TY - JOUR
T1 - Variations in visual sensitivity predict motion sickness in virtual reality
AU - Fulvio, Jacqueline M.
AU - Ji, Mohan
AU - Rokers, Bas
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Severity of motion sickness varies across individuals. While some experience immediate symptoms, others seem relatively immune. We explored a potential explanation for such individual variability based on cue conflict theory. According to cue conflict theory, sensory signals that lead to mutually incompatible perceptual interpretations will produce physical discomfort. A direct consequence of such theory is that individuals with greater sensitivity to visual (or vestibular) sensory cues should show greater susceptibility, because they would be more likely to detect a conflict. Using virtual reality (VR), we assessed individual sensitivity to a number of visual cues and subsequently induced moderate levels of motion sickness using stereoscopic movies presented in the VR headset. We found that an observer's sensitivity to motion parallax cues predicted severity of motion sickness symptoms. We also evaluated evidence for another reported source of variability in motion sickness severity in VR, namely sex, but found little support. We speculate that previously reported sex differences might have been due to poor personalization of VR displays, which default to male settings and introduce cue conflicts for the majority of females. Our results identify a sensitivity-based sensory predictor of motion sickness, which can be used to personalize VR experiences and mitigate discomfort.
AB - Severity of motion sickness varies across individuals. While some experience immediate symptoms, others seem relatively immune. We explored a potential explanation for such individual variability based on cue conflict theory. According to cue conflict theory, sensory signals that lead to mutually incompatible perceptual interpretations will produce physical discomfort. A direct consequence of such theory is that individuals with greater sensitivity to visual (or vestibular) sensory cues should show greater susceptibility, because they would be more likely to detect a conflict. Using virtual reality (VR), we assessed individual sensitivity to a number of visual cues and subsequently induced moderate levels of motion sickness using stereoscopic movies presented in the VR headset. We found that an observer's sensitivity to motion parallax cues predicted severity of motion sickness symptoms. We also evaluated evidence for another reported source of variability in motion sickness severity in VR, namely sex, but found little support. We speculate that previously reported sex differences might have been due to poor personalization of VR displays, which default to male settings and introduce cue conflicts for the majority of females. Our results identify a sensitivity-based sensory predictor of motion sickness, which can be used to personalize VR experiences and mitigate discomfort.
KW - 3D Motion perception
KW - Motion parallax
KW - Motion sickness
KW - Virtual reality
KW - Visual sensitivity
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U2 - 10.1016/j.entcom.2021.100423
DO - 10.1016/j.entcom.2021.100423
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85102643394
SN - 1875-9521
VL - 38
JO - Entertainment Computing
JF - Entertainment Computing
M1 - 100423
ER -