Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulation tool that is being used extensively to study the effects of training and perception. However, several studies have shown that some aspects of perception within VR are not always accurate. The present study investigates the perception of time within a VR environment by asking for retrospective time judgments of the length of VR experiences. These environments varied in both the level of interaction with the VR environment and also the spatial qualities of the environment itself. The judged length of time did not significantly differ between conditions based on the level of activity in the environment, but the spatial characteristics of the VR environment did produce significantly different time estimations. This finding suggests that careful attention should be paid to what and how users are trained or evaluated in VR.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
Upon request.
Code availability
Public.
References
Bansal A, Weech S, Barnett-Cowan M (2019) Movement-contingent time flow in virtual reality causes temporal recalibration. Sci Rep 9(1):4378. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40870-6
Bhagat K, Liou W, Chang C (2016) A cost-effective interactive 3D virtual reality system applied to military live firing training. Virtual Reality 20:127–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-016-0284-x
Block R, Hancock P, Zakay D (2010) How cognitive load affects duration judgments: a meta-analytic review. Acta Physiol 134(3):330–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.03.006
Broadway J, Engle R (2011) Lapsed attention to elapsed time? Individual differences in working memory capacity and temporal reduction. Acta Physiol (oxf) 137:115–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.03.008
Csikszentmihalyi M (1975) Beyond boredom and anxiety: the experience of flow in work and games. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco
Csikszentmihalyi M (1990) Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. Harper Collins, New York
Eagleman D, Tse P, Buonomano D, Janssen P, Nobre A, Holcombe A (2005) Time and the brain: how subjective time relates to neural time. J Neurosci 25(45):10369–10371. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3487-05.2005
Filigenzi M, Orr T, Ruff T (2000) Virtual reality for mine safety training. Appl Occup Environ Hyg 15(6):465–469
Finnegan D, O’Neill E, Proulx M (2016) Compensating for distance compression in audiovisual virtual environments using incongruence. In: CHI‘16: proceedings of the 2016 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems. Association for Computing Machinery, pp 200–212. https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858065.
French JW, Ekstrom RB, Price LA (1963) Hidden figures test: manual for kit of reference tests for cognitive factors. Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ
Green CS, Bavelier D (2015) Action video game training for cognitive enhancement. Curr Opin Behav Sci 4:103–108
Igarzábal FA, Hruby H, Witowska J, Khoshnoud S, Wittmann M (2021) What happens while waiting in virtual reality? A comparison between a virtual and a real waiting situation concerning boredom, self-regulation, and the experience of time. Technol Mind Behav. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000038
Khan A, Sharma N, Dixit S (2006) Effect of cognitive load and paradigm on time perception. J Indian Acad Appl Psychol 32(1):37–42
Kitajima M, Kanari K, Sato M (2020) An examination of effects of fear using VR content on time estimation. In: 26th ACM symposium on virtual reality software and technology, pp 1–2
Lacquaniti F, Carrozzo M, d’Avella A, La Scaleia B, Moscatelli A, Zago M (2014) How long did it last? You better ask a human. Front Neurobiot 8:1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2014.00002
Li X, Yuan D, Fan Y, Yan C, Gao L (2019) Effect of motion perception on intertemporal choice is associated with the altered perception of time. Psychol Rep 122(1):117–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118755098
Lin J, Duh H, Parker D, Abi-Rached H, Furness T (2002) Effects of field of view on presence, enjoyment, memory and simulator sickness in a virtual environment. In: Proceedings IEEE virtual reality 2002, Orlando, FL, USA. pp 164–171. https://doi.org/10.1109/VR.2002.996519
Loomis J, Knapp J (2003) Visual perception of egocentric distance in real and virtual environments. In: Hettinger LJ, Haas MW (eds) Virtual and adaptive environments: applications, implications, and human performance issues. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Hillsdale, pp 21–46. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781410608888.pt1
Matthews WJ (2011) How do changes in speed affect the perception of duration? J Exp Psychol 37(5):1617–1627. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022193
Matthews WJ, Meck WH (2016) Temporal cognition: connecting subjective time to perception, attention, and memory. Psychol Bull 142(8):865–907. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000045
Plumert J, Kearney J, Cremer J, Recker K (2005) Distance perception in real and virtual environments. ACM Trans Appl Percept 2(3):216–233. https://doi.org/10.1145/1077399.1077402
Rutrecht H, Wittmann M, Khoshnoud S, Igarzábal FA (2021) Time speeds up during flow states: a study in virtual reality with the video game thumper. Timing Time Percept 9(4):353–376
Sackett A, Meyvis T, Nelson L, Converse B, Sackett A (2010) You’re having fun when time flies: the hedonic consequences of subjective time progression. Psychol Sci 21(1):111–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797609354832
Sanchez CA (2012) Enhancing visuospatial performance through video game training to increase learning in visuospatial science domains. Psychon Bull Rev 19:58–65
Sander T, Cairns P (2010) Time perception, immersion, and music in videogames. In: McEwan T, McKinnon L (eds) BCS’10 Proceedings of the 24th BCS Interaction specialist group conference. Swindon BCS Learning & Development Ltd., Swindon, pp 190–167
Schatzschneider C, Bruder G, Steinicke F (2016) Who turned the clock? Effects of manipulated zeitgebers, cognitive load, and immersion on time estimation. IEEE Trans Visual Comput Graph 22:1387–1395
Schneider SM, Kisby CK, Flint EP (2011) Effect of virtual reality on time perception in patients receiving chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer 19:555–564
Seymour N, Gallagher A, Roman S, O’Brian M, Bansal V, Andersen D, Satava R (2002) Virtual reality training improves operating room performance: results of a randomized double blind study. Ann Surg 236(4):458–464. https://doi.org/10.1097/00000658-200210000-00008
Sucala M, Stefan S, Szentagotai-Tatar A, David D (2010) Time flies when you expect to have fun: an experimental investigation of the relationship between expectancies and the perception of time progression. Cogn Brain Behav 14(3):231–241. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20391.80805
Unsworth N, Redick TS, Heitz RP, Broadway JM, Engle RW (2009) Complex working memory span tasks and higher-order cognition: a latent-variable analysis of the relationship between processing and storage. Memory 17(6):635–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210902998047
van der Ham I, Klaassen F, van Schie K, Cuperus A (2019) Elapsed time estimates in virtual reality and the physical world: the role of arousal and emotional valence. Comput Hum Behav 94:77–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.01.005
van Wassenhove V, Buonomano D, Shimojo S, Shamn L (2008) Distortions of subjective time perception within and across senses. PLoS ONE 3(1):e1437. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001437
Vogel DH, Falter-Wagner CM, Schoofs T, Krämer K, Kupke C, Vogeley K (2020) Flow and structure of time experience–concept, empirical validation and implications for psychopathology. Phenomenol Cogn Sci 19:235–258
Wittmann M, Paulus M (2008) Decision making, impulsivity and time perception. Trends Cogn Sci 12(1):7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.10.004
Zhao M, Sinnis-Bourozikas A, Interrante V (2019) Exploring the use of immersive virtual reality to assess the impact of outdoor views on the perceived size and spaciousness of architectural interiors. In: Bourdot P, Interrante V, Nedel L, Magnenat-Thalmann N, Zachmann G (eds) Virtual reality and augmented reality. EuroVR 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11883. Springer, Cham
Funding
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
None.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Read, T., Sanchez, C.A. & De Amicis, R. The influence of attentional engagement and spatial characteristics on time perception in virtual reality. Virtual Reality 27, 1265–1272 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00723-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-022-00723-6