Using Psychophysics to Measure Negative Side Effects in Immersive Virtual Environments
Michael K. McGee · Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · 1998
A study was done to determine the effectiveness of using free modulus magnitude estimation, a psychophysical measurement technique, to assess the experience of negative side effects in users of immersive virtual environments (VEs). Two different task environments, a maze and an office, were factorially combined with head-tracking on or off to provide multiple levels of side effect inducing conditions. Sixteen subjects participated in a four day experiment. Both head-tracking and task environment showed significant main effects. The experiment showed that magnitude estimation is a sensitive, efficient, and effective measure of negative side effects experienced in users of immersive VEs.