Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Perceptual Illusions and Distortions in Virtual Reality

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games

Synonyms

Distance misperception; Presence; Self-motion misperception; Vection; Virtual body-ownership

Definitions

Virtual Reality (VR) enables users to act and perceive as they do during everyday interactions with the word. As a consequence, VR may deliberately or inadvertently elicit a range of perceptual illusions and distortions on behalf of immersed users.

Introduction

From an early age, people become experts at deciphering the continuous stream of stimuli registered by various sensory systems in response to the perceiver’s own actions and events in the environment. However, even though the senses provide reasonably reliable information, perception is imperfect, leaving the perceiver vulnerable to illusions, i.e., instances of erroneous or misinterpreted perceptions of sensory information (Stevenson 2010).

A defining feature of Virtual Reality (VR) systems is that they support natural perception and actions by means of high fidelity tracking and displays. That is, VR systems...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Banakou, D., Groten, R., Slater, M.: Illusory ownership of a virtual child body causes overestimation of object sizes and implicit attitude changes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 110(31), 12846–12851 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banton, T., Stefanucci, J., Durgin, F., Fass, A., Proffitt, D.: The perception of walking speed in a virtual environment. Presence Teleop. Virt. Environ. 14(4), 394–406 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botvinick, M., Cohen, J.: Rubber hands’ feel’touch that eyes see. Nature. 391(6669), 756–756 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, D.A., McMahan, R.P.: Virtual reality: how much immersion is enough? Computer. 40(7), 36–43 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt, T., Dichgans, J., Koenig, E.: Differential effects of central versus peripheral vision on egocentric and exocentric motion perception. Exp. Brain Res. 16(5), 476–491 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S., Nesbitt, K., Nalivaiko, E.: A systematic review of cybersickness. In: Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Interactive Entertainment, pp. 1–9. ACM (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  • Durgin, F.H., Reed, C., Tigue, C.: Step frequency and perceived self-motion. ACM Trans. Appl. Percept. (TAP). 4(1), 5 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kassler, L., Feasel, J., Lewek, M.D., Brooks Jr., F.P., Whitton, M.C.: Matching actual treadmill walking speed and visually perceived walking speed in a projection virtual environment. In: Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization, pp. 161–161. ACM (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lombard, M., Ditton, T.: At the heart of it all: the concept of presence. J. Comput.-Mediat. Commun. 3(2), 0–0 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowther, K., Ware, C.: Vection with large screen 3d imagery. In: Conference Companion on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 233–234. ACM (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lugrin, J.-L., Latt, J., Latoschik, M.E.: Avatar anthropomorphism and illusion of body ownership in vr. In: 2015 I.E. Virtual Reality (VR), pp. 229–230. IEEE (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Maister, L., Sebanz, N., Knoblich, G., Tsakiris, M.: Experiencing ownership over a dark-skinned body reduces implicit racial bias. Cognition. 128(2), 170–178 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maselli, A., Slater, M.: The building blocks of the full body ownership illusion. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7, 83 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N., Serafin, S., Nordahl, R.: Establishing the range of perceptually natural visual walking speeds for virtual walking-in-place locomotion. In: Proceedings of the 2014 I.E. Virtual Reality Conference. IEEE (2014a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N.C., Serafin, S., Nordahl, R.: The influence of step frequency on the range of perceptually natural visual walking speeds during walking-in-place and treadmill locomotion. In: Proceedings of the 20th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, pp. 187–190. ACM (2014b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N.C., Serafin, S., Nordahl, R.: The effect of visual display properties and gain presentation mode on the perceived naturalness of virtual walking speeds. In: 2015 I.E. Virtual Reality (VR), pp. 81–88. IEEE (2015a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N.C., Serafin, S., Nordahl, R.: The effect of head mounted display weight and locomotion method on the perceived naturalness of virtual walking speeds. In: 2015 I.E. Virtual Reality Conference (VR) (2015b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, N.C., Serafin, S., Nordahl, R.: The perceived naturalness of virtual walking speeds during wip locomotion: summary and meta-analyses. PsychNol. J. 14(1), 7–39 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordahl, R., Nilsson, N.C., Turchet, L., Serafin, S.: Vertical illusory self-motion through haptic stimulation of the feet. In: Proceedings of the 2012 I.E. VR Workshop on Perceptual Illusions in Virtual Environments (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • Normand, J.-M., Giannopoulos, E., Spanlang, B., Slater, M.: Multisensory stimulation can induce an illusion of larger belly size in immersive virtual reality. PLoS One. 6(1), e16128 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmisano, S., Chan, A.: Jitter and size effects on vection are immune to experimental instructions and demands. Percept.-Lond. 33, 987–1000 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peck, T.C., Seinfeld, S., Aglioti, S.M., Slater, M.: Putting yourself in the skin of a black avatar reduces implicit racial bias. Conscious. Cogn. 22(3), 779–787 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell, W., Stevens, S., abd Hand, B., Simmonds, M.: Blurring the boundaries: the perception of visual gain in treadmill-mediated virtual environments. In: Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE VR Workshop on Perceptual Illusions in Virtual Environments, pp. 4–8. IEEE (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Renner, R.S., Velichkovsky, B.M., Helmert, J.R.: The perception of egocentric distances in virtual environments-a review. ACM Comput. Surv. 46(2), 23 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riecke, B.E., Schulte-Pelkum, J.: Perceptual and cognitive factors for self-motion simulation in virtual environments: how can self-motion illusions (“vection”) be utilized? In: Human Walking in Virtual Environments, pp. 27–54. Springer (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riecke, B., Schulte-Pelkum, J., Avraamides, M., von der Heyde, M., Bülthoff, H.: Scene consistency and spatial presence increase the sensation of self-motion in virtual reality. In: Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization, pp. 111–118. ACM (2005a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riecke, B., Västfjäll, D., Larsson, P., Schulte-Pelkum, J.: Top-down and multi-modal influences on self-motion perception in virtual reality. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (2005b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riecke, B., Feuereissen, D., Rieser, J.: Auditory self-motion illusions (circular vection) can be facilitated by vibrations and the potential for actual motion. In: Proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization, pp. 147–154. ACM (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riva, G., Waterworth, J.A., Waterworth, E.L., Mantovani, F.: From intention to action: the role of presence. New Ideas Psychol. 29(1), 24–37 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovira, A., Swapp, D., Spanlang, B., Slater, M.: The use of virtual reality in the study of people’s responses to violent incidents. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 3, 59 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Vives, M.V., Slater, M.: From presence to consciousness through virtual reality. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 6(4), 332–339 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serafin, S., Nilsson, N.C., Erkut, C., Nordahl, R.: Virtual Reality and the Senses. Danish Sound Innovation Network (2017). https://issuu.com/danishsound/docs/dtu_whitepaper_2017_singlepages. ISBN 978-87-643-1317-8

  • Skarbez, R., Brooks Jr, F.P., Whitton, M.C.: A survey of presence and related concepts. ACM Comput. Surv. 50(6), 96 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, M.: Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive virtual environments. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B. 364(1535), 3549–3557 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, M., Perez-Marcos, D., Ehrsson, H.H., Sanchez-Vives, M.V.: Towards a digital body: the virtual arm illusion. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 2, 6 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, M., Spanlang, B., Corominas, D.: Simulating virtual environments within virtual environments as the basis for a psychophysics of presence. ACM Trans. Graph. 29(4), 92 (2010a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, M., Spanlang, B., Sanchez-Vives, M.V., Blanke, O.: First person experience of body transfer in virtual reality. PLoS One. 5(5), e10564 (2010b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinicke, F., Bruder, G., Jerald, J., Frenz, H., Lappe, M.: Estimation of detection thresholds for redirected walking techniques. IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph. 16(1), 17–27 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, W., Steed, A., Slater, M.: Human tails: ownership and control of extended humanoid avatars. IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph. 19(4), 583–590 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, A.: Oxford Dictionary of English. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  • Suma, E., Clark, S., Krum, D., Finkelstein, S., Bolas, M., and Warte, Z.: Leveraging change blindness for redirection in virtual environments. In: Proceedings of the 2011 I.E. Virtual Reality Conference, pp. 159–166. IEEE (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Väljamäe, A.: Auditorily-induced illusory self-motion: a review. Brain Res. Rev. 61(2), 240–255 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterworth, E.L., Waterworth, J.A.: Focus, locus, and sensus: the three dimensions of virtual experience. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 4(2), 203–213 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, W., DiZio, P., Lackner, J.: Perceived self-motion in two visual contexts: dissociable mechanisms underlie perception. J. Vestib. Res. 16(1), 23–28 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University Copenhagen, København, SV, Denmark

    Niels Christian Nilsson

Authors
  1. Niels Christian Nilsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Niels Christian Nilsson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Computer Science Department, Woodbury University Applied Computer Science Department, Burbank, California, USA

    Newton Lee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Nilsson, N.C. (2018). Perceptual Illusions and Distortions in Virtual Reality. In: Lee, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_245-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_245-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • eBook Packages: Living Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation