Tracing affordances: mixed-methods review on techniques to study affordances in virtual reality environments.

Planning an experiment in a virtual environment reality as a place of research on human behaviour using methods of neuroscience measurement – bibliometric analysis and methodological approach

This mini review presents the current state of the art in studies on the personalization of virtual reality for basic research and treatment of fear-related disorders. Of particular interest to the review are the choice of self-report measures and manipulations of contextual factors that researchers are using in their virtual reality procedures. As this mini review will show, work is starting to emerge on the area of the interaction between context and individual differences, yet this topic remains a current gap in the literature on fear learning mechanisms and therapies for fear-related disorders. Studies in this review conclude that virtual reality environments offer many advantages, as they can be adjusted to model different contexts with great precision and control of the experimental context. Virtual reality is also seen by researchers as an opportunity to decrease the translational gap that exists between the research laboratories and the practical use for therapy treatments in clinics. However, the heterogeneity of methodological approaches that have created replicability as well as comparability issues in the field of fear learning is also a concern in studies using virtual reality. Thus, another, albeit secondary, aim of this mini review will be to point out some of the methodological challenges that should be addressed in future research aimed at the personalization of virtual reality for the research and treatment of fear-related disorders. Factors that will be addressed are 1) the use of self-report measures, and 2) interactivity aspects of contextual factor design in the virtual reality environment.

Research and development in virtual reality (VR) continues to influence all sectors of society. This has been particularly the case in the application of VR for learning and training. Due to the affordability of VR, it increasingly is providing a safe and cost-effective technology for studying learning and training. In this paper, we summarize findings from recent compilations of research in virtual reality that examined VR and learning. From this, we identify a set of recommendations distilled from these reviews in order to help the training research community structure their research based upon the extent empirical base. Our goal is to help the training community more effectively explore VR as a technology for learning.

The recent appearance of low cost virtual reality (VR) technologies – like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive and the Sony PlayStation VR – and Mixed Reality Interfaces (MRITF) – like the Hololens – is attracting the attention of users and researchers suggesting it may be the next largest stepping stone in technological innovation. However, the history of VR technology is longer than it may seem: the concept of VR was formulated in the 1960s and the first commercial VR tools appeared in the late 1980s. For this reason, during the last 20 years, 100s of researchers explored the processes, effects, and applications of this technology producing 1000s of scientific papers. What is the outcome of this significant research work? This paper wants to provide an answer to this question by exploring, using advanced scientometric techniques, the existing research corpus in the field. We collected all the existent articles about VR in the Web of Science Core Collection scientific database, and the resultant dataset contained 21,667 records for VR and 9,944 for augmented reality (AR). The bibliographic record contained various fields, such as author, title, abstract, country, and all the references (needed for the citation analysis). The network and cluster analysis of the literature showed a composite panorama characterized by changes and evolutions over the time. Indeed, whether until 5 years ago, the main publication media on VR concerned both conference proceeding and journals, more recently journals constitute the main medium of communication. Similarly, if at first computer science was the leading research field, nowadays clinical areas have increased, as well as the number of countries involved in VR research. The present work discusses the evolution and changes over the time of the use of VR in the main areas of application with an emphasis on the future expected VR’s capacities, increases and challenges. We conclude considering the disruptive contribution that VR/AR/MRITF will be able to get in scientific fields, as well in human communication and interaction, as already happened with the advent of mobile phones by increasing the use and the development of scientific applications (e.g., in clinical areas) and by modifying the social communication and interaction among people.

We present a comprehensive dataset comprising head- and eye-centred video recordings from human participants performing a search task in a variety of Virtual Reality (VR) environments. Using a VR motion platform, participants navigated these environments freely while their eye movements and positional data were captured and stored in CSV format. The dataset spans six distinct environments, including one specifically for calibrating the motion platform, and provides a cumulative playtime of over 10 h for both head- and eye-centred perspectives.The data collection was conducted in naturalistic VR settings, where participants collected virtual coins scattered across diverse landscapes such as grassy fields, dense forests, and an abandoned urban area, each characterized by unique ecological features. This structured and detailed dataset offers substantial reuse potential, particularly for machine learning applications.The richness of the dataset makes it an ideal resource for training models on various tasks, including the prediction and analysis of visual search behaviour, eye movement and navigation strategies within VR environments. Researchers can leverage this extensive dataset to develop and refine algorithms requiring comprehensive and annotated video and positional data. By providing a well-organized and detailed dataset, it serves as an invaluable resource for advancing machine learning research in VR and fostering the development of innovative VR technologies.

Human density in different locations influences time estimation. In this article, we report three experiments investigating whether research in virtual reality (VR) environments would replicate this earlier finding. In our first experiment, 35 participants wore head-mounted VR displays and watched two videos showing a cityscape and a countryside. While watching each video, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 30 seconds of time passage. Perceived time in the cityscape condition was longer than in the countryside condition. In our second experiment, 43 participants wore head-mounted VR displays and watched two videos showing a crowded and uncrowded Ikebukuro station. While watching these videos, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 60 seconds of time passage. Perceived time in the crowded condition was longer relative to the uncrowded condition. In our third experiment, 21 participants wore head-mounted displays and watched two videos showing a crowded and uncrowded nature park. While watching the videos, participants were asked to provide their perceptions of 60 seconds of time passage. These repeated findings in VR environments of longer time perception in crowded versus uncrowded conditions were similar to data reported by who examined how location and human density affected subjective time in the real world. We discussed the implications of the VR tool in subjective time research and how people perceive and use VR environments in daily life.

A common goal of human-subject experiments in virtual reality (VR) research is evaluating VR hardware and software for use by the general public. A core principle of human-subject research is that the sample included in a given study should be representative of the target population; otherwise, the conclusions drawn from the findings may be biased and may not generalize to the population of interest. In order to assess whether characteristics of participants in VR research are representative of the general public, we investigated participant demographic characteristics from human-subject experiments in the Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality Conferences from 2015-2019. We also assessed the representation of female authors. In the 325 eligible manuscripts, which presented results from 365 human-subject experiments, we found evidence of significant underrepresentation of women as both participants and authors. To investigate whether this underrepresentation may bias researchers' findings, we then conducted a meta-analysis and meta-regression to assess whether demographic characteristics of study participants were associated with a common outcome evaluated in VR research: the change in simulator sickness following head-mounted display VR exposure. As expected, participants in VR studies using HMDs experienced small but significant increases in simulator sickness. However, across the included studies, the change in simulator sickness was systematically associated with the proportion of female participants. We discuss the negative implications of conducting experiments on non-representative samples and provide methodological recommendations for mitigating bias in future VR research.

Virtual reality (VR) provides a potentially powerful tool for researchers seeking to investigate eating and physical activity. Some unique conditions are necessary to ensure that the psychological processes that influence real eating behavior also influence behavior in VR environments. Accounting for these conditions is critical if VR-assisted research is to accurately reflect real-world situations. The current work discusses key considerations VR researchers must take into account to ensure similar psychological functioning in virtual and actual reality and does so by focusing on the process of spontaneous mental simulation. Spontaneous mental simulation is prevalent under real-world conditions but may be absent under VR conditions, potentially leading to differences in judgment and behavior between virtual and actual reality. For simulation to occur, the virtual environment must be perceived as being available for action. A useful chart is supplied as a reference to help researchers to investigate eating and physical activity more effectively.

This paper is going to discuss and report the design students’ learning experiences in creativity education within virtual reality. The development of virtual reality in education and training are discussed as well as the important roles of designing students’ learning experience are explored respectively. Based on an empirical qualitative research in virtual reality, three directional approaches for further studies are identified: 1 creating environmental stimulation to facilitate students’ creative thinking 2 developing a game-like virtual learning environment to enhance students’ learning experience 3 using avatars as role-playing simulation to develop students’ creative-friendly learning behaviour.

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.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has experienced remarkable growth, steadily establishing itself within mainstream consumer markets. This rapid expansion presents exciting opportunities for innovation and application across various fields, from entertainment to education and beyond. However, it also underscores a pressing need for more comprehensive research into user interfaces and human-computer interaction within VR environments. Understanding how users engage with VR systems and how their experiences can be optimized is crucial for further advancing the field and unlocking its full potential. This project introduces ScryVR, an innovative infrastructure designed to simplify and accelerate the development, implementation, and management of user studies in VR. By providing researchers with a robust framework for conducting studies, ScryVR aims to reduce the technical barriers often associated with VR research, such as complex data collection, hardware compatibility, and system integration challenges. Its goal is to empower researchers to focus more on study design and analysis, minimizing the time spent troubleshooting technical issues. By addressing these challenges, ScryVR has the potential to become a pivotal tool for advancing VR research methodologies. Its continued refinement will enable researchers to conduct more reliable and scalable studies, leading to deeper insights into user behavior and interaction within virtual environments. This, in turn, will drive the development of more immersive, intuitive, and impactful VR experiences.

Virtual Reality (VR)’s unprecedented ability to virtually transport the user is purported to be its biggest strength. Yet, despite postulations about VR’s benefits as a tourism marketing tool; the concept of presence, ubiquitous in ICT and cyberpsychology research on immersive technologies, remains nascent in tourism literature. More importantly, researchers in the field have called for empirical studies focused on the determinants as well as consequences of presence, particularly in commercial environments. Existing presence literature has shown that both determinants and consequences of presence are not transferrable across contexts. Understanding the interplay of presence determinants is vital for optimising the technology’s utilisation in different contexts, especially for budget and development focus considerations. A VR experience developed for education or training purposes would have differing impacts and emphasis when compared to a VR experience developed for tourism marketing purposes. Thus, the objective of this project was to investigate the effectiveness of VR as a tourism marketing tool, anchored through establishing a framework encompassing the determinants (immersion, ecological validity, engagement) and consequences of presence on emotional response – an association that has been suggested in cyberpsychology studies. Using a mixedmethod randomised within-subjects experiment, 72 participants experienced computergenerated, fully synthetic virtual environments of a cruise ship. The experiences were administered across pictures, video, and VR. This thesis is structured as a series of three papers. Paper 1 was a critical review aimed at establishing the presence-emotion-intention conceptual framework. Through reviewing VR and presence literature across disciplines, the paper uncovered gaps in previous presence research, compounded by the fragmented and evolving approach to exploring presence. Methodologically, paper 1 revealed the lack of qualitative approaches to presence and VR research, informing the mixed-methods approach of this thesis. The literature review also highlighted that whilst VR research in tourism is growing, researchers have called for future studies to focus specifically on presence determinants. Quantitative findings were presented through Paper 2. Findings from this paper 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 significance 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. Paper 3 presented qualitative phase findings. 36 participants were interviewed after experiencing all three stimuli. In terms of triangulation, similar results were found – participants associated the engagement and immersion presence determinants with increases in their positive emotional response as well as intention to visit the cruise. However, several unexpected themes emerged – the sense of agency and goal congruence that users associated with the levels of engagement that VR provided. Participants felt that being in control to see what they wanted, how they wanted, and when they wanted, positively affected their emotional response toward the stimuli and corresponding behavioural intentions toward the cruise. Several participants also attributed a positive shift in perception of cruising to the presence levels from VR, suggesting that the influence of higher presence was amplified for marketing enclosed, all-inclusive tourism products such as cruising or resorts. Theoretically, paper 3 introduced the association between engagement and sense of agency as a key component to the effectiveness of VR for marketing; previously unexplored. The findings also suggested the incorporation of dimensions from cognitive appraisal theory such as goal congruence into the presence-emotion framework from papers 1 and 2. Methodologically, the thesis overall highlights the importance and value of mixed-methods in VR research; traditionally heavily focused only on quantitative approaches. Practically, this thesis emphasises the focus on engagement and level of agency that marketers introducing VR should provide potential travellers. Users should be given a sense that they are in control and involved as an active participant to the virtual experience. As a whole, this thesis established a top-to-bottom presence-emotion-intention framework; a platform for future theoretical exploration and practical applications of VR in tourism and marketing. More importantly, the framework and insights from the papers in this thesis provide avenues for future VR research in tourism to focus on comparing differences in VR platforms, instead of against traditional media.

Foreword

Background Freezing of gait (FoG) is a common target of rehabilitative interventions for people with Parkinson disease (PD). Virtual reality (VR) holds potential for advancing research and clinical management of FoG through flexible creation of FoG-provoking environments that are not easily or safely replicated in the clinic. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether VR environments that replicate FoG-provoking situations would exacerbate gait impairments associated with FoG compared to unobstructed VR and physical laboratory environments. Methods Gait characteristics (pace, rhythm, variability, asymmetry, and postural control domains) and festination were measured using motion capture while people with PD walked in VR environments based on FoG-provoking situations (doorway, hallway, and crowd environments) compared to unobstructed VR and physical laboratory environments. The effect of VR environments was assessed using one-way repeated measures ANOVAs with planned contrasts. Results Ten participants (mean age 74.1 years, 3 females, Hoehn and Yahr stage 2–3) with PD who self-reported FoG participated. Gait speed and step length were reduced in all VR environments compared to the physical laboratory. Step width was wider, step length was more variable, and festination was more common for some of the VR environments compared to the physical laboratory environment. Compared to the unobstructed virtual laboratory environment, step length was more variable in VR crowd and doorway environments. Conclusions The exacerbation of gait impairments that are characteristic precursors of FoG in FoG-provoking VR environments supports the potential utility of VR technology in the assessment and treatment of gait impairments in PD. Implications for rehabilitation Freezing increases fall risk and reduces quality of life in Parkinson disease (PD). Virtual reality (VR) can simulate visuospatial environments that provoke freezing. Immersive VR doorway, hallway, and crowd environments were developed. Gait speed slowed when people with PD walked overground in all VR environments. Step variability and festination increased in freeze-provoking environments.

The Development of Virtual Reality as a Tool to Investigate Eating Behavior