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What Is the Relationship Among Positive Emotions, Sense of Presence, and Ease of Interaction in Virtual Reality Systems? An On-Site Evaluation of a Commercial Virtual Experience
Abstract
Scientific knowledge is still limited about the effect of commercial virtual reality content, such as experiences developed for advertising purposes, on individual emotional experience. In addition, even though correlations between emotional responses and perceived sense of presence in virtual reality have often been reported, the relationship remains unclear. Some studies have suggested an important effect of ease of interaction on both emotions and the sense of presence, but only a few studies have scientifically explored this topic. Within this context, this study aimed to: (a) test the effect of inducing positive emotions of a commercial virtual experience developed for the promotion of an urban renewal project, (b) investigate the relationship between positive emotions and the perceived sense of presence, and (c) explore the association between the ease of interaction of the virtual experience with positive emotions and the sense of presence reported by the users. Sixty-one participants were recruited from visitors to the 2017 Milan Design Week “Fuorisalone” event. A survey was administered before and after the experience to collect information about users' demographics, positive emotions, sense of presence, and the ease of interaction with the virtual content. Results give evidence that: (a) the commercial virtual reality experience was able to induce positive emotions; (b) the positive emotions reported by users were associated with the sense of presence experienced in the virtual environment, with a directional effect from emotion to sense of presence; and (c) the easier the interaction, the more the sense of presence and positive emotions were reported by users.
... Whilst their results were preliminary, they suggested that this could be an indicator of VR being beneficial to destination marketers. In assessing the effectiveness of VR as a tourism marketing tool, it would be logical to explore the relationship between presence and its ability to intensify positive emotional reactions; answering the call for further research on the effect of commercial VR content in inducing positive emotion in comparison to non-immersive media (Pallavicini et al., 2020). Thus far, it can be suggested that positive emotional response will be higher when using VR compared to traditional media, and consequently behavioural intention toward to attraction will be higher compared to traditional media as well. ...
... Theoretically, results of this study support the hypothesis (H4) that higher presence levels through the use of VR compared to traditional non-immersive media are associated with more intensive emotional responses (Banos et al., 2008;Pallavicini et al., 2020;Riva et al., 2007). In extension, the findings confirmed engagement (H4c, H5c) in particular to be a significant predictor for emotional arousal and valence. ...
... On a lesser note, the results from the current study support and extend previous research on the consequences of presence to a cruise marketing context; in doing so also contributing to the growing body of knowledge of VR being an effective marketing tool in terms of influencing behavioural intention. Additionally, it addresses the call for research on the effect of commercial virtual reality content in inducing positive emotion in comparison to non-immersive media (Pallavicini et al., 2020). Where past research has shown the association between higher presence and intensity of emotional response (ie. ...
The concept of presence, ubiquitous in VR research, remains in infancy in tourism literature. Researchers in the field have called for empirical studies into the determinants as well as consequences of presence, particularly in commercial environments. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of VR as a tourism marketing tool through presence and emotion-an association that has been suggested in cyberpsychology studies. Using a within-subjects experiment method, 72 participants experienced computer-generated, fully synthetic virtual environments of a cruise ship. The experiences were administered via pictures, video, and VR. The findings suggest that VR is significantly more effective than traditional media in evoking positive emotional responses to the stimuli. Theoretical implications include suggestions that fully-interactive synthetic VR may be more effective than 360' VR due to the importance of engagement as a presence determinant. Managerial implications include suggestions to focus on engagement mechanics, rather than chasing photo-realistic VR advancements , for impact on emotional response.
... Já quanto ao senso de presença, de acordo com Pallavicini et al. (2020) e Chow (2016, há uma associação significativa com a facilidade de interação, o que reforça as discussões sobre a confiança no uso da tecnologia como fator positivo para o senso de presença. Assim, considerando que a dimensão afetiva pode atuar como um "gatilho" para o senso de presença, em vez de se concentrarem na busca por soluções tecnológicas para garantir ambientes realistas, os professores podem focar em elementos capazes de provocar emoções nos usuários (PALLAVICINI et al., 2020); algo materializável, por exemplo, por meio de um contexto significativo e que remeta à realidade dos estudantes. ...
... Já quanto ao senso de presença, de acordo com Pallavicini et al. (2020) e Chow (2016, há uma associação significativa com a facilidade de interação, o que reforça as discussões sobre a confiança no uso da tecnologia como fator positivo para o senso de presença. Assim, considerando que a dimensão afetiva pode atuar como um "gatilho" para o senso de presença, em vez de se concentrarem na busca por soluções tecnológicas para garantir ambientes realistas, os professores podem focar em elementos capazes de provocar emoções nos usuários (PALLAVICINI et al., 2020); algo materializável, por exemplo, por meio de um contexto significativo e que remeta à realidade dos estudantes. ...
Embora em ascensão, observa-se que a Educação a Distância (EAD) ainda possui uma percepção popular de qualidade inferior em comparação com o Ensino Presencial. Estima-se que carências como as de relações interpessoais, do uso de tecnologias mais interativas e dinâmicas, e da realização de práticas profissionais contribuam para essa percepção. Buscando atuar nestas fragilidades, esta pesquisa propõe um suporte midiático composto por Mundos Virtuais (MVs) e Non-Player Characteres (NPCs), com um destes NPCs integrado à tecnologia de Agente Conversacional, atuando na função de Companheiro Virtual. Como aspecto principal, investiga-se o senso de presença, um construto da dimensão afetiva definido como a sensação de “estar lá”. Um total de 132 estudantes realizou uma atividade extracurricular em um de três grupos: Controle, que utilizou o Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem web tradicional; Experimental, que utilizou o MV; e Real Experimental, que utilizou o MV com o Companheiro Virtual. Com base nos resultados e discussões e buscando responder à questão de pesquisa “Como promover o senso de presença de forma a contribuir com o processo de aprendizagem na EAD?” foi organizada uma estrutura com sete diretrizes que direcionam o uso das tecnologias mencionadas a fim de se beneficiar de suas potencialidades.
... Compared to the VR and desktop/2D environments, a higher level of happiness [134], surprise [134], pleasantness [98], relief and positive influence [135], presence [136], skin conductivity [134], and HR [134] and was revealed. Interested readers can refer to following literature for more details, that have investigated discrete representation of emotions using VR [20], [21], [22], [26], [27], [58], [60], [69], [71], [73], [79], [80], [83], [84], [98], [99], [100], [101], [103], [105], [110], [112], [115], [127], [129], [130], [132], [133], [134], [135], [136], [137], [138], [139], [140], [141], [142], [143], [144], [145], [146], [147], [148], [149], [150], [151], [152], [153], [154], [155], [156], [157], [158], [159], [160], [161], [162], [163], [164], [165], [166], [167], [168], [169], [170], [171], [172], [173], [174], [175], [176], [177], [178], [179]. ...
... VE scenes generated to induce joy and happiness include fantasy [69], [105], [128], [163], relaxations and peace include nature scenarios [27], [69], [105], [110], [133], [135], [139], sad includes natural disasters [105], fear and anxiety include abandoned places [105], [128], gloomy scenarios [27], [133], and dangerous animals and zombies [69], [84], [127], [159], [164], anger includes construction sites [133], boredom includes empty environments [133], disgust includes eating food after unpleasnt animal enounter [137], arousal includes amusements rides like rollercoasters [104], [194], island and city [117], and valence includes city [117] and steel girder construction of a city [157]. List of VEs used in literature with dominant emotional experience is given in the Supplementary material A. ...
Emotions are multifaceted phenomena that affect our behaviour, perception, and cognition. Increasing evidence indicates that induction mechanisms play a crucial role in triggering emotions by simulating the sensations required for an experimental design. Over the years, many reviews have evaluated a passive elicitation mechanism where the user is an observer, ignoring the importance of self-relevance in emotional experience. So, in response to the gap in the literature, this study intends to explore the possibility of using Virtual Reality (VR) as an active mechanism for emotion induction. VR can simulate controlled environments with high immersion, presence, and interaction to induce intense emotions. Therefore, researchers can evaluate emotional experiences in a realistic context. For the success and quality of research settings, VR must select the appropriate material to effectively evoke emotions. Therefore, in the present review, we evaluated to what extent VR virtual environments, videos, games, tasks, avatar, images, and 360-degree panoramas can elicit emotions. Further, we present public datasets, discuss challenges and recommendations, and review emotion-sensing interfaces related to VR research. The conclusions reveal the VR’s potential to evoke emotions effectively and naturally by generating motivational and empathy mechanisms, which makes it an ecologically valid paradigm to study emotions.
... Já quanto ao senso de presença, de acordo com Pallavicini et al. (2020) e Chow (2016 há uma associação significativa entre facilidade de interação e este construto, o que reforça as discussões sobre a confiança no uso da tecnologia como fator positivo para o senso de presença. Assim, considerando que a dimensão afetiva pode atuar como um "gatilho" para o senso de presença, em vez de se concentrarem na busca de soluções tecnológicas a fim de garantir ambientes realistas, os professores podem focar em elementos capazes de provocar emoções nos usuários (PALLAVICINI et al., 2020); algo materializável, por exemplo, por meio de um contexto significativo e que remeta à realidade dos estudantes. ...
... Já quanto ao senso de presença, de acordo com Pallavicini et al. (2020) e Chow (2016 há uma associação significativa entre facilidade de interação e este construto, o que reforça as discussões sobre a confiança no uso da tecnologia como fator positivo para o senso de presença. Assim, considerando que a dimensão afetiva pode atuar como um "gatilho" para o senso de presença, em vez de se concentrarem na busca de soluções tecnológicas a fim de garantir ambientes realistas, os professores podem focar em elementos capazes de provocar emoções nos usuários (PALLAVICINI et al., 2020); algo materializável, por exemplo, por meio de um contexto significativo e que remeta à realidade dos estudantes. ...
Embora esteja em grande ascensão, observa-se que a modalidade Educação a Distância (EAD) ainda possui uma percepção popular de qualidade de ensino inferior em comparação com o Ensino Presencial. Estima-se que carências como as de relações interpessoais entre estudantes, do uso de tecnologias mais interativas e dinâmicas, e da realização de práticas profissionais contribuam para essa percepção. Buscando atuar nestas potenciais fragilidades, esta tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de um suporte midiático composto por Mundos Virtuais (MVs) e Non-Player Characteres (NPCs), com um destes NPCs integrado à tecnologia de Agente Conversacional, atuando na função de Companheiro Virtual. Como aspecto principal, investiga-se o senso de presença, um construto da dimensão afetiva definido como a sensação de “estar lá” (no virtual). A pesquisa é aplicada, explicativa, de caráter misto e de abordagem quase-experimental, e divide-se em duas fases. Na primeira, foi desenvolvido o ambiente Simulação sobre Matemática Financeira, à luz do modelo pedagógico da Aprendizagem Experiencial e no formato role-playing, sendo realizados três estudos preliminares. Na segunda fase foram conduzidos três estudos finais. Destes seis estudos, cinco abrangeram contextos reais de educação formal ofertada na modalidade EAD. Um total de 132 estudantes realizou uma atividade extracurricular em um de três diferentes grupos (condições): Controle, que utilizou o Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem web tradicional; Experimental, que utilizou o MV; e Real Experimental, que utilizou o MV com o Companheiro Virtual. Como resultado, foram detectados problemas de inclusão digital, dificuldades e resistência ao uso de novas tecnologias pelos estudantes. Por outro lado, descobriu-se que a confiança no uso da tecnologia e o suporte do Companheiro Virtual foram fatores positivos para o senso de presença; que o Companheiro Virtual foi um fator positivo para o engajamento; e que o senso de presença foi um aspecto positivo para o processo de aprendizagem e para a satisfação dos estudantes. Com base nos achados e para responder à questão de pesquisa “Como promover o senso de presença de forma a contribuir com o processo de aprendizagem na EAD?” foi organizada uma estrutura com sete diretrizes de apoio às decisões para o uso de MVs.
... But they have to provide a sense of "reality" concerning the situation. Pallavicini et al. (2020) have studied the relationship among presence, ease of interaction and positive emotions. Results of this study show that participants who reported a higher ease of interaction also reported higher levels of positive emotions as well as a higher sense of presence, meaning that the easier the interaction, the more the sense of presence and positive emotions were reported by users. ...
... Results of this study show that participants who reported a higher ease of interaction also reported higher levels of positive emotions as well as a higher sense of presence, meaning that the easier the interaction, the more the sense of presence and positive emotions were reported by users. (Pallavicini, et al., 2020) Interaction techniques in VR play a crucial role in presence. Body centered interaction techniques create a match between sensory data (what the eyes see) and proprioceptive feedback (what the body feels). ...
Participatory urban design processes make use of a variety of tools and methods. Among these, computer generated environments help not only laypeople but also experts better understand spatial relationships. Furthermore, virtual reality technologies introduce the body into these computer generated environments and help perceiving body’s relationship to space.
In this thesis, it is theorized that virtual reality can be used as a medium to create immersive, engaging participatory tools to be implemented in urban design processes. To this end, a design guideline study is proposed. Designing an interactive, multisensory, body centered tool for participatory urban design is a complex issue that can be deciphered with the help of psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, game design, interaction design, architecture and urban design. These areas are examined in order to form a design guideline study.
First, evolution and components of virtual reality are examined. Next, participation in urban design is questioned and case study that uses virtual reality is presented. Next, essential steps for designing a participatory tool using virtual reality are defined based on previous chapters.
In addition to outlining a roadmap to architects and urban designers for creating such a tool, this thesis suggests ways to heighten the sense of presence in it. In further studies, a case study that takes this design guideline study into account should be conducted in order to verify its accuracy.
... Presence refers to the psychological response or perceived state of immersion of the user during the virtual experience [40,41]. Presence can be defined as the feeling that the user exists in a virtual space, forgetting about the location and the situation [42,43]. That is, presence is an important variable in the behavior of virtual experiences [44,45]. ...
With the development of information technology, many well-known art museums and galleries have adopted metaverse exhibitions for online display and dissemination of art information, building sustainable ways to participate in and experience art. Users can access the metaverse exhibition platform through the internet and enjoy classic artworks in the virtual space, which has gained many forms of artistic perception and improved physical and mental health. Currently, the factors affecting user use intentions in existing metaverse exhibition studies still need to be clarified and need to be studied in depth. This paper explores the relationship between users’ entertainment experience, educational experience, presence, affective responses, and use intention through a survey of 536 users who had experienced a metaverse exhibition. The research results show that users’ use intentions are influenced by entertainment experiences and educational experiences. Presence mediates between entertainment experiences and educational experiences on use intention. Affective responses play a moderating role between the educational experience and use intention. This study provides a relevant theoretical basis for sustainable urban and socio-economic development from a digital perspective. At the same time, this study enables the metaverse exhibition platform to design and create valuable and healthy artistic content with higher quality. The emotional state of the user’s experience was better attended to so that mental health was enhanced and managed. Furthermore, it also provided a guidance program for the development of educational experience and economic sustainability of the exhibition industry.
... Presence is a user's perceptual state or psychological reaction in an immersive virtual experience in which the user is very immersed [40,41]. Presence can be thought of as the subjective feeling that the user has forgotten the physical situation or location, but exists in a virtual environment created by a medium such as a computer or television [42,43]. Presence is a necessary variable for user behavior in a virtual environment [44,45]. ...
During COVID-19, many renowned galleries and art fairs used Virtual Reality (VR) exhibitions for art information dissemination and online displays. To avoid the risks of offline viewing of exhibitions, users can access a web-based VR exhibition platform for remote appreciation of artworks, gaining a rich art experience and thus contributing to physical and mental health. The reasons affecting users’ continued usage intentions are not clear enough in the existing studies of VR exhibitions. Therefore, further studies are needed. This paper explores the relationship between users’ escapist experience, aesthetic experience, presence, emotional responses, and continued usage intention through a survey of VR exhibition users. The survey data were collected from 543 users who had experienced the VR exhibition through an online survey website. The study results show that users’ continued usage intentions are influenced by escapist experience and aesthetic experience. Presence plays a mediating role in the influence of escapist experiences and aesthetic experiences on continued usage intention. Emotional responses play a moderating role in the impact of user experience on continued usage intention. This paper provides a theoretical reference for the study of the impact mechanism of continued usage intention of VR exhibitions from the perspective of mental health. In addition, this study enables VR exhibition platforms to better understand the emotional state of users during art experiences to create and share healthy aesthetic information that can contribute to the management and enhancement of mental health. At the same time, it provides valuable and innovative guidance solutions for the future development of VR exhibitions.
... However, the relationship between presence and emotions is often referred to as a bidirectional relation[122]. For example,Pallavicini et al.[123] suggested a direct effect of positive emotions on perceived presence, whereas Riva et al.[122] also indicated presence as a significant predictor of induced emotions. Our result is in line with the latter finding, but future iterations of this preliminary study should address the assumption of a bidirectional relation due to our mixed findings.Similarly for hypothesis 4, no significant differences within self-reported anxiety and fear experience were revealed between the two times of measurement. ...
Virtual environments and games are often used to evoke positive emotions. Contrary the survival horror genre aims to induce negative feelings in players. The effects of playing fear-inducing games in virtual reality (VR) is rather unexplored, since research mainly focuses on positive emotions. To investigate the relationship between immersion, presence and negative emotion induction, we compared repeated horror game usage between playing on desktop computers, in VR, and smart substitutional reality (SSR), which supplements VR with additional haptic and thermal stimuli. Conducting a longitudinal study utilizing questionnaires, observations and physiological measurements, we expected an increase of fear using VR and SSR due to the increased immersion. Physiological data was not analyzed due to huge data loss, while observations and self-reports revealed contradictory results. Behavioral data showed stronger expression of fear in VR and SSR. Presence was increased in the VR and SSR groups compared to PC, further a mediation of emotion induction via presence was confirmed. Altogether, the reception of horror games within VR or SSR is associated with strong emotional reactions for selected individuals. Future research should take methodological lessons learned into account.
... These results appear important since usability was considered one of the key qualities of the VR psychoeducational experience during its conception and development. Indeed, breakdowns or other interaction issues can reduce VR's ability to induce both emotions [111][112][113] and a satisfying sense of presence [112,114], with potential detrimental effect on learning outcomes [49,115]. ...
Virtual reality can help individuals to manage stress and anxiety. In addition to its efficacy
in reducing stress and anxiety through relaxation, virtual reality can be helpful for psychoeducational. However, to date, few studies have explored this topic. Therefore, this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study aimed to investigate the usability, sense of presence, emotional response, and effect on learning of MIND-VR, a psychoeducational virtual experience created to offer information on stress and anxiety. Twenty healthcare workers (60% female; mean age 43 10) tried MIND-VR. Psychometric outcomes served as quantitative variables, while participant interviews provided qualitative data. Results showed that the virtual reality psychoeducational experience: (a) was highly usable and satisfying; (b) increased positive emotions (i.e., happiness and surprise) and decreased negative emotions (i.e., fear, sadness) and state anxiety; (c) elicited a strong sense of presence, especially spatial presence; and (d) was practical, simple, motivating, and engaging for learning information about stress and anxiety. These findings offer promising insights into that virtual reality may be an effective tool to provide psychoeducation.
... The FOP (here considered interchangeably to immersion) emerges due to the interaction a customer feels with the environment (Corwin and Erickson-Davis, 2020), which is at the highest level in the digital gaming environment (Ferguson et al., 2020). The level and quality of interactivity in the virtual environment can severely impact the effectiveness of virtual experience FOP (Pallavicini et al., 2020). Being a persuasive tool, the presence can further lead to positive attitudes toward the brand (Vashisht and Chauhan, 2017), brand memory (Vashisht et al., 2020) and buyer intentions (Mitros, 2020). ...
Purpose
This study focused on nonconventional marketing (in-game advertisement interactivity) to understand consumers’ purchase intentions. Specifically, this study aims to explore the intervening role of feelings of presence between in-game advertisement interactivity and consumer purchase intention. It further explores whether game–product congruence moderates the relationship between feelings of presence in the game and consumer purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data from 386 PUBG mobile players on a convenience basis. The selected players were ensured to have experience in playing mission ignition mode (a Tesla-themed mode of PUBG mobile).
Findings
The study noted that in-game advertisement interactivity positively affects consumer purchase intention, and this relationship is further explained through feelings of presence. In addition, game–product congruence was noted to strengthen the association between feelings of presence and consumer purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
The study used a cross-section design to collect data from players of PUBG through Google Forms on a convenient basis. The study highlights the significance of nontraditional advertisement and game–product congruence that helps businesses to attract customers.
Originality/value
Drawing upon transportation theory, this study is the first of its kind that has explored the mediating role of feelings of presence between in-game advertising interactivity and consumer purchase intention. In addition, this study shed light on the importance of game–product congruence to strengthen purchase intention.
... Currently, VR education is partially applied in fields that require hands-on experience because learners can safely and repeatedly practice complex and difficult tasks in virtual environments [15]. In VR, users can immerse themselves in a virtual environment [16] and interact with virtual objects in it. VR provides visual education to make it easier to understand complex content while improving communication efficiency [17]. ...
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shift from in-person to remote education, with most students taking classes via video meetings. This change inhibits active class participation from students. In particular, video education has limitations in replacing practical classes, which require both theoretical and empirical knowledge. In this study, we propose a system that incorporates virtual reality and metaverse methods into the classroom to compensate for the shortcomings of the existing remote models of practical education. Based on the proposed system, we developed an aircraft maintenance simulation and conducted an experiment comparing our system to a video training method. To measure educational effectiveness, knowledge acquisition, and retention tests were conducted and presence was investigated via survey responses. The results of the experiment show that the group using the proposed system scored higher than the video training group on both knowledge tests. As the responses given to the presence questionnaire confirmed a sense of spatial presence felt by the participants, the usability of the proposed system was judged to be appropriate.
... The former appears to be related to the interaction aspects, including the actions the user can accomplish and the feedback provided by the environment. In particular, ease of interaction, meaning a fluid, transparent, natural interaction perceived as simple and intuitive, is associated with positive emotions Pallavicini et al. (2020) and negatively associated with distress, worry and frustration Lackey et al. (2016). Conversely, frustration arises when the progress users are making towards achieving a goal is impeded Gilleade and Dix (2004). ...
In the era of ‘metaverse’, virtual environments are gaining popularity among new multimedia contents and are also recognized as a valuable means to deliver emotional content. This is favoured by cost reduction, availability and acceptance by end-users of virtual reality technology. Creating effective virtual environments can be achieved by exploiting several opportunities: creating artificial worlds able to generate different stories, mixing sensory cues, and making the whole interactive. The design space for creating emotional virtual environments is ample, and no clear idea of how to integrate the various components exists. This paper discusses how to combine multiple design elements to elicit five distinct emotions. We developed and tested two scenarios per emotion. We present the methodology, the development of the case studies, and the results of the testing.
... Kim et al., 2020;Lee et al., 2020). This pandemic has also created competition among the VR content developers to reduce their product costs and compete towards advanced VR systems for the tourism sector, focusing on human-computer interactions rather than resources on mechanics that elicit emotional responses (Pallavicini et al., 2020). With the new normal in place, tourism and hospitality businesses have had to redesign their services, products, and activities with the integration of AR and VR platforms to create an immersive experience for people staying at home and accessing the platform to reach out to the global market and to make the destination brand sustainable for future visit intention. ...
Emerging tourist destinations are increasingly becoming preferred destinations to tourists from developed countries. This has increased competition among these emerging destinations, and there is a pressing need to understand the tourists’ travel motivations and decision-making processes. This will help to provide tailor-made products to tourists. This chapter, therefore, begins with an examination of the factors that influence travel to emerging destinations. Also, the chapter provides a detailed theoretical and empirical review of the motivations for travel to emerging destinations. Furthermore, the concepts of travel decision-making process and how they could be applied to emerging destinations are explained. This is followed by an assessment of the relationships between travel motivations and travel decision-making. This chapter concludes with the implications of travel motivations and decision-making for the marketing of emerging destinations.
... In other directions, the content of other perspectives does not seem to be the same as that of the director. The relationship shuts out the audience even more [17]. However, wireless virtual reality technology completely solves this problem. ...
Wireless virtual reality integrated multidisciplinary technology, combined with related industries and fields, has changed the way of human-computer interaction and opened up a new field of user experience. In recent years, with the rapid improvement of computer technology and hardware conditions, interactive technology has developed rapidly. The existing wireless virtual reality interactive system is too single and cannot be used in multiple environments. The original system requires a large number of sensor equipment, the cost is high, and the traditional perception technology is too restrictive and cannot realize human-computer interaction more naturally. This paper proposes a dual intention perception algorithm based on the fusion of touch (obtained by experimental simulation equipment), hearing, and vision. The algorithm can perceive the user’s operation intention through the user’s natural behavior and can identify the user’s two intentions at the same time. This paper proposes a navigational interactive mode, which provides users with multimodal intelligent navigation through intelligent perception of user intent and experimental progress. We determine the impact model of the interactive system effect evaluation and analyze its effect evaluation strategy in depth and then further quantify the indicators under the four effect dimensions of information perception, artistic reflection, social entertainment, and aesthetic experience. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to carry out relevant research on effect evaluation, usability test, and questionnaire interview. The experimental results show that this interactive system has better entertainment effects than other forms of film and television animation, but still needs to pay attention to and strengthen the construction and embodiment of film and television animation content, as well as the optimization and perfection of the fault-tolerant mechanism in the design process.
... However, for consumers' decision-making processes, VR experiences offer high levels of presence that are usually associated with feelings of enjoyment (Li et al., 2001a). In turn, if VR users enjoy interacting with the virtual environment or the product therein, then experiences that offer high levels of presence virtually are themselves perceived and expected to be more enjoyable (Pallavicini et al., 2020;Sylaiou et al., 2010;Yung et al., 2021). As a case in point, in their study on how consumers experienced a virtual tour of several tourism destinations with VR, Tussyadiah et al. (2018) found that the sense of presence indeed increased enjoyment during the experience. ...
Purpose: Our study’s aim was to apply theory on consumer learning in virtual experiences to compare how media technologies (i.e., virtual reality [VR] and standard websites) and users’ gender influence the ways in which tourists gather pre-purchase information.
Design/methodology/approach: A laboratory experiment with fully immersive VR was conducted to examine consumers’ behavior in gathering pre-purchase information. The sample comprised 128 consumers who had taken a cruise vacation or who were considering purchasing a cruise package in the near future.
Findings: The results generally reveal the central role of the feeling of presence, which in turn positively impacts users’ enjoyment and aspects of consumer learning (i.e., brand attitude, product knowledge, and purchase intent). In particular, the results suggest that compared with standard websites, VR facilitated the tourists’ learning as consumers, especially among women, who tend to dominate the information-gathering stage of planning family vacations.
Practical implications: The results imply that travel agencies and tourism centers working with cruise vacation companies should incorporate VR in order to make their offers more attractive, especially to women.
Originality: Our study was the first to apply theory on consumer learning in the cruise tourism industry, specifically to compare fully immersive VR devices versus standard websites and gauge the effect of gender.
... VR could play a key role in this frame as it allows researchers to reproduce ad-hoc immersive 3D environments where users' perceptions can reach high levels of realism, and any object can be manipulated in real time. Furthermore, researchers have already noticed the potentiality of VR, compared to traditional tools, for studying emotional reactions and mental states [19,20], and in the manipulation of the environment. This latter aspect is crucial in the modulation of our experiences as already demonstrated by traditional paradigms such as the stimulusorganism-response (S-O-R) [21]. ...
Scents have the ability to affect peoples’ mental states and task performance with to different extents. It has been widely demonstrated that the lemon scent, included in most all-purpose cleaners, elicits stimulation and activation, while the lavender scent elicits relaxation and sedative effects. The present study aimed at investigating and fostering a novel approach to evaluate users’ experience with respect to scents’ effects through the joint employment of Virtual Reality and users’ neurophysiological monitoring, in particular Electroencephalography. In particular, this study, involving 42 participants, aimed to compare the effects of lemon and lavender scents on the deployment of cognitive resources during a daily life experience consisting in a train journey carried out in virtual reality. Our findings showed a significant higher request of cognitive resources during the processing of an informative message for subjects exposed to the lavender scent with respect to the lemon exposure. No differences were found between lemon and lavender conditions on the self-reported items of pleasantness and involvement; as this study demonstrated, the employment of the lavender scent preserves the quality of the customer experience to the same extent as the more widely used lemon scent.
... These findings underscore the manifestation of bi-directional relations between presence and affective responding [112]. As summarized by Diemer and colleagues [113]: "On the one hand, fear-related elements in VR are input cues to the fear network-as proposed in emotional processing theory-and might thus directly enhance emotional arousal . . . ...
Brain science research often involves the use of low-dimensional tools and stimuli that lack several of the potentially valuable features of everyday activities and interactions. Although this research has provided important information about cognitive, affective, and social processes for both clinical and nonclinical populations, there is growing interest in high-dimensional simulations that extend reality. These high-dimensional simulations involve dynamic stimuli presented serially or concurrently to permit the assessment and training of perceivers' integrative processes over time. Moreover, high-dimensional simulation platforms can contextually restrain interpretations of cues about a target's internal states. Extended reality environments extend assessment and training platforms that balance experimental control with emotionally engaging background narratives aimed at extending the affective experience and social interactions. Herein, we highlight the promise of extended reality platforms for greater ecological validity in the clinical, affective, and social neurosciences.
... Correlations between presence and emotional experience in VR have been consistently reported, especially in the literature on VR exposure therapy (Robillard et al., 2003;Price and Anderson, 2007;Riva et al., 2007;Bouchard et al., 2008;Alsina-Jurnet et al., 2011;Price et al., 2011). Studies have found that the higher presence in virtual experiences, alongside natural and easy-to-use motion-based controllers were able to better provide stimulation and engagement to users, resulting in stronger positive emotions (Pallavicini et al., 2020;Siriaraya & Ang, 2014). Investigating the efficacy of using VEs to promote active aging for the elderly, Baños et al. (2012) similarly found that participants showed an increase in positive emotions and a decrease in negative emotions after use of the VE, alongside high sense of presence. ...
In a post-COVID landscape, building interest and evoking positive emotions toward tourism products are vital for destination recovery. As a result, interest and opportunity for the use of immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) for tourism marketing has intensified. Despite the ubiquity of presence as a concept in VR research, exploring and adapting presence for tourism marketing remains in infancy. In particular, there is still limited understanding of the importance and interplay of the determinants of presence. Through a critical review of presence research in ICT, education, psychology, psychiatry, marketing, and tourism, this paper establishes a comprehensive conceptual framework (named PEI framework) encompassing the determinants (immersion, engagement, sensory fidelity) and consequences of presence (P) on emotional response (E) and behavioural intention (I). This paper also found that presence research remains a disparate body of work. Frameworks and measures from which to bridge disciplines and contexts remain nascent. The interplay between presence determinants and their effects on emotional response, shown to be context-dependant in this review of presence VR research, has yet to be tested or theorized in tourism research. Suggestions for advancing the framework, both context and method-wise, are made for future VR research.
... This suggests that the interest in this subject for educational researchers, especially regarding practical tests carried out in the classroom, is of great interest. The opportunities offered by virtual technologies allow us to break the limits of formal education [60]. In this way, VR has broken the barriers of formal education, making it possible to access quality education, informally and through ubiquitous technologies accessible to all [61]. ...
Technological advances have posed a challenge in university learning ecosystems in terms of the application of immersive technologies that offer an educational and innovative framework to the student. The evolution of global research on this topic during the period 1980 to 2019 was studied. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis of 1296 articles was applied, obtaining results of the scientific productivity of the journals, authors, institutions, and countries that contribute to this research. The evidence shows a growing interest, especially in the last three years, in the study of the application of virtual reality in higher education. The main subject area is Social Science. The most productive research institution is the Complutense University of Madrid. The United States is the country with the most publications and citations. In addition, The United States, Spain and the United Kingdom are the countries with the most international collaborations in their publications. The study detected five new directions for future research. The growing worldwide trend of scientific production demonstrates the interest in developing aspects of the use of virtual reality in arts education in the context of higher education. This study contributes to the academic, scientific and institutional discussion around the improvement of decision making based on the available information.
Virtual Reality headsets have evolved to include unprecedented display quality. Meantime, they have become light-weight, wireless and low-cost, which has opened to new applications and a much wider audience. Photo-based omnidirectional imaging has also developed, becoming directly exploitable for VR, with their combination proven suitable for: remote visits and realistic scene reconstruction, operator’s training and control panels, surveillance and e-tourism. There is however a limited amount of scientific work assessing VR experience and user’s performance in photo-based environment representations. This paper focuses on assessing the effect of photographic realism in VR when observing real places through a VR headset, for two different pixel-densities of the display, environment types and familiarity levels. Our comparison relies on the observation of static three-dimensional and omnidirectional photorealistic views of environments. The aim is to gain an insight about how photographic texture can affect perceived realness, sense of presence and provoked emotions, as well as perception of image-lighting and actual space dimension (true-dimension). Two user studies are conducted based on subjective rating and measurements given by users to a number of display and human factors. The display pixel-density affected the perceived image-lighting and prevailed over better lighting specs. The environment illumination and distance to objects generally played a stronger role than display. The environment affected the perceived image-lighting, spatial presence, depth impression and specific emotions. Distances to a set of objects were generally accurately estimated. Place familiarity enhanced perceived realism and presence. They confirmed some previous studies, but also introduced new elements.
Emotions are frequently considered as the driving force of behavior, and psychopathology is often characterized by aberrant emotional responding. Emotional states are reflected on a cognitive-verbal, physiological-humoral, and motor-behavioral level but to date, human research lacks an experimental protocol for a comprehensive and ecologically valid characterization of such emotional states. Virtual reality (VR) might help to overcome this situation by allowing researchers to study mental processes and behavior in highly controlled but reality-like laboratory settings. In this chapter, we first elucidate the role of presence and immersion as requirements for eliciting emotional states in a virtual environment and discuss different VR methods for emotion induction. We then consider the organization of emotional states on a valence continuum (i.e., from negative to positive) and on this basis discuss the use of VR to study threat processing and avoidance as well as reward processing and approach behavior. Although the potential of VR has not been fully realized in laboratory and clinical settings yet, this technological tool can open up new avenues to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms of emotional responding in healthy and pathological conditions.KeywordsApproachAvoidanceEmotionsPresenceVirtual reality
The effectiveness of a virtual reality experience is strongly affected by the sense of presence of the users involved. This article reviews the different definitions of presence and the main proposed methods to measure it through the analysis of 1,214 papers published in the past 30 years. From the analysis of 239 user studies, we found that 85.8% used subjective measures, 11.7% used a combination of subjective and objective measures, while 2.5% used only objective measures. We also identified, from the studies reviewed, 29 main factors to evoke presence in virtual environments, grouped into four categories: Engagement, Personal Characteristics, Interaction Fidelity, and Display Fidelity.
Virtual Reality (VR) interfaces provide an immersive medium to interact with the digital world. Most VR interfaces require physical interactions using handheld controllers, but there are other alternative interaction methods that can support different use cases and users. Interaction methods in VR are primarily evaluated based on their usability, however, their differences in neurological and physiological effects remains less investigated. In this paper—along with other traditional qualitative matrices such as presence, affect, and system usability—we explore the neurophysiological effects—brain signals and electrodermal activity—of using an alternative facial expression interaction method to interact with VR interfaces. This form of interaction was also compared with traditional handheld controllers. Three different environments, with different experiences to interact with were used—happy (butterfly catching), neutral (object picking), and scary (zombie shooting). Overall, we noticed an effect of interaction methods on the gamma activities in the brain and on skin conductance. For some aspects of presence, facial expression outperformed controllers but controllers were found to be better than facial expressions in terms of usability.
Objective
Given the recession and crises such as the Covid-19 Pandemic, tourism destinations and
related businesses are attempting to continue to expose their tourism destinations and
capacities to potential tourists. They also aim to encourage them by providing extra facilities to visit these tourism destinations once the crisis is over. Virtual reality technology seems to be an effective instrument for this purpose, which highlights the significance of using this technology in the present situation. Virtual reality is regarded as an ICT-enabled technology with the potential to provide a highly interactive experience for potential tourists and inspire them to visit these destinations in the future. This study aims to investigate the impacts of virtual reality technology on tourists’ behavioral intentions and the image of the tourism destination.
Methodology
The present study is descriptive-applied in nature. The required data will be collected using
online questionnaire and available sampling method. The statistical population of the study includes all the tourists who usually use various mobile applications for their travels. For this purpose, a 360-degree virtual video from three popular tourism destinations in Khuzestan province were selected. The sample of this research includes 267 visitors. The reliability and validity of the research constructs were confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and mean extraction variance. Besides, research hypotheses were also tested using Smart-PLS3 software.
Findings
The results illustrate that “sense of presence” and “aesthetic experience” are the two the
variables with a significantly positive impact on satisfaction with virtual reality. Moreover,
satisfaction with virtual reality has a positive and significant effect on behavioral conflict and behavioral conflict has a significantly positive effect on the intention to visit the destination, verbal recommendation, and the destination image.
Conclusion
Based on the results of this study, virtual reality technology has a positive effect on tourist
behavior and destination image. Accordingly, if virtual reality applications and programs can provide their users with a sense of presence in the scene, a more realistic experience, a more unique instances of aesthetic effects and principles, these users will experience greater satisfaction with the virtual travel experience. While attracting and motivating the users, this can lead to more engagement and interaction with the tourism experience. In addition, the higher the users are engaged with the experience and the more time and energy they spend interacting and participating in the virtual experience, the greater the likelihood of observing behavioral reactions. Therefore, higher engagement with the experience of visiting a destination virtually can help increase their intention to actually visit that destination in the future. Moreover, users who have had a more rewarding experience based on their engagement with the destination, will be more likely to share their experiences with others and recommend them. In addition, such a unique experience of interaction and engagement with the tourism destination and its attractions can creates a more desirable feeling toward the destination and increase the credibility and desirability of the destination. Eventually, it can also help improve the brand image of that tourism destination.
As a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the survival of tourism destinations, to a great extent, fully depends on the advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) globally. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been regarded as effective marketing communication tools that enable customers to dive into an immersive experience by accessing information about various tourism products such as museums, theme parks, and wellness centres. This chapter covers the challenges and opportunities that drive the hospitality and tourism industry to address the changing demands and expectations of tourists through the integration of AR and VR. The development of AR and VR products for the tourism destination will create new markets for the industry to survive from this pandemic and contribute towards the development of emerging economies, as tourism is one of the most dynamic contributors to the development of an economy.
To ensure the continuity of healthcare and to counter the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors and nursing staff at hospitals must face an insidious, invisible danger that is stretching the healthcare system far past its capacity. Excessive workload, inadequate protection from contamination, the need to manage patients experiencing extreme suffering and being kept apart from their families put medical personnel at high risk to experience stress and anxiety. Numerous scientific studies have shown that, among various therapeutic programs, virtual reality represents a highly specialized and effective tool for the prevention and treatment of stress and anxiety. However, the solutions developed using this technology for the management of stress and anxiety induced by the COVID-19 pandemic are still very limited, and none of these have been developed specifically for use with healthcare professionals. Therefore, this paper will detail the design and evaluation protocol of MIND-VR, a virtual reality-based psychoeducational experience on stress and anxiety developed following a user-centered design approach. The virtual experience will be tested on a sample of Italian hospital healthcare personnel involved in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. MIND-VR is available free of charge, both in Italian and English, on the project website ( https://mind-vr.com/ ).
Awe is a little-studied emotion with a great transformative potential. Therefore, the interest towards the study of awe’s underlying mechanisms has been increased. Specifically, researchers have been interested in how to reproduce intense feelings of awe within laboratory conditions. It has been proposed that the use of Virtual Reality (VR) could be an effective way to induce awe in controlled experimental settings, thanks to its ability of providing participants with a sense of “presence”, that is, the subjective feeling of being displaced in another physical or imaginary place. However, the potential of VR as awe-inducing medium has not been fully tested yet. In the present study, we provided an evidence-based design and a validation of four immersive virtual environments (VEs) involving 36 participants in a within-subject design. Of these, three VEs were designed to induce awe, whereas the fourth VE was targeted as an emotionally-neutral stimulus. Participants self-reported the extent to which they felt awe, general affect and sense of presence related to each environment. As expected, results showed that awe-VEs could induce significantly higher levels of awe and presence as compared to the neutral VE. Furthermore, these VEs induced significantly more positive than negative affect. These findings supported the potential of immersive VR for inducing awe and provide useful indications for the design of awe-inspiring virtual environments.
Virtual reality (VR) headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR can provide a unique experience different from traditional computer monitors. Research demonstrates some support for VR resulting in more immersive gaming than traditional games using a computer or TV monitor. This study investigates how VR technology impacts game user satisfaction. Participants played the same strategy video game using the Oculus Rift, a VR headset, and a computer monitor. Game user satisfaction was measured by the psychometrically validated Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) which consists of nine constructs. Results from this study showed that VR enhanced overall satisfaction, enjoyment, engrossment, creativity, sound, and graphics quality.
In the last 20 years, the debate on the role of emotions in the field of industrial design has grown exponentially. Emotional Design emerged as the effort to promote positive emotions or pleasure in users by means of design properties of products and services. Design based on emotions can affect overall user experience deeply, since emotions influence
decision making, affect attention, memory, and generate meaning. It is possible to identify two main approaches to applied emotional design. The first is based on the modification of object’s aesthetic appearance or interface, the latter focuses on promoting fluent and engaging interactions.
The objective of the present contribution is to extend the discourse on emotional design,
highlighting that technology designers can rely on other components beyond the above-mentioned aesthetic and engagement ones, in order to create innovative and effective devices. Indeed, emotions have further aspects that could be exploited by emotional designers. According to this perspective, new technologies can be considered and treated as opportunities to manipulate, enhance and trigger different discrete, and even complex emotional states. Moreover, emotions can “participate” to interaction (instead of being a mere byproduct of it), by providing inputs to digital technologies to modify or influence final outputs. This contribution explores opportunities provided by conceiving emotions as cognitive processes and active agents of interactions, in the field of emotional design.
Awe, a complex emotion composed by the appraisal components of vastness and need for accommodation, is a profound and often meaningful experience. Despite its importance, psychologists have only recently begun empirical study of awe. At the experimental level, a main issue concerns how to elicit high intensity awe experiences in the lab. To address this issue, Virtual Reality (VR) has been proposed as a potential solution. Here, we considered the highest realistic form of VR: immersive videos. 42 participants watched at immersive and normal 2D videos displaying an awe or a neutral content. After the experience, they rated their level of awe and sense of presence. Participants’ psychophysiological responses (BVP, SC, sEMG) were recorded during the whole video exposure. We hypothesized that the immersive video condition would increase the intensity of awe experienced compared to 2D screen videos. Results indicated that immersive videos significantly enhanced the self-reported intensity of awe as well as the sense of presence. Immersive videos displaying an awe content also led to higher parasympathetic activation. These findings indicate the advantages of using VR in the experimental study of awe, with methodological implications for the study of other emotions.
Mental health problems are inseparable from the environment. With virtual reality (VR), computer-generated interactive environments, individuals can repeatedly experience their problematic situations and be taught, via evidence-based psychological treatments, how to overcome difficulties. VR is moving out of specialist laboratories. Our central aim was to describe the potential of VR in mental health, including a consideration of the first 20 years of applications. A systematic review of empirical studies was conducted. In all, 285 studies were identified, with 86 concerning assessment, 45 theory development, and 154 treatment. The main disorders researched were anxiety ( n = 192), schizophrenia ( n = 44), substance-related disorders ( n = 22) and eating disorders ( n = 18). There are pioneering early studies, but the methodological quality of studies was generally low. The gaps in meaningful applications to mental health are extensive. The most established finding is that VR exposure-based treatments can reduce anxiety disorders, but there are numerous research and treatment avenues of promise. VR was found to be a much-misused term, often applied to non-interactive and non-immersive technologies. We conclude that VR has the potential to transform the assessment, understanding and treatment of mental health problems. The treatment possibilities will only be realized if – with the user experience at the heart of design – the best immersive VR technology is combined with targeted translational interventions. The capability of VR to simulate reality could greatly increase access to psychological therapies, while treatment outcomes could be enhanced by the technology's ability to create new realities. VR may merit the level of attention given to neuroimaging.
The emotional response a person has to a living space is predominantly affected by light, color and texture as space-making elements. In order to verify whether this phenomenon could be replicated in a simulated environment, we conducted a user study in a six-sided projected immersive display that utilized equivalent design attributes of brightness, color and texture in order to assess to which extent the emotional response in a simulated environment is affected by the same parameters affecting real environments. Since emotional response depends upon the context, we evaluated the emotional responses of two groups of users: inactive (passive) and active (performing a typical daily activity). The results from the perceptual study generated data from which design principles for a virtual living space are articulated. Such a space, as an alternative to expensive built dwellings, could potentially support new, minimalist lifestyles of occupants, defined as the neo-nomads, aligned with their work experience in the digital domain through the generation of emotional experiences of spaces. Data from the experiments confirmed the hypothesis that perceivable emotional aspects of real-world spaces could be successfully generated through simulation of design attributes in the virtual space. The subjective response to the virtual space was consistent with corresponding responses from real-world color and brightness emotional perception. Our data could serve the virtual reality (VR) community in its attempt to conceive of further applications of virtual spaces for well-defined activities.
During life, many personal changes occur. These include changing house, school, work, and even friends and partners. However, the daily experience shows clearly that, in some situations, subjects are unable to change even if they want to. The recent advances in psychology and neuroscience are now providing a better view of personal change, the change affecting our assumptive world: (a) the focus of personal change is reducing the distance between self and reality (conflict); (b) this reduction is achieved through (1) an intense focus on the particular experience creating the conflict or (2) an internal or external reorganization of this experience; (c) personal change requires a progression through a series of different stages that however happen in discontinuous and non-linear ways; and (d) clinical psychology is often used to facilitate personal change when subjects are unable to move forward. Starting from these premises, the aim of this paper is to review the potential of virtuality for enhancing the processes of personal and clinical change. First, the paper focuses on the two leading virtual technologies – augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – exploring their current uses in behavioral health and the outcomes of the 28 available systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Then the paper discusses the added value provided by VR and AR in transforming our external experience by focusing on the high level of personal efficacy and self-reflectiveness generated by their sense of presence and emotional engagement. Finally, it outlines the potential future use of virtuality for transforming our inner experience by structuring, altering, and/ or replacing our bodily self-consciousness. The final outcome may be a new generation of transformative experiences that provide knowledge that is epistemically inaccessible to the individual until he or she has that experience, while at the same time transforming the individual's worldview.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disease characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on a specific object or situation. Within the treatment of GAD, physical (relaxation and controlled breathing), behavioral (visualization and controlled exposure) and cognitive control strategies (challenging negative thoughts) represent a key part of the treatment, even if they difficult to learn. To overcome this limitation, the EU-funded INTREPID research project (IST-2002-507464) proposes improvement of exiting treatment for GAD through the use of a biofeedback-enhanced virtual reality (VR) system, used both for relaxation and controlled exposure. Furthermore, this experience is strengthened by the use of a mobile phone that allows patients to perform the virtual experience even in an outpatient setting. This approach was tested in a Phase II randomized controlled trial (NCT00602212), including three groups of four patients each, resulting in a total of 12 patients. The first group consisted of the VR and Mobile group (VRMB) including biofeedback, the second of the VR and Mobile group (VRM) without biofeedback, and the third the waiting list (WL) group. This study provides initial evidence for better efficacy of treatment for the VRMB group. Subjects belonging to this group reported a higher decrease in some of the anxiety psychometric questionnaires after the treatment than both VRM and WL groups, even if the VRM group, too, reported some significant improvements at the end of therapy. Moreover, qualitative reports concerning outpatient use of mobile phones suggests that it can solve a classical problem of VR therapies-the impossibility of using a VR system in the real life context of the patient.
This paper elaborates a conceptual framework of emotional design for games and explains how it could assist game designers in designing immersive games. Player-centric approach is identified as the core of the framework which signifies the roles of emotion in the game design process particularly at the pre-production stage. Since emotion and perception are biological process of human beings, players are prone to choose digital games which offer immense pleasure and enjoyment experience. In game playing process, players are mostly dominated by perception which leads their behavior to act. Perception is driven by immediate emotional response at visceral level. This phenomenon emerges from the integration between three domains of learning and three levels of emotional design. This integration would contribute to the establishment of study into player-centric emotional design for games.
Emotions in the context of UX are generally evaluated in regard to product appearance and sensorial experience. The use of virtual reality can be a way to study UX in consumer products. We want to evaluate if we could increase emotional responses using a virtual reality immersive system. For that purpose, we used the GAPED picture database and compared valence and arousal ratings of GAPED and those obtained using virtual reality. Results showed that arousal was higher in virtual reality for all images, and valence was negatively extreme for images of living creatures usually associated with phobias (spiders and snakes). Nonetheless being this is a pilot study, we conclude that there is a tendency for Virtual Reality to increase emotional responses.
One challenge in mediation analysis is to generate a confidence interval (CI) with high cov- erage and power that maintains a nominal significance level for any well-defined function of indirect and direct effects in the general context of structural equation modeling (SEM). This study discusses a proposed Monte Carlo extension that finds the CIs for any well-defined function of the coefficients of SEM such as the product of k coefficients and the ratio of the contrasts of indirect effects, using the Monte Carlo method. Finally, we conduct a small-scale simulation study to compare CIs produced by the Monte Carlo, nonparametric bootstrap, and asymptotic-delta methods. Based on our simulation study, we recommend researchers use the Monte Carlo method to test a complex function of indirect effects.
Evidence from studies of provocative motion indicates that motion sickness is tightly linked to the disturbances of thermoregulation. The major aim of the current study was to determine whether provocative visual stimuli (immersion into the virtual reality simulating rides on a rollercoaster) affect skin temperature that reflects thermoregulatory cutaneous responses, and to test whether such stimuli alter cognitive functions. In 26 healthy young volunteers wearing head-mounted display (Oculus Rift), simulated rides consistently provoked vection and nausea, with a significant difference between the two versions of simulation software (Parrot Coaster and Helix). Basal finger temperature had bimodal distribution, with low-temperature group (n=8) having values of 23-29°C, and high-temperature group (n=18) having values of 32-36°C. Effects of cybersickness on finger temperature depended on the basal level of this variable: in subjects from former group it raised by 3-4°C, while in most subjects from the latter group it either did not change or transiently reduced by 1.5-2°C. There was no correlation between the magnitude of changes in the finger temperature and nausea score at the end of simulated ride. Provocative visual stimulation caused prolongation of simple reaction time by 20-50ms; this increase closely correlated with the subjective rating of nausea. Lastly, in subjects who experienced pronounced nausea, heart rate was elevated. We conclude that cybersickness is associated with changes in cutaneous thermoregulatory vascular tone; this further supports the idea of a tight link between motion sickness and thermoregulation. Cybersickness-induced prolongation of reaction time raises obvious concerns regarding the safety of this technology.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Virtual reality (VR) has made its way into mainstream psychological research in the last two decades. This technology, with its unique ability to simulate complex, real situations and contexts, offers researchers unprecedented opportunities to investigate human behavior in well controlled designs in the laboratory. One important application of VR is the investigation of pathological processes in mental disorders, especially anxiety disorders. Research on the processes underlying threat perception, fear, and exposure therapy has shed light on more general aspects of the relation between perception and emotion. Being by its nature virtual, i.e., simulation of reality, VR strongly relies on the adequate selection of specific perceptual cues to activate emotions. Emotional experiences in turn are related to presence, another important concept in VR, which describes the user's sense of being in a VR environment. This paper summarizes current research into perception of fear cues, emotion, and presence, aiming at the identification of the most relevant aspects of emotional experience in VR and their mutual relations. A special focus lies on a series of recent experiments designed to test the relative contribution of perception and conceptual information on fear in VR. This strand of research capitalizes on the dissociation between perception (bottom-up input) and conceptual information (top-down input) that is possible in VR. Further, we review the factors that have so far been recognized to influence presence, with emotions (e.g., fear) being the most relevant in the context of clinical psychology. Recent research has highlighted the mutual influence of presence and fear in VR, but has also traced the limits of our current understanding of this relationship. In this paper, the crucial role of perception on eliciting emotional reactions is highlighted, and the role of arousal as a basic dimension of emotional experience is discussed. An interoceptive attribution model of presence is suggested as a first step toward an integrative framework for emotion research in VR. Gaps in the current literature and future directions are outlined.
Advanced technologies are able to influence tourists' decisions. They can be exploited for attracting touristic flows towards cultural destinations. In particular, virtual tours are new tools based on advanced 3D graphics that can be useful for promoting arts and culture. In this paper, we test users' acceptance of virtual tours as a tool supporting their decision to visit a touristic destination. A new virtual tour has been developed for promoting a site with a high archaeological value in the south of Italy. Acceptance of this system has been tested on a sample of 100 interviewees. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). All the hypotheses were supported indicating the robustness of TAM model for explaining the intention to use virtual tours while deciding on touristic destinations. Results also showed the importance of enjoyment while using the tool to explain acceptance.
The arousal dimension of human emotions is assessed from two different physiological sources: peripheral signals and electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from the brain. A complete acquisition protocol is presented to build a physiological emotional database for real participants. Arousal assessment is then formulated as a classification problem, with classes corresponding to 2 or 3 degrees of arousal. The performance of 2 classifiers has been evaluated, on peripheral signals, on EEG's, and on both. Results confirm the possibility of using EEG's to assess the arousal component of emotion, and the interest of multimodal fusion between EEG's and peripheral physiological signals. 1.
Background:
The recent convergence between technology and medicine is offering innovative methods and tools for behavioral health care. Among these, an emerging approach is the use of virtual reality (VR) within exposure-based protocols for anxiety disorders, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder. However, no systematically tested VR protocols are available for the management of psychological stress.
Objective:
Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a new technological paradigm, Interreality, for the management and prevention of psychological stress. The main feature of Interreality is a twofold link between the virtual and the real world achieved through experiential virtual scenarios (fully controlled by the therapist, used to learn coping skills and improve self-efficacy) with real-time monitoring and support (identifying critical situations and assessing clinical change) using advanced technologies (virtual worlds, wearable biosensors, and smartphones).
Methods:
The study was designed as a block randomized controlled trial involving 121 participants recruited from two different worker populations-teachers and nurses-that are highly exposed to psychological stress. Participants were a sample of teachers recruited in Milan (Block 1: n=61) and a sample of nurses recruited in Messina, Italy (Block 2: n=60). Participants within each block were randomly assigned to the (1) Experimental Group (EG): n=40; B1=20, B2=20, which received a 5-week treatment based on the Interreality paradigm; (2) Control Group (CG): n=42; B1=22, B2=20, which received a 5-week traditional stress management training based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); and (3) the Wait-List group (WL): n=39, B1=19, B2=20, which was reassessed and compared with the two other groups 5 weeks after the initial evaluation.
Results:
Although both treatments were able to significantly reduce perceived stress better than WL, only EG participants reported a significant reduction (EG=12% vs. CG=0.5%) in chronic "trait" anxiety. A similar pattern was found for coping skills: both treatments were able to significantly increase most coping skills, but only EG participants reported a significant increase (EG=14% vs CG=0.3%) in the Emotional Support skill.
Conclusions:
Our findings provide initial evidence that the Interreality protocol yields better outcomes than the traditionally accepted gold standard for psychological stress treatment: CBT. Consequently, these findings constitute a sound foundation and rationale for the importance of continuing future research in technology-enhanced protocols for psychological stress management.
Trial registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01683617; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01683617 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6QnziHv3h).
The positive technology field combines the objectives of positive psychology with enhancements from information and communication technologies. Following this approach, our team developed the ‘EARTH of Well-Being,’ a system designed to induce positive emotions and reinforce psychological resources through a self-guided positive psychology internet intervention. This paper describes the EARTH system and presents the results of a pilot study that assesses users’ acceptance and perceived usefulness of the system and provides preliminary evidence of its efficacy in providing users with positive experiences. Thirty-eight volunteers used the application in six sessions distributed over two weeks. They reported high levels of acceptability and perceived usefulness. Moreover, participants reported increased positive mood after each session. Overall, results support the future use and investigation of this system as a positive psychology intervention, and suggest that it could be useful for increasing positive mood.
Emotions in the context of UX are generally evaluated in regard to product appearance and sensorial experience. The use of virtual reality can be a way to study UX in consumer products. We want to evaluate if we could increase emotional responses using a virtual reality immersive system. For that purpose, we used the GAPED picture database and compared valence and arousal ratings of GAPED and those obtained using virtual reality. Results showed that arousal was higher in virtual reality for all images, and valence was negatively extreme for images of living creatures usually associated with phobias (spiders and snakes). Nonetheless being this is a pilot study, we conclude that there is a tendency for Virtual Reality to increase emotional responses.
Abstract One of the most important aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is its impact on quality of life, increasing negative emotions and dysfunctional coping strategies. One of these strategies is to avoid activities, especially meaningful activities, which reduces positive reinforcement. Commencing significant daily activities could enable chronic patients to experience a more fulfilling life. However, the main difficulty found in FMS patients is their willingness to start those activities. Promoting positive emotions could enhance activity management. The aim of this paper is to present a description of a system along with data regarding the acceptability, satisfaction, and preliminary efficacy of a virtual reality (VR) environment for the promotion of positive emotions. The VR environment was especially designed for chronic pain patients. Results showed significant increases in general mood state, positive emotions, motivation, and self-efficacy. These preliminary findings show the potential of VR as an adjunct to the psychological treatment of such an important health problem as chronic pain.
Purpose – This paper aims at establishing a new stream of academic study for virtual brands. It explains the concepts of protobrands and reverse product placement and explores some of the managerial and academic implications.
Design/methodology/approach – Starting from the most recent definition of the brand construct, the paper establishes that the brand concept may now be detached from physical embodiment. The extension of application of the branding domain to the fictional and computer-synthesized worlds is extensively illustrated by examples of virtual brands from books, films, video games and other multi-user virtual environments.
Findings – Evidence suggests that purely potential brands (protobrands) initiated in the virtual world may possess strong consumer-based brand equity. The study shows that the equity of the protobrands may be leveraged in-world (and can acquire legal protection) or through reverse product placement and the launch of the physical embodiment of the protobrand in the physical world (the HyperReal brand).
Research limitations/implications – This is an initial conceptual paper on virtual and HyperReal brands. This study, which has no antecedents, highlights the need for further empirical inquiry. The reverse product placement phenomenon may result in academics and practitioners to revise the traditional models of building brands.
Originality/value – The paper introduces and defines virtual brands, both fictional and computer-synthesized, HyperReal brands and the reverse product placement phenomenon.
This paper outlines a research agenda to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional brand-building techniques employed in virtual reality. First, marketers must determine more precisely who is visiting virtual reality sites. As the number of individuals creating avatars with which to participate in virtual environments increases, it is important to profile virtual-world residents and understand their in-world behavior. Second, because participants' motives and other antecedent states can potentially moderate the effectiveness of virtual-world marketing strategies, marketers who intend to leverage virtual communities must understand the motives of the individuals who inhabit them. To date, marketers appear to have promoted more utilitarian consumer goals that may be at odds with the social and hedonic motives of virtual-world participants. The theory of virtual-world marketing can be significantly expanded if researchers clarify why people come to virtual worlds and how they wish to interact when they get there. Finally, marketers must move beyond descriptive studies and measure the ability of various types of marketing content routinely used in virtual worlds (such as product placements, event sponsorships, and billboards) to produce hierarchical brand effects. Only by advancing the level and rigor of study in the field can marketers hope to achieve a more comprehensive theory of marketing in virtual reality.
New advanced technologies have recently emerged as a potentially effective way for delivering stress management techniques. Specifically, the stress inoculation training (SIT) represents a validated approach to manage stress in several settings, and research is growing related to this clinical protocol combined with advanced technologies. This review aims to outline the state of the art of cyber-interventions based on SIT methodology (cyberSIT). In the current review, we deeply analyzed and discussed three aspects of the selected studies: (1) the type of technological devices used for delivering cyber-SIT; (2) the sampling strategies; (3) and the stress-related measures for assessing the effectiveness of cyber-SIT. The results of this systematic review suggest the potential efficacy of cyber-SIT for managing psychological stress in several settings. Considering cyber-SIT for psychological stress, controlled trials testing a greater number of participants are needed. Other future challenges include adopting better inclusion/exclusion criteria, standardized outcome measures, and different conditions for comparing the effect and/or the integration of different technological devices. In conclusion, as the cyber-SIT may play an important role in the future clinical psychology, it is crucial to enhance the validation of this approach from a methodological point of view.
Hedonomics takes ergonomics one step forward from its initial prevention of pain to its contemporary promotion of pleasure in human-technology interaction. We provide a philosophical framework, contribute a model of a design priority hierarchy, and offer potential areas of future research for hedonomics, which we define as the promotion of pleasurable human-machine interaction. Individuation and experience goals should be incorporated into fundamental design priorities in order to optimize user experience and improve the quality of life for all affected by advancing technology. © Copyright 2005 by Human Factors and Ergonamics Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
Background. Virtual reality can provide innovative gaming experiences for present and future game players. However, scientific knowledge is still limited about differences between player’s experience in video games played in immersive modalities and games played in non-immersive modalities (i.e., on a desktop display).
Materials and method. Smash Hit was played by 24 young adults in immersive (virtual reality) and non-immersive (desktop) condition. Self-report questionnaires (VAS-A, VAS-HP, VAS-SP, SUS, SUS-II) and psycho-physiological measures (heart rate and skin conductance) were used to assess usability, emotional response and the reported sense of presence.
Results. No statistical differences emerged between the immersive and the non-immersive condition regarding usability and performance scores. The general linear model for repeated measures conducted on VAS-A, VAS-HP, VAS-SP scores for the virtual reality condition supported the idea that playing in the immersive display modality was associated with higher self-reported happiness and surprise; analysis on SUS-II revealed that the perceived sense of presence was higher in the virtual reality condition
Discussion and conclusion. The proposed study provides evidence that (a) playing a video game in virtual reality was not more difficult than playing through a desktop display; (b) players showed a more intense emotional response, as assessed by self-report questionnaires and with psycho-physiological indexes (heart rate and skin conductance), after playing in virtual reality versus after playing through the desktop display; (c) the perceived sense of presence was found to be greater in virtual reality as opposed to the non-immersive condition.
This paper describes an experiment to assess the influence of immersion on performance in immersive virtual environments. The task involved Tri-Dimensional Chess, and required subjects to reproduce on a real chess board the state of board learned from a sequence of moves witnessed in a virtual environment. Twenty four subjects were allocated to a factorial design consisting of two levels of immersion (exocentric screen based, and egocentric HMD based), and two kinds of environment (plain and realistic). The results suggest that egocentric subjects performed better than exocentric, and those in the more realistic environment performed better than those in the less realistic environment. Previous knowledge of chess, and amount of virtual practice were also significant, and may be considered as control variables to equalise these factors amongst the subjects. Other things being equal, males remembered the moves better than females, although female performance improved with higher spatial ability test score. The paper also attempts to clarify the relationship between immersion, presence and performance, and locates the experiment within such a theoretical framework.
This book unifies and extends latent variable models, including multilevel or generalized linear mixed models, longitudinal or panel models, item response or factor models, latent class or finite mixture models, and structural equation models. Following a gentle introduction to latent variable modeling, the authors clearly explain and contrast a wide range of estimation and prediction methods from biostatistics, psychometrics, econometrics, and statistics. They present exciting and realistic applications that demonstrate how researchers can use latent variable modeling to solve concrete problems in areas as diverse as medicine, economics, and psychology. The examples considered include many nonstandard response types, such as ordinal, nominal, count, and survival data. Joint modeling of mixed responses, such as survival and longitudinal data, is also illustrated. Numerous displays, figures, and graphs make the text vivid and easy to read.
Survival horror games played in virtual reality can trigger intense fright and anxiety in the players. Such unique characteristics can thus be exploited not only as a source of entertainment, but also as a tool for both emotion elicitation and emotional training. However, studies investigating the players’ experience and the emotional activation while playing virtual reality video games are still very limited and horror games represent an even more limited number of these. Within this context, this study was aimed to compare a horror game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, experienced through virtual reality as opposed to a non-immersive display modality (i.e. console system), and exploring differences in the usability and the emotional activation. In order to answer to such objectives, the game was played by a sample of 26 young adults, half of which played using Playstation VR, while the other half through a more traditional non-immersive console setup (PS4 Pro). The usability and the emotional impact of the game was assessed through self-report questionnaires and the recording of physiological indexes (heart rate, skin conductance response). Results showed that: (a) playing a horror video game in virtual reality was not more difficult than playing in a non-immersive display modality; (b) players showed an increased perceived anxiety both after playing the horror video game in virtual reality and playing in a non-immersive display modality; interestingly, the perceived sense of happiness significantly increased only after playing in virtual reality; finally the sense of presence resulted to be greater in virtual reality as opposed to the non-immersive condition.
Learning objectives After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:
Abstract Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience a sense of presence in a computer-generated, three-dimensional environment. Sensory information is delivered through a head-mounted display and specialized interface devices. These devices track head movements so that the movements and images change in a natural way with head motion, allowing for a sense of immersion. VR, which allows for controlled delivery of sensory stimulation via the therapist, is a convenient and cost-effective treatment. This review focuses on the available literature regarding the effectiveness of incorporating VR within the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, with particular attention to exposure-based intervention for anxiety disorders. A systematic literature search was conducted in order to identify studies implementing VR-based treatment for anxiety or other psychiatric disorders. This article reviews the history of the development of VR-based technology and its use within psychiatric treatment, the empirical evidence for VR-based treatment, and the benefits for using VR for psychiatric research and treatment. It also presents recommendations for how to incorporate VR into psychiatric care and discusses future directions for VR-based treatment and clinical research.
This chapter presents an overview of emotional and affective components in human factors (HF) and human–computer interaction (HCI). First, the definitions of terminologies are clarified. After describing neural and cognitive mechanisms of affect, I provide theories of affective effects so that researchers can apply them to their research areas and develop their own theory further. Then, the chapter focuses on introducing and comparing four different approaches to Affective Sciences in HF/HCI, including Emotional Design, Hedonomics, Kansei Engineering, and Affective Computing. After delineating advantages and disadvantages of affect induction and detection methodologies, theoretical and practical issues and future works of this domain are discussed. This short review is expected to guide HF/HCI researchers and practitioners who begin to study emotions and affect, and to facilitate communication about emotions and affect within the HF/HCI community.
INTRODUCTION: Stress Management Training programs are increasingly being adopted in the military field for resilience empowerment and primary stress prevention. In the last several years, advanced technologies (virtual reality in particular) have been integrated in order to develop more innovative and effective stress training programs for military personnel, including soldiers, pilots, and other aircrew professionals. This systematic review describes experimental studies that have been conducted in recent years to test the effectiveness of virtual reality-based Stress Management Training programs developed for military personnel. This promising state-of-the-art technology has the potential to be a successful new approach in empowering soldiers and increasing their resilience to stress.
METHODS: To provide an overview from 2001 to 2016 of the application of virtual reality for Stress Management Training programs developed for the military, a computer-based search for relevant publications was performed in several databases. Databases used in the search were PsycINFO, Web of Science (Web of Knowledge), PubMed, and Medline. The search string was: (“Virtual Reality”) AND (“Military”) AND [“Stress Training” OR (“Stress Management”)].
RESULTS: There were 14 studies that met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review.
DISCUSSION: The main observation to be drawn from this review is that virtual reality can provide interactive Stress Management Training to decrease levels of perceived stress and negative affect in military personnel. This technology appears to be a promising tool for assessing individuals’ resilience to stress and for identifying the impact that stress can have on physiological reactivity and performance.
Pallavicini F, Argenton L, Toniazzi N, Aceti L, Mantovani F. Virtual realtiy applications for stress management training in the military. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(12):1021–1030.
This paper investigates the impact of human-computer interaction in virtual reality online shopping interface on the consumer experience. In particular, it measures the effectiveness of visualising a three dimensional photorealistic item, the real-time interactivity with the product and the real-time, fully interactive product customization service. The proposed VR system employs a sophisticated approach of interaction with primary objective to simplify and improve the user experience during online shopping. The proposed interface was evaluated through a preliminary questionnaire designed to simulate the typical decision making process prior to a luxury object purchase. The paper presents the outcomes of this usability trial on a group of ten luxury brands customers, the challenges involved in the HCI design are discussed, the visual components of the interface are presented in addition to an analysis of the system evaluation. Adhering to the derived feedback, our future plan of work entails additional development of the interactive tools with a view to further enhance the system usability and user experience. Furthermore we aim to introduce more object choices and customisation covering a larger group of luxury brands.
Any career is marked by luck, both good and bad, as well as by hard work interspersed by times of uncertainty, fits and starts, and learning from one's mistakes and successes. But beyond these outcomes and actions, I owe an enormous debt to people who have shaped me and made life the challenging and rewarding journey it is. My family of origin and extended family were incredibly supportive in personal and functional ways. So many mentors and teachers influenced what I know and who I am. Many students, colleagues, secretaries, computer and library staff, and group chairs and deans provided the help, inspiration, and friendship guiding my career behind the scenes. My wife, son, and daughter sustained me through times of tears and joy, as did my community of faith. All these relationships were foundational to any contributions I may have made to attitudes, social action, and theory of mind; methodology, statistics, and philosophical foundations of research; sales force, organization, and health behaviors; emotions, ethics, and moral behavior; and marketing and managerial practice. For me, my career contributions are secondary to the relationships within which I was fortunate to engage.
The following amendments to the 2002 “Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct” (the Ethics Code; American Psychological Association, 2002) were adopted by the APA Council of Representatives at its February 2010 meeting. The changes involve the last two sentences of the final paragraph of the Introduction and Applicability section and Ethical Standards 1.02 and 1.03. The amendments became effective June 1, 2010. A history of these amendments to the Ethics Code is provided in the “Report of the Ethics Committee, 2009” in this issue of the American Psychologist (American Psychological Association, Ethics Committee, 2010). Following are a clean version of the revisions and a version indicating changes from the 2002 language (inserted text is underlined; deleted text is crossed out).
Following the idea of using virtual environments (VEs) as mood induction procedures (MIPs), this study set out to examine whether five different virtual park scenarios would each elicit a specific affective state (i.e., joy, sadness, boredom, anger and anxiety). Within this main objective, a subset of two additional goals was identified: first, to analyze whether the sense of presence would differ across emotionally charged VEs, and second, to examine the link between a more objective measure of affective arousal, electrodermal activity (EDA), and presence. Following a between-subject design, 120 students were randomly assigned to one of the five VEs. Results show that almost all of the five virtual park scenarios were able to elicit the intended emotion. Additionally, presence levels were the same across all VEs suggesting that presence did not confound the emotional reaction to the VEs. Furthermore, EDA seems to be a poor indicator of presence as it is not significantly correlated with self-reported presence. The implications of these findings for both future research and practice are addressed in a comprehensive discussion.
The proliferation of the Internet and other technological innovations has transformed the structure of the tourism industry as well as affected how tourism destinations are perceived and consumed. The 3D virtual world provides opportunities for destination marketing organizations to communicate with targeted markets by offering a rich environment for potential visitors to explore tourism destinations. However, as of yet, there is little understanding about how to effectively market tourism destinations to virtual world participants who are technology users as well as potential consumers. The purpose of the present study is to develop a research framework that integrates the technology acceptance model (TAM) and self-determination theory to understand how tourists use a 3D virtual world. Primary data were obtained for this study through self-administered Web questionnaires. The data were conducted in a laboratory setting with 186 participants. This study contributes to the empirical TAM literature by applying the model to a 3D virtual tourism site. Additionally, this study provides a research framework to capture the entertainment nature of a 3D virtual world by extending the TAM to incorporate psychological elements of self-determination theory to understand consumer experience. From the perspective of tourism professionals, this study contributes to an understanding of how best to construct informative and interactive tourist destinations in 3D virtual worlds to attract potential online and real-world tourists. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
Many mechanistic rules of thumb for evaluating the goodness of fit of structural equation models (SEM) emphasize model parsimony; all other things being equal, a simpler, more parsimonious model with fewer estimated parameters is better than a more complex model Although this is usually good advice, in the present article a heuristic counterexample is demonstrated in which parsimony as typically operationalized in indices of fit may be undesirable. Specifically, in simplex models of longitudinal data, the failure to include correlated uniquenesses relating the same indicators administered on different occasions will typically lead to systematically inflated estimates of stability. Although simplex models with correlated uniquenesses are substantially less parsimonious and may be unacceptable according to mechanistic decision rules that penalize model complexity, it can be argued a priori that these additional parameter estimates should be included. Simulated data . are used to support this claim and to evaluate the behavior of a variety of fit indices and decision rules. The results demonstrate the validity of Bollen and Long’s (1993) conclusion that “test statistics and fit indices are very beneficial, but they are no replacement for sound judgment and substantive expertise” (p. 8).
This study aims to evaluate three commercial virtual reality (VR) display devices on the market via a 3D Fitts's task. In addition, a symptom questionnaire was used to assess the severity of cybersickness symptoms induced by these displays. Ten participants performed repetitive pointing tasks over different conditions of varying display devices, movement directions, and indices of difficulty. On the basis of the results, the projection display obtained the best task performance with the lowest movement time and the highest throughput. It had the least symptoms among the three display devices. The HMD gave the worst results in all criteria. The 3D TV could be considered as good as the projection display in task performance but induced slight level of discomfort, fatigue, and eyestrain. These findings not only provided an initial understanding of differences between the 3D TV and the other two familiar display devices in human performance when interacting within a 3D VE but also pointed a direction to effectively improve future VR display technique.
Because of today's inadequate interaction between tourists, professionals, and citizens, in this paper the simulation of a new form of knowledge management is presented for more effective utilization of cultural heritage sites. The latest technologies allow interaction of previously separate domains of experience: desire, identity, tourism, memory, and marketing. They are the access keys that, starting from the territory, can take the user into other domains, evaluating the entirety of the cultural heritage. In this regard, the paper presents the simulation of a prototype able to go beyond what is currently provided online: tourist paths are offered that are available online and can be downloaded onto mobile devices (smartphones or tablet PCs), thus creating a tour of the local heritage that provides audio-video content. It allows the opportunity to encourage a deeper exploration of cultural heritage.