Presence, Narrative and Schemata
Daniel Mcguire Pinchbeck, Brett Stevens · 2005
This paper documents the early stages of research into the effect of manipulating narrative upon reported sense of presence. It is argued that presence, rather than a state, should be defined as an indicator of the ongoing development of relationships of significance between the user and the perceived environmental stimuli. If the manipulation of narrative affects reported sense of presence according to existing measurement techniques, it suggests that presence is dependent upon post-perceptual constructs, such as schemata, and that a perspective that only considers presence as a “perceptual illusion of non-mediation ” is flawed. This paper will conclude by setting out the empirical studies planned to explore the hypothesis that narrative, schemata and content are important factors in generating a sense of presence.