Einfluss von Präsenz auf Kollisionsangst

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive experience by replacing the real environment with a virtual one. However, as users become more engaged in the virtual world, they may lose awareness of their physical surroundings, leading to collision anxiety - the fear of accidentally colliding with real-world objects. Spatial Presence describes the feeling of truly being inside the virtual environment. Previous research suggests that high spatial presence may lead to a reduced awareness of the real world and an increasing risk of disorientation. At the same time, collision anxiety may prevent users from fully immersing themselves in VR. This suggests a relationship between these two components: On the one hand, a strong sense of presence could reduce the collision anxiety by shifting attention away from the real environment. On the other hand, high collision anxiety might hinder the development of presence by keeping users focused on their physical surroundings. To investigate this relationship, a VR game will be developed and tested in a 2x2 mixed-design study. The game design will be adapted to manipulate the presence and collision anxiety by adjusting the level structure, orientation cues, and interface elements. One group will play a game version designed to induce higher collision anxiety (e.g. requiring more movement and lacking clear orientation cues), while the other group will play a version designed to minimize collision anxiety (e.g. a clearly defined play area and fixed orientation points). Both groups will play two versions of the game: One designed to maximize the presence experience and then one intended to deliberately disrupt it.