For example, people with avatars skinnier than their real selves go out and lose weight. The researchers call this the “Proteus effect.”

You can extrapolate from this to see how complex, granular role-playing games can have positive effects on team dynamics, helping organizations with lots of remote workers or, worse, different parts of the organization located in different parts of the country, heal divisions and even build stronger bridges.

Here’s the study on avatars as behavioural models