Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that virtual reality (VR) can elicit emotions in different visual modes using 2D or 3D headsets. However, the effects on emotional arousal by using these two visual modes have not been comprehensively investigated, and the underlying neural mechanisms are not yet clear. This paper presents a cognitive psychological experiment that was conducted to analyze how these two visual modes impact emotional arousal. Forty volunteers were recruited and were randomly assigned to two groups. They were asked to watch a series of positive, neutral and negative short VR videos in 2D and 3D. Multichannel electroencephalograms (EEG) and skin conductance responses (SCR) were recorded simultaneously during their participation. The results indicated that emotional stimulation was more intense in the 3D environment due to the improved perception of the environment; greater emotional arousal was generated; and higher beta (21-30 Hz) EEG power was identified in 3D than in 2D. We also found that both hemispheres were involved in stereo vision processing and that brain lateralization existed in the processing.
Highlights
In recent years, the integration of movies and virtual reality (VR) technology has become an important breakthrough for traditional screen movies [1]
The main effect of emotional arousal revealed that negative arousal was higher than positive arousal, and positive arousal was higher than neutral arousal
It has been documented that skin conductance responses (SCR) results are positively correlated with emotional arousal; we concluded that a VR environment with stereo vision can enhance emotional arousal compared with the corresponding 2D mode [3]
Summary
The integration of movies and VR technology has become an important breakthrough for traditional screen movies [1]. VR movies attract people due to the advantages of omnidirectional stereoscopic images and due to their significant emotional effects [3]. Numerous studies have provided evidence that VR is an effective method for eliciting emotions [4]. The VR technique is usually regarded as a better tool to provide stronger emotional arousal responses than other display techniques, such as ordinary 2D images [1]. VR technology can be used in many different forms, such as desktop VR, augmented VR, immersive VR and distributed VR (DVR). Macroscopic immersive VR (VR-2D) is one of the major techniques used in VR movies. It has spread widely throughout cyberspace because VR2D has small bandwidth and low cost and is easy to shoot, produce and transfer.
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