Mapping the physical world to psychological reality

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The successful creation of telepresence and virtual environments requires a change in design paradigm. We must move away from attempts to recreate reality in its entirety toward the creation of environments that are psychologically real for humans, because in fact, reality mediated through display devices is largely subjective. The experiments discussed in this paper show that a single intrinsic physical property, such as the velocity or stability of a vehicle, can give rise to a multitude of subjective perceptions-for example, that the vehicle is moving faster than it really is, or that it is more likely to tip over going into a turn. These perceptions can easily be manipulated through knowledge of the variables and relationships involved, such as the effect of camera height. Designers can use this knowledge to create systems that promote desirable behaviors and limit dangerous or unproductive behaviors.