The Third Pole of the Sense of Presence: Comparing Virtual and Imagery Spaces

As Biocca pointed out, the “two poles model“ of presence has only considered the virtual and pyshical spaces, but not the imaginary spaces. This work is aimed at comparing the sense of presence between virtual and imaginary environments. 100 participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (imagined versus virtual spaces) and the subjective sense of presence was measured in three moments (begining, middle, and end). Results indicate that the participants in “imagery” spaces indicated a decrease of their sense of presence, whereas the opposite occurs in participants in “virtual” spaces. Imagination seems not to be a long-lasting procedure to elicit presence. However, VR helps users to stay there as time goes by. That is, it provides a “physical” context in which the self can be placed.