The Sense of Presence for the Suddenly Deafened Adult:Implications for Virtual Environments

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Gilkey ◽  
Janet M. Weisenberger

Reports from adventitiously deafened individuals of a sense of unconnectedness with their surroundings, of a sense that the world seems “dead,” offer a compelling rationale for the argument that auditory cues are a crucial determinant of the sense of presence. Moreover, the crucial element of auditory stimulation for creating a sense of presence may be the auditory background, comprising the incidental sounds made by objects in the environment, rather than the communication and warning signals that typically capture our attention. Although designers of virtual environments have most often tried to maximize the sense of presence in the user by attempting to improve the fidelity of visual displays, the arguments presented here suggest that background auditory stimulation may be useful or even critical for achieving a full sense of presence.

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Hendrix ◽  
Woodrow Barfield

Two studies were performed to investigate the sense of presence within stereoscopic virtual environments as a function of the addition or absence of auditory cues. The first study examined the presence or absence of spatialized sound, while the second study compared the use of nonspatialized sound to spatialized sound. Sixteen subjects were allowed to navigate freely throughout several virtual environments and for each virtual environment, their level of presence, the virtual world realism, and interactivity between the participant and virtual environment were evaluated using survey questions. The results indicated that the addition of spatialized sound significantly increased the sense of presence but not the realism of the virtual environment. Despite this outcome, the addition of a spatialized sound source significantly increased the realism with which the subjects interacted with the sound source, and significantly increased the sense that sounds emanated from specific locations within the virtual environment. The results suggest that, in the context of a navigation task, while presence in virtual environments can be improved by the addition of auditory cues, the perceived realism of a virtual environment may be influenced more by changes in the visual rather than auditory display media. Implications of these results for presence within auditory virtual environments are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò Dozio ◽  
Federica Marcolin ◽  
Giulia Wally Scurati ◽  
Francesca Nonis ◽  
Luca Ulrich ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite the great potential of Virtual Reality (VR) to arouse emotions, there are no VR affective databases available as it happens for pictures, videos, and sounds. In this paper, we describe the validation of ten affective interactive Virtual Environments (VEs) designed to be used in Virtual Reality. These environments are related to five emotions. The testing phase included using two different experimental setups to deliver the overall experience. The setup did not include any immersive VR technology, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the VEs were designed to run on stereoscopic visual displays. We collected measures related to the participants’ emotional experience based on six discrete emotional categories plus neutrality and we included an assessment of the sense of presence related to the different experiences. The results showed how the scenarios can be differentiated according to the emotion aroused. Finally, the comparison between the two experimental setups demonstrated high reliability of the experience and strong adaptability of the scenarios to different contexts of use.


2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Schubert

Abstract. The sense of presence is the feeling of being there in a virtual environment. A three-component self report scale to measure sense of presence is described, the components being sense of spatial presence, involvement, and realness. This three-component structure was developed in a survey study with players of 3D games (N = 246) and replicated in a second survey study (N = 296); studies using the scale for measuring the effects of interaction on presence provide evidence for validity. The findings are explained by the Potential Action Coding Theory of presence, which assumes that presence develops from mental model building and suppression of the real environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Valentina Cesari ◽  
Benedetta Galgani ◽  
Angelo Gemignani ◽  
Danilo Menicucci

Online-learning is a feasible alternative to in-person attendance during COVID-19 pandemic. In this period, information technologies have allowed sharing experiences, but have also highlighted some limitations compared to traditional learning. Learning is strongly supported by some qualities of consciousness such as flow (intended as the optimal state of absorption and engagement activity) and sense of presence (feeling of exerting control, interacting with and getting immersed into real/virtual environments), behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, together with the need for social interaction. During online learning, feelings of disconnection, social isolation, distractions, boredom, and lack of control exert a detrimental effect on the ability to reach the state of flow, the feeling of presence, the feeling of social involvement. Since online environments could prevent the rising of these learning–supporting variables, this article aims at describing the role of flow, presence, engagement, and social interactions during online sessions and at characterizing multisensory stimulations as a driver to cope with these issues. We argue that the use of augmented, mixed, or virtual reality can support the above-mentioned domains, and thus counteract the detrimental effects of physical distance. Such support could be further increased by enhancing multisensory stimulation modalities within augmented and virtual environments.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Rachel Wagner

Here I build upon Robert Orsi’s work by arguing that we can see presence—and the longing for it—at work beyond the obvious spaces of religious practice. Presence, I propose, is alive and well in mediated apocalypticism, in the intense imagination of the future that preoccupies those who consume its narratives in film, games, and role plays. Presence is a way of bringing worlds beyond into tangible form, of touching them and letting them touch you. It is, in this sense, that Michael Hoelzl and Graham Ward observe the “re-emergence” of religion with a “new visibility” that is much more than “simple re-emergence of something that has been in decline in the past but is now manifesting itself once more.” I propose that the “new awareness of religion” they posit includes the mediated worlds that enchant and empower us via deeply immersive fandoms. Whereas religious institutions today may be suspicious of presence, it lives on in the thick of media fandoms and their material manifestations, especially those forms that make ultimate promises about the world to come.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn K. Orman

This study is an examination of the effect of computer-generated virtual reality graded exposure on the physiological and psychological responses of performing musicians. Eight university saxophone majors, five men and three women, participated in twelve 15- to 20-minute weekly practice sessions during which they were immersed in one of four different virtual environments designed to elicit various anxiety levels. Baseline heart rates and subjective measurements were taken prior to immersion and continued throughout the exposure period. In addition, heart rate and subjective measurements were recorded for three live performances given by each subject before beginning the virtual reality exposure and after completion of the sixth and the twelfth exposure sessions. Findings indicated that the virtual environments did elicit a sense of presence and may have provided the means for desensitization. Heart-rate readings and psychological indications of anxiety did not always correspond.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Cesari ◽  
Benedetta Galgani ◽  
Angelo Gemignani ◽  
Danilo Menicucci

Online-learning is a feasible alternative to the physical classroom during this current global COVID-19 pandemic. In this time, Information Technologies have allowed sharing experiences but has also highlighted some limitations compared to the traditional way of learning. Learning is strongly sustained by some qualities of consciousness such as flow (intended as the optimal state of absorption and engagement in activity) and sense of presence (feeling of exerting control, interacting with and getting immersed into real/virtual environments), together with the need for social interaction. During online learning, feelings of disconnection, social isolation, distractions, lack of control exert a detrimental effect on the ability to reach the state of flow, the feeling of presence, the feeling of social involvement. Since online environments could prevent the rising of these learning-supporting variables, this article aims at describing the role of flow, presence and social interactions during online sessions and characterizing multi sensory stimulations as a driver to cope with these issues. We argue that the use of augmented, mixed or virtual reality can support abovementioned domains of consciousness and thus counteract the detrimental effects of physical distance. Such support could be further increased by enhancing multisensory stimulation modalities within augmented and virtual environments.


Author(s):  
Aleshia T. Hayes ◽  
Carrie L. Straub ◽  
Lisa A. Dieker ◽  
Charlie E. Hughes ◽  
Michael C. Hynes

New and emerging technology in the field of virtual environments has permitted a certain malleability of learning milieus. These emerging environments allow learning and transfer through interactions that have been intentionally designed to be pleasurable experiences. TLE TeachLivE™ is just such an emerging environment that engages teachers in practice on pedagogical and content aspects of teaching in a simulator. The sense of presence, engagement, and ludus of TLE TeachLivE™ are derived from the compelling Mixed Reality that includes components of off-the shelf and emerging technologies. Some of the noted features that have been identified relevant to the ludic nature of TeachLivE include the flow, fidelity, unpredicability, suspension of disbelief, social presence, and gamelike elements. This article explores TLE TeachLivE™ in terms of the ludology, paideic user experience, the source of the ludus, and outcomes of the ludic nature of the experience.


2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 615-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Lok ◽  
Samir Naik ◽  
Mary Whitton ◽  
Frederick P. Brooks

Immersive virtual environments (VEs) provide participants with computer-generated environments filled with virtual objects to assist in learning, training, and practicing dangerous and/or expensive tasks. But does having every object being virtual inhibit the interactivity and level of immersion? If participants spend most of their time and cognitive load on learning and adapting to interacting with virtual objects, does this reduce the effectiveness of the VE? We conducted a study that investigated how handling real objects and self-avatar visual fidelity affects performance and sense of presence on a spatial cognitive manual task. We compared participants' performance of a block arrangement task in both a real-space environment and several virtual and hybrid environments. The results showed that manipulating real objects in a VE brings task performance closer to that of real space, compared to manipulating virtual objects. There was no signifi-cant difference in reported sense of presence, regardless of the self-avatar's visual fidelity or the presence of real objects.


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