Re: Homework Diary Competition Avatar Fhoto Runner
Julio Cesar Thap
The present findings may be specific to the VR environment software and method to present the virtual environment. Similar to most other research (see [4]), the virtual environment was projected on to the wall of the experimental room. Although the image was large and somewhat immersive (as reflected in ratings on the RJPQ), the rendering of a 3D world on a 2D external screen is not the most immersive approach possible to render a virtual environment. The use of stereovision, wider field of view, and head tracking combined with relevant sounds from the virtual environment, may have produced a more immersive experience and stronger beneficial effects. Indeed, the present findings suggested that greater attention/absorption in the virtual environment was associated with more positive and less negative affective states. Nevertheless, the present methods had good ecological validity for the use of a VR environment when exercising on a treadmill. A HMD is not practical when running on a treadmill due to safety concerns [4]. In addition, a single flat screen is the most commonly used technology in commercial applications. As such, the present results highlight that using any VR technology is not always the most effective approach to improving affective states during exercise. To potentially produce more beneficial effects on affective outcomes, the VR exercise system may need to have technological features that increase presence and immersion (e.g., realistic rendering of the environment, a display that captures both focal and peripheral vision, multisensory stimulation) or has task features that increase engagement (e.g., competing against other avatars or runners, creating a game by having participants count passing landmarks or runners).
In addition, the VR environment condition used in the present study include the presence of other avatars. As such, the VR condition differed from the neutral images condition in both the use of a virtual environment and the presence of other runners. The observed results in the VR condition may thus reflect one or a combination of these two factors. Nunes et al. [41] had participants run in a VR environment either alone or with an avatar that was either the participants own prior performance, a superior adversary, or an adversary chosen by the participant. Running with the avatar was found to be more motivating and result in higher perceived exertion and performance. However, in study by Nunes et al. [41] the conditions with the other avatar were framed as a competitor mode, whereas in the present study no such competition was implied. This difference is potentially important as having knowledge about being in competition with others can influence performance in VR-based exercise [41,42]. Moreover, different outcomes may result depending on whether the other avatar is perceived to be another competitor, a companion, or irrelevant. Nevertheless, future research could eliminate the potential impact of other avatars when making a comparison between exercise in a VR environment and an active control condition. In addition, the present study recruited participants that, while fit and generally active, were novice to exercising in a VR environment. It is not known what effects experience has in determining affective states during VR-based exercise. Thus, the present results may not apply to regular users of VR for exercise.
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