2016). The questionnaire is appended to this document.

To Exit
To exit the program midway, you can crash the program via command-Q, or ESC key; however,
the data file may not be properly saved if the program crashes.

Data Analysis
The data from each subject are saved as an MS Word file. Header information records
task and subject ID, along with the identity of the avatar selected (out of 4 possible male and 4
possible female avatars). Then there is one line for each trial, which records the stimulus
presented (e.g. "Party scene 1"), the subject's choice (out of the three possible responses which
appear on the screen), and the points associated with that response where 0=least inhibited and
2=most inhibited. Note that several questions are unscored "filler" questions, which serve to
keep the story moving along but carry no points; here, the subject's response is recorded but

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

points are given as "NA." Participant score is sum of points, noted as totalpoints at the bottom
of the file.
Below is a sample data file from a hypothetical subject given subject ID=0000.
Avatar 3
Subject ID: 0000
Condition U
Avatar = man3
Party Scene1 choice 1 points 0
Party Scene2 choice 2 points 1
Party Scene3 choice 2 points 1
Party Scene4 choice 1 points 0
Party Scene5 choice 1 points 0
Party Scene6 choice 3 points NA
Party Scene7 choice 2 points 1
Party Scene8 choice 2 points 1
Party Scene9 choice 3 points 0
Party Scene10 choice 3 points 0
Party Scene11 choice 1 points NA
Party Scene12 choice 3 points 1
Party Scene13 choice 1 points 1
Party Scene14 choice 1 points 0
Habitat Scene1 did_before? 1 points NA
Habitat Scene2 choice 1 points 0
Habitat Scene3 choice 2 points 1
Habitat Scene4 choice 1 points 0
Habitat Scene5 choice 3 points 0
Habitat Scene6 choice 3 points 0
Habitat Scene7 choice 3 points 0
Habitat Scene8 choice 3 points NA
Habitat Scene9 choice 3 points 0
Habitat Scene10 choice 2 points 0

totalpoints 7

Interpretation:
The subject chose man 3 (the 3rd man from the left in the Avatar selection page).
In Party Scene 1, the participant chose the 1st option listed, which was worth 0 points,
meaning the response was the most uninhibited response available. There are 14 choice
points in the party scenario, of which 12 are scored.
Habitat Scene 1 asks if the player has volunteered for similar activities before, and the
subjects response was the 1st option offered (yes, often); this answer does not
contribute to total points, but can be used to group subjects post-hoc based on familiarity
of the scenario (see Myers et al., 2016).
There are 9 additional questions in this scenario, of which 8 are scored.
Total score is the sum of points from all scored questions; here the subject scored 7 points
on a scale from 0 (most uninhibited) to 40 (most inhibited/avoidant).

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

References
Original article describing this task
Myers, C. E., Kostek, J. A., Ekeh, B., Sanchez, R., Ebanks-Williams, Y., Krusznis, A. L.,
Weinflash, N., & Servatius, R. (2016). Watch what I do, not what I say I do: Computer-based
avatars to assess behavioral inhibition, a vulnerability factor for anxiety disorders.
Computers in Human Behavior, 55: 804-816. PMID: 26622109; PMCID: PMC4662559.
Weblinks:
- Original article on publishers website (may require subscription):
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215300649
- Open access version of the manuscript will be available on PubMedCentral following
publishers embargo (2017-02-01).
- Open access version of authors preprint available from ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283791130_Watch_what_I_do_not_what_I_say
_I_do_Computerbased_avatars_to_assess_behavioral_inhibition_a_vulnerability_factor_for_anxiety_disor
ders

Other articles and abstracts reporting research using this

task/software
Allen, M. T. & Myers, C. E. (2016). A computer-based avatar task of behavioral inhibition:
Relationships to harm avoidance and adaptive and non-adaptive coping styles. Social &
Affective Neuroscience Society, 2016 Annual Meeting Abstracts, E29
Myers, C. E., Ebanks-Williams, Y. T., Radell, M. T., Beck, K. D. & Gilbertson, M. W. (2015).
Computer-based avatar to assess avoidant behaviors in participants with symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Program 503.15, 2015 Neuroscience Meeting Planner.
Chicago, IL: Society for Neuroscience. Online.
Myers, C. E., Kostek, J. A., Ekeh, B., Sanchez, R., Krusznis, A., Weinflash, N. & Servatius, R. J.
(2014). Watch what I do, not what I say I do: Computer-based avatars to assess behavioral
inhibition, a vulnerability factor for anxiety. Social & Affective Neuroscience Society, 2014
Annual Meeting Abstracts, D-20.

Avatar v.3 Instruction Manual

Appendix: Post-test Questionnaire

Subject ID: ______

Post-test Questions: Avatar

1. Would you rate your experience with computers as:
NONE

A LITTLE BIT

MODERATE

HIGH

2. Do you ever play games on the computer?

If yes, how many hours in a typical a week? What game(s)?

3. At the beginning of the computer game, you were asked to choose from a set of characters which one
you wanted to use. Were you able to find an image that you liked?
If not, why not?

4. During the computer game, did you care about what happened to your character?
NOT AT ALL

A LITTLE BIT

SOMEWHAT

A LOT

5. During the computer game, did you make decisions about how to act that were similar to the way you
normally act in real life?
NOT AT ALL

A LITTLE BIT

MOSTLY

EXACTLY LIKE ME