From: mel@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Mel Slater)
Subject: Re: REV-CONF: VRAIS 93
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London


In <282i1v$f8h@news.u.washington.edu> Mark Lucas <mlucas@dante.nmsu.edu> writes:
>Neal Pert ? from England gave an interesting presentation on trying to
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>objectively measure 'presence' in Virtual Worlds.  The user was given
>tasks in the Virtual World and they looked for objective and
>subjective measurements to determine how deeply immersed they were.
>They observed them when they had to walk a gang plank over a great
>height in the Virtual World.  The part I liked best was that the user
>would encounter a HMD in the Virtual World.  If he put it on he found
>himself in a new world.  There seemed to be a correlation between the
>degree of presence and the number of helmets they had put on.  (Sort
>of like going deeper and deeper during hypnosis - my observation).

Name is slightly wrong here - should be Mel Slater and Martin Usoh.

The idea that it relates with hypnosis is probably correct.  Dr Milton
Erickson had a technique of trance induction that has been referred to
as "stacking realities". This involved telling the subject a story,
within a story, within a story .... to the extent that the subject
could no longer keep track of what was being referred to - conscious
mind becomes overwhelmed, and trance induction instructions can be
successfully given.

We're currently writing up the results of this experiment. It looks
as though there is a relationship between depth of "reality" and
subjective reporting of "presence".