Abstract
The English version of the Independent Television Commission-Sense of Presence Inventory (ITC-SOPI), which was developed in 2001 to measure how involved or present participants are when experiencing different media, has substantial psychometric evidence. This study was used to translate and validate the ITC-SOPI in interactive virtual environments among the Chinese population. We used the forward-backward translation procedure. An expert panel reviewed the translated ITC-SOPI until the Chinese version of the ITC-SOPI was finalized. A total of 210 participants (133 males and 77 females), with a mean age of 23.05 years ( SD = 3.56, range = 17–47), completed the Chinese ITC-SOPI. The following psychometric properties were examined: factor structure, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and convergent validity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed a good fit (χ2 /df = 1.70, Tucker–Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.91, comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.92, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.058) of the four-factor model (spatial presence, engagement, ecological validity, and negative effects). For each factor, the Chinese ITC-SOPI had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.75 to 0.87) and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.82 to 0.91). Significant correlations were identified between all factors and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C (IRI-C) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). The Chinese ITC-SOPI had good psychometric properties, suggesting that it is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating media users’ sense of presence in a Chinese-speaking context.
Highlights
The concept of presence has commanded much research
This study validated the Chinese version of the ITC-SOPI among a convenience sample of 210 participants from the University Town of Shenzhen
The issue of how to accurately and conveniently evaluate sense of presence is necessary as it is an important intermediary variable in psychological studies, when researchers apply media, especially immersive media like virtual reality (VR), to their experiments (Price et al, 2001; Wiederhold & Wiederhold, 2005)
Summary
The concept of presence has commanded much research. Scholars have argued about its different definitions (Ghani et al, 2016). Sheridan (1992) described presence as “feeling like you are present in the environment generated by the computer” Parsons et al (2017) divided presence into two main perspectives: one refers to an interactive experience with the media and the other, a phenomenon linked to the “organization and control of action” Waterworth et al (2015) defined presence as “being physically present somewhere” 36), whereas Jacobson (2002) described it as “engagement in a virtual world” Presence reflects how real one’s feeling is about the virtual environment depending on individual characters and media qualities
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