The Effect of Virtual Reality Level of Immersion on Spatial Learning Performance and Strategy Usage

The utilization of the immersive and ecological nature of head-mounted displayed (HMD) virtual reality (VR) has been increasing in studies of human spatial learning, and various aspects of VR's impact on navigation have been examined. Nevertheless, the effect the VR level of immersion has on spatial learning strategy usage is yet to be determined. Here, we addressed this gap by comparing spatial learning properties and experience measures in three modality settings. We translated a classic spatial learning task from animals to humans, where three spatial learning strategies were observed (place/cue/response). We compared 3 conditions: wearing a VR headset while physically walking vs. using a controller, and a 2D screen display using a mouse and a keyboard for navigation. We examined various learning properties and used presence questionnaires to analyze experience measures. Our results show that learning measures including strategy usage were affected by the VR level of immersion, suggesting that modality characteristics should be considered during VR task design.