Dimensionality affects memory for events in immersive virtual reality

Poster Session C - Sunday, April 14, 2024, 5:00 – 7:00 pm EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Julia Feminella¹ (feminell@ualberta.ca), Shikang Peng¹, Peggy L. St. Jacques¹; ¹University of Alberta

Real-world events are three-dimensional (3D) and immersive. Prior research using virtual reality (VR) has suggested that 3D experiences may boost memory performance but are limited because they do not directly compare 3D and 2D experiences in fully immersive settings. Across two studies, we investigated how dimensionality affects memory for real-world events experienced in an immersive virtual reality (VR). Participants experienced 360-degree videos of real-world events (e.g., standing in a train station) while wearing an immersive VR headset, and we manipulated dimensionality through stereoscopic and monoscopic presentation of the videos. Memory for the video events was then tested by presenting a partial screenshot from the video and asking participants to assess the vividness and quality of scene-related aspects during memory recall. The results revealed that 3D events were experienced with a stronger sense of presence, which contributed to greater vividness and scene-related qualities of memory during remembering. Our findings indicate the potential of VR to investigate key properties of real-world memories such as their 3D nature.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic