ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights how research on thin-slice judgments may augment the understanding of avatars. Ambady and Rosenthal suggest that context may increase the accuracy of thin-slice judgments by contributing environmental cues that aid in judgment formation. Context effects of the virtual world in which an avatar exists likely influence thin-slice judgments of that avatar. Expectations for avatars on a dating website likely differ substantially from expectations of avatars on a gaming or social networking website. Thin-slice judgments may provide a starting point for a judgment that is later confirmed or revised through more conscious and controlled deliberative processing. The use of virtual environments as marketing media may leave vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and low-income consumers exposed to marketers and the negative consequences of consumerism. Harnessing the power of thin-slice judgments in the virtual world could have important and actionable public policy implications for marketers.
