Identifying the Cognitive Mechanism Behind Breaks in Presence using Measures of Attention

Presence is the perceptual illusion of non-mediation in virtual environments with breaks in presence (BIPs) marking events where the user’s attention is shifted away from the virtual to the physical environment. Using the concept of BIP allows to investigate specific episodes during virtual encounters, where the state of presence is interrupted. Orienting responses have been identified as a promising cognitive mechanism behind BIPs. However, the differences of orienting to narrative stimuli versus BIPs remains to be investigated.
In the current study, we combined established psychophysiological measures of orienting (ECG, GSR) with psychophysiological (pupil dilation) and behavioral measures (STRT) of attention. BIPs are considered to elicit stronger orienting responses and require more cognitive resources. In an experiment, participants navigated through a virtual environment while having to react to narrative and external (BIPs) stimuli. While the data collection has been completed, results from the analysis will be discussed at the conference.