The sense of presence: lessons from virtual reality. Issue 3 (3rd July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Erickson-Davis, Cordelia; Luhrmann, Tanya M.; Kurina, Lianne M.; Weisman, Kara; Cornman, Naomi; Corwin, Anna; Bailenson, Jeremy
• Is Part Of: Religion, brain & behavior. Volume 11:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 335
• Page End: 351
• Publication Date: 2021-07-03
• Subjects: Presence -- social presence -- religious studies -- prayer -- virtual reality; Psychology and religion -- Periodicals; Religion and culture -- Periodicals; Psychology and religion; Religion and culture; Periodicals; 200.1
• DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2021.1953573
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2153-599X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The sense of presence—or the sense of "being there"—is a poorly understood phenomenon, especially in the case of "unseen others, " e.g., God. We used the tools of virtual reality (VR) to explore the effects of active imagination in creating a sense of presence of an ambiguously real other. We found that adding a visual representation was more effective than verbal language alone in evoking a sense of social presence in a ten-minute intervention, that a proclivity for absorption enhanced the sense of social and environmental presence, and that a sense of social presence was associated with a sense of responsive interaction. We present our data together with a critical analysis of the literature on perceptual presence and conclude by suggesting that presence is best understood as the product of a collaboration between a perceiving subject and the environment within which they are embedded. This study serves as an example of a novel approach that bridges different scientific literatures, methods, and disciplines to study religious experience.