in many cases is represented by a virtual competitor, or
avatar, which can be perceived as a social presence.32,33 The
nature of an avatar has been found to elicit varied emotional
responses in participants; videogame players experienced
greater engagement and threat when an avatar represents
a human-operator as contrasted with a computer-operated
opponent.33
The current study aimed to assess the effects of social
presence on exercise behavior, focusing on the role of virtual
social facilitation. Competitiveness was examined for its
impact on the amount of effort expended while completing
an exergaming task in the presence of a virtual competitor.
This research aimed to improve upon previous literature
that has evaluated the effects of virtual social facilitation
and competition on video game behaviors by evaluating the
impact during an exergame.