Experiencing sense of place in a virtual environment : real in the moment?

Sammanfattning: The main goal of this thesis is to contribute to telepresence research by investigating a sightseeing experience in a virtual environment (VE) and by discussing insights from theories of telepresence, perception, experience of place, marketing and philosophy. The empirical work concerns a sightseeing experience, a visit to a city in a videogame (the VE).In the literature review I discuss the Spinozian unity hypothesis and rapid acceptance response; a one-step mental process that states that acceptance automatically follows comprehension. Theoretically, and in order understand why a user in a VE has the feeling of being there, I build on Merleau-Ponty’s theory of perception and Heidegger’s ready-to-hand concept. Merleau-Ponty provides a compelling account of the role of the body, the senses and embodiment in perception. In telepresence research, Riva (2008) postulates, with reference to Heidegger, that the medium is ready-to-hand. My conclusion is similar; when someone has a feeling of being there, this is due to the fact that the medium is transparent to them. When this is not the case, the user will (or may) experience breaks in presence.I review a number of telepresence measurements, primarily questionnaires. I chose the Temple Presence Inventory, a measurement that includes perceptual realism that involves the senses. I argue that there are alternatives to the measurements developed by telepresence researchers to study the feeling of being there. To test this claim, I included two alternatives in my empirical studies, one from human geography based on Edward Relph’s sense of place theory and one from consumer behavior. I developed evaluative statements for someone visiting a city. I also developed a 3-item scale to assess the experienced affordances provided by the VE. These three factors identify participants’ behavioral intentions.The first empirical study featured the city of Las Vegas in the video game Project Gotham Racing 4. The second featured Los Angeles in Midnight Club Los Angeles. I used PLS path modeling to analyze the empirical results and shed light on the relationship between the telepresence concept, an experience of place concept, and a hedonic consumption concept. I analyzed the ability of these concepts to predict affordance (in a VE) and behavioral intention. The findings from the studies reveal differences that contribute to the discussion of what the feeling of being there is in different situations and contexts. I conclude, based on these findings, that for many of the participants, the individuals that “visited the city on the screen” really did have the feeling of being there in the moment.