{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T01:28:57Z","timestamp":1773192537549,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]],"date-time":"2023-05-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1683590400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Virtual Real."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The present study investigates how the user state of <jats:italic>presence<\/jats:italic> is affected by contingencies in the design of virtual environments. The theoretical framework of <jats:italic>congruity<\/jats:italic> is herein explicated, which builds upon the concept of plausibility illusion as one of the essential prerequisites for presence, and which systematically explains and predicts presence in terms of alignment between schemata in the user\u2019s memory and stimuli presented within the virtual environment. Three dimensions of congruity are explicated and discussed: <jats:italic>sensory<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>environmental<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>thematic<\/jats:italic>. A series of breaching experiments were conducted in a virtual environment testing the effects of each dimension of incongruity on presence. These experiments were inconclusive regarding the effects of sensory and environmental congruity; however, the results strongly suggest that the state of presence is contingent upon thematic congruity in virtual environments. This finding has theoretical significance insofar as it points towards the necessity of considering genre and cultural context in predicting user states in virtual environments. The study also has practical relevance to designers and developers of content for virtual reality in that it identifies a critical psychological consideration for the user experience that is absent from existing models.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2023.1048812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]],"date-time":"2023-05-09T07:17:18Z","timestamp":1683616638000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Effects of congruity on the state of user presence in virtual environments: Results from a breaching experiment"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Tiernan J.","family":"Cahill","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"James J.","family":"Cummings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"PlayStation reveals PS VR2, the next generation of their virtual reality headset","author":"Amenabar","year":"2022"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1177\/1046878105282278","article-title":"Genre and game studies: Toward a critical approach to video game genres","volume":"37","author":"Apperley","year":"2006","journal-title":"Simul. Gaming"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.7557\/23.6003","article-title":"Video game genre, evolution and innovation","volume":"3","author":"Arsenault","year":"2009","journal-title":"Eludamos J. Comput. Game Cult."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"734","DOI":"10.1089\/cpb.2004.7.734","article-title":"Immersion and emotion: Their impact on the sense of presence","volume":"7","author":"Ba\u00f1os","year":"2004","journal-title":"CyberPsychology Behav."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18327","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1306572110","article-title":"Simulation as an engine of physical scene understanding","volume":"110","author":"Battaglia","year":"2013","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-211-99178-7_3","article-title":"Experiential fidelity: Leveraging the mind to improve the VR experience","volume-title":"Virtual realities: Dagstuhl seminar 2008","author":"Beckhaus","year":"2011"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1162\/105474601300343595","article-title":"Visual touch in virtual environments: An exploratory study of presence, multimodal interfaces, and cross-modal sensory illusions","volume":"10","author":"Biocca","year":"2001","journal-title":"Presence"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1162\/pres.17.4.376","article-title":"Anxiety increases the feeling of presence in virtual reality","volume":"17","author":"Bouchard","year":"2008","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1109\/MC.2007.257","article-title":"Virtual reality: How much immersion is enough?","volume":"40","author":"Bowman","year":"2007","journal-title":"Computer"},{"key":"B10","article-title":"Dimensions of congruity in immersive virtual environments: A framework for the schematic processing of multimodal sensory cues","volume-title":"Presence 2018","author":"Cahill","year":"2018"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"445","DOI":"10.1177\/1555412015591900","article-title":"Why video game genres fail: A classificatory analysis","volume":"12","author":"Clarke","year":"2017","journal-title":"Games Cult."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1080\/15213269.2015.1015740","article-title":"How immersive is enough? A meta-analysis of the effect of immersive technology on user presence","volume":"19","author":"Cummings","year":"2016","journal-title":"Media Psychol."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s10055-022-00736-1","article-title":"Psychological predictors of consumer-level virtual reality technology adoption and usage","volume":"2022","author":"Cummings","year":"2022","journal-title":"Virtual Real."},{"key":"B14","unstructured":"There's a major lack of quality VR\/AR content \u2014 This startup wants to fix that the next web\n            DicksonB.\n          2018"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.1162\/pres.17.3.293","article-title":"Temporal and spatial variations in presence: Qualitative analysis of interviews from an experiment on breaks in presence","volume":"17","author":"Garau","year":"2008","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"B16","first-page":"187","article-title":"A conception of, and experiments with, 'trust' as a condition of stable concerted actions","volume-title":"Motivation and social interaction: Cognitive determinants","author":"Garfinkel","year":"1963"},{"key":"B17","volume-title":"Studies in ethnomethodology","author":"Garfinkel","year":"1967"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.1162\/PRES_a_00276","article-title":"Perceived realism of virtual environments depends on authenticity","volume":"25","author":"Gilbert","year":"2016","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"694048","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2022.694048","article-title":"I know it is not real (and that matters): Media awareness vs. presence in a parallel processing account of the VR experience","volume":"3","author":"Hartmann","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Virtual Real."},{"key":"B20","unstructured":"AR\/VR headset shipments grew dramatically in 2021, thanks largely to Meta's strong Quest 2 volumes, with growth forecast to continue, according to IDC2022"},{"key":"B21","unstructured":"Spend on emerging device categories \u2013 including wearables, AR\/VR headsets, and smart home \u2013 will see continued robust growth, according to IDC2021"},{"key":"B22","unstructured":"What's holding virtual reality back? Lack of VR content information age\n            IsmailN.\n          2017"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"693327","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2021.693327","article-title":"Perspective: Does realism improve presence in VR? Suggesting a model and metric for VR experience evaluation","volume":"2","author":"Jung","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Virtual Real."},{"key":"B24","unstructured":"rstatix: Pipe-friendly framework for basic statistical tests\n            KassambaraA.\n          2022"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327108ijap0303_3","article-title":"Simulator sickness questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness","volume":"3","author":"Kennedy","year":"1993","journal-title":"Int. J. Aviat. Psychol."},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203754559","volume-title":"Making sense of television: The psychology of audience interpretation","author":"Livingstone","year":"2013"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01298.x","article-title":"The rise and fall of audience research: An old story with a New Ending","volume":"43","author":"Livingstone","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Commun."},{"key":"B28","unstructured":"rcompanion: Functions to support extension education program evaluation\n            MangiaficoS.\n          2022"},{"key":"B29","unstructured":"Oculus quest vs. Oculus Rift digital trends\n            MartindaleJ.\n          2020"},{"key":"B30","article-title":"Once a niche slice of the market, augmented and virtual reality startups see a pandemic surge","volume-title":"Globe & Mail","author":"O'Kane","year":"2020"},{"key":"B31","volume-title":"Waiting to be wowed by virtual reality","author":"Ovide","year":"2022"},{"key":"B32","volume-title":"The child's conception of physical causality","author":"Piaget","year":"1930"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1109\/TITB.2002.802381","article-title":"Behavioral avoidance dynamics in the presence of a virtual spider","volume":"6","author":"Renaud","year":"2002","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Inf. Technol. Biomed."},{"key":"B34","unstructured":"psych: Procedures for psychological, psychometric, and personality research\n            RevelleW.\n          2022"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1162\/PRES_a_00049","article-title":"Breaks in presence in virtual environments: An analysis of blood flow velocity responses","volume":"20","author":"Rey","year":"2011","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1089\/cpb.2006.9993","article-title":"Affective interactions using virtual reality: The link between presence and emotions","volume":"10","author":"Riva","year":"2007","journal-title":"CyberPsychology Behav."},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.3389\/neuro.08.059.2009","article-title":"The use of virtual reality in the study of people\u2019s responses to violent incidents","volume":"3","author":"Rovira","year":"2009","journal-title":"Front. Behav. Neurosci."},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.1016\/0304-422X(87)90028-3","article-title":"Towards a constructivist theory of media genre","volume":"16","author":"Schmidt","year":"1987","journal-title":"Poetics"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3839","DOI":"10.1109\/TVCG.2020.2983701","article-title":"Immersion and coherence: Research agenda and early results","volume":"27","author":"Skarbez","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph."},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1369","DOI":"10.1109\/TVCG.2017.2657158","article-title":"A psychophysical experiment regarding components of the plausibility illusion","volume":"23","author":"Skarbez","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph."},{"key":"B41","unstructured":"Plausibility illusion in virtual environments\n            SkarbezR. T.\n          2016"},{"key":"B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"914392","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2022.914392","article-title":"A separate reality: An update on place illusion and plausibility in virtual reality","volume":"3","author":"Slater","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Virtual Real"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3549","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2009.0138","article-title":"Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive virtual environments","volume":"364","author":"Slater","year":"2009","journal-title":"Philosophical Trans. R. Soc. B"},{"key":"B44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1162\/105474602760204327","article-title":"Presence and the sixth sense","volume":"11","author":"Slater","year":"2002","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"B45","unstructured":"MEC spatial presence questionnaire (MEC-SPQ): Short documentation and instructions for application\n            VordererP.\n            WirthW.\n            GouveiaF. R.\n            BioccaF.\n            SaariT.\n            J\u00e4nckeL.\n          2004"},{"key":"B46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"628298","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2021.628298","article-title":"How to get there when you are there already? Defining presence in virtual reality and the importance of perceived realism","volume":"12","author":"Weber","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"B47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1080\/15213260701283079","article-title":"A process model of the formation of spatial presence experiences","volume":"9","author":"Wirth","year":"2007","journal-title":"Media Psychol."},{"key":"B48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1162\/105474698565686","article-title":"Measuring presence in virtual environments: A presence questionnaire","volume":"7","author":"Witmer","year":"1998","journal-title":"Presence"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Virtual Reality"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/frvir.2023.1048812\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]],"date-time":"2023-05-09T07:17:33Z","timestamp":1683616653000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/frvir.2023.1048812\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]]},"references-count":48,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/frvir.2023.1048812"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/frvir.2023.1048812","relation":{},"ISSN":["2673-4192"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2673-4192","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,9]]},"article-number":"1048812"}}