Using Virtual Reality to Measure Working Memory Performance and Evaluate the Effect of the Degree of Immersion on Working Memory Performance

Abstract

Today Virtual Reality is widely researched and applied in non-conventional, informal educational settings, psychology, and memory-based applications. The popular definition of working memory is a system that works to provide temporary access to a select set of representations allowing for manipulation [1]. However, there is a consensus that this system has a limited capacity. This limitation of capacity explains the systematic drop in performance with an increase in task complexity. There is increasing attention to developing applications that measure working memory. However, these applications are relatively low validity. Working memory performance (WMP) is typically measured by computerizing a WMP task and calculating the participant’s score, but these applications neglect aspects of the computer-user interface that may affect user’s WMP (e.g., immersion, presence, satisfaction, and usability). To build a valid measuring system, all these conditions need to be considered, and their impact on participant WMP must be thoroughly understood. We plan to investigate the impact of the degree of immersion on working memory performance. First, we will evaluate the effect of the immersion on the user’s feeling of being in the environment (i.e., presence), usability, and satisfaction, and then we will investigate the correlation between WMP and presence, usability, and satisfaction. This work will measure the WMP in levels of immersion that are provided through desktop VR (DVR), immersive VR (IVR), and immersive embodied VR (IEVR). We predict that these factors will impact participant WMP, with WMP increasing with higher levels of immersion.