Cognitive Control Influences the Sense of Presence in Virtual Environments with Different Immersion Levels

Abstract

Presence is an important subjective aspect of interacting with virtual environments. In this study, the influence of cognitive control on presence was investigated. A battery of cognitive control tasks was used (measuring inhibition, switching, and working memory updating). The virtual scenario consisted in collecting objects in a virtual space. The virtual scenario was presented either in a full-immersion CAVE environment, or in a low-immersion display environment. Presence was assessed with the ITC-SOPI inventory. Cognitive control is related to various aspects of presence, most notably spatial presence, negative somatic effects, and virtual scenario naturalness. The influence of cognitive control on presence is not straightforward, as strong cognitive control may be detrimental to presence. Elaborated control was more important for the emergence of presence in the low-immersion setting. Mechanisms through which control influences presence are discussed as are implications for developing virtual environments with more presence potential.