Can Your Avatar's Race Affect Your Behavior?

Jamin asked an interesting question in this week's episode of the PBS series "GameShow."  Does the race of your avatar in a video game affect your behavior?  My immediate answer is no, but I know that this is a very surface type of answer.  Watch the episode and see Jamin's explanation:

I liked that he brought up the game Rust and the seemingly odd decision to assign player race.  This decision seems to have angered some people...who apparently can't stand the idea of simply playing a character who isn't exactly like them.  But maybe I'm just like those people....I can't say that I've ever actively worked to create a character who is a different race than me.  I've played a racially ambiguous Commander Shepard but haven't ever created a black character.  I've played black characters...like CJ from Grand Theft Auto:  San Andreas but I haven't used a character creation tool to actually make one.  Does that mean I'm racist?

But back to behavior...I think that on a subconscious level that race does affect behavior in games.  Unfortunately I feel like people have stereotypical ideas about how members of other races behave and that those behaviors set the stage for in-game behavior.  I think this is true for more than just skin color though and thought that the part of the video that dealt with player perception of their avatar's appearance (like the study about having an overweight avatar) was really interesting.  I find this to be completely true.  If I make a Sims character who's a little on the beefy I'm more likely to let them indulge on some birthday cake.  So I'd have to agree....yes, I do think avatar race, physical appearance, or any number of other factors can affect the way players choose to control them.

It's my goal to make my next Dragon Age character another race.  Then I can truly see if race has an impact on the way I play him/her.