Investigating the Relation Between Sense of Presence, Attention and Performance: Virtual Reality Versus Web

Abstract

The sense of presence is an important construct of virtual experiences, as it relates to the user’s attention. This pilot study investigates the relations among sense of presence, attention levels and performance, comparing the outcomes across two different media formats (virtual reality versus web). Fourteen participants performed knowledge tests in the area of Financial Mathematics. Sense of presence was evaluated through questionnaire and attention levels were measured using a EEG biosensor. The results show that, although very prominent to the sense of presence and its tangential benefits, the virtual reality technology was not successful as the web in translating the allocation of attentional resources into better performance.