Presence or the sense of “being there” has been discussed in the literature as an essential,
defining aspect of Virtual Reality (VR). The VR literature includes definitions rooted in …

As virtual environments (VEs) become increasingly central to people's lives, understanding
reactions to VEs may be as important as understanding behavior in the real world …

The research presented in this thesis concerns the contribution of different levels of virtual
human (or'avatar') fidelity to social interaction in virtual environments (VEs). VEs present …

Empirical research on human behavior in collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) is in its
infancy. Historically, one of the more valuable tools social scientists have used to evaluate …

The present research examined to what extent virtual reality was an effective tool to induce a
complex, positive, other-oriented emotion: gratitude. We hypothesized that receiving the …

Prior work has found that computers can effectively use six persuasion strategies
characterized by Cialdini to influence people's intentions and behaviors. However …

Modulating emotional responses to virtual stimuli is a fundamental goal of many immersive
interactive applications. In this study, we leverage the illusion of illusory embodiment and …

This paper presents an experiment investigating the impact of behavior and responsiveness
on social responses to virtual humans in an immersive virtual environment (IVE). A number …

Several factors contribute to an individual's experiences in computer-based environments.
Previous research shows one such factor, the degree to which users feel connected to a …

In virtual reality (VR), it is possible to embody avatars that are dissimilar to the physical self.
We examined whether embodying a dissimilar self in VR would decrease anxiety in a public …