Memory of virtual experiences: Role of immersion, emotion and sense of presence

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used as a tool to assess or train memory. Factors specific to VR, like immersion and sense of presence, are known to modulate episodic memory of virtual environment (VE). However, the impacts of their interaction have received less attention. The present study was designed to investigate this question. Moreover, it has been shown that episodic memory is influenced by emotion. We therefore also investigated the effect of emotion on memory of VE and its interaction with immersion and sense of presence. Immersion was manipulated using two types of device (Head-mounted Display or Computer Screen) and varying the 3D model quality (High or Low). Emotion was manipulated by presenting negative, positive and neutral stimuli in VE. 108 young adults, forming four experimental groups, took part in this experiment. Sense of presence and emotional experience in different virtual places were assessed using questionnaires, and memory of the stimuli viewed in these places, determined using a free recall task, was also assessed. Results showed that, unlike emotion, immersion had no direct impact on memory. However, an emotional enhancement of memory was found only in the HMD condition. In addition, sense of presence was greater in the HMD condition, but the link between sense of presence and memory performance was weak. Crucially, emotion and device type, but not image quality, increased the sense of presence. Implications of these findings for the elaboration of virtual experiences and the limitations of this study are discussed.