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In two field experiments, we investigate how the presence of virtual and physical people contextualize and influence nonverbal behaviors. Study 1 examines virtual context and asks how interacting with others in a private or public virtual environment influences nonverbal outcomes during interactions in a social VR platform. Across two sessions, participants (n = 104) met either in a private virtual environment with their group members alone or in a public environment surrounded by four other groups. Results showed that participants moved their avatars slower and stood closer to group members in public versus private environments. Study 2 examines physical context and asks how interacting with virtual others while physically together or alone influences nonverbal behaviors. Participants (n = 61) met in virtual environments while they were in either a shared physical environment or separated physical environments. Results showed that, compared to remote participants, participants who were physically together moved their bodies more slowly, but their avatars faster. Moreover, there was more mutual gaze among remote participants. We discuss implications to theories of social influence in VR.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/pres_a_00432","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,12]],"date-time":"2024-07-12T16:45:15Z","timestamp":1720802715000},"page":"425-451","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Alone Together, Together Alone: The Effects of Social Context on Nonverbal Behavior in Virtual Reality"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"33","author":[{"given":"Eugy","family":"Han","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Communication Stanford University California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cyan","family":"DeVeaux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Communication Stanford University California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mark 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