To Be There, or Not To Be There. Transportation, Involvement, and Presence in Virtual Reality

Abstract

This study investigates how the feeling of being present in virtual reality is enhanced by psychological mechanisms. More specifically, we examine (1) whether involvement with a virtual reality game and transportation into the narrative induce feelings of presence and (2) how variations in narratives can enhance these psychological mechanisms leading to presence. In a virtual reality lab setting 160 participants heard one of several narratives and played an unsolvable puzzle. Afterwards, participants filled out a questionnaire measuring the amount of presence in the virtual environment, involvement with the game, and transportation into the narrative. As hypothesized, transportation into the narrative predicted involvement with the game, which in turn predicted feelings of presence. In addition, chronological narratives elicited more transportation than disrupted narratives. These results are of interest to virtual reality game developers, and may be applied to other applications of virtual realities, like virtual studies or simulations for instruction purposes.