Shane L. Rogers

Virtual reality (VR) locomotion methods differ substantially in their implications for usability, presence, and comfort. Although previous research has compared a range of locomotion techniques, relatively little attention has been given to whether locomotion experiences generalise across different VR experiences. The present study compared user experiences of three locomotion methods (teleportation, slide-walk, and walk-in-place) across two VR applications (Nature Treks VR, an exploration-focused environment, and Ancient Dungeon VR, an action-oriented game). Sixty-three participants were recruited, with analyses based on the forty-five participants who completed all study conditions. During each 10-min condition (comprising a 2-min familiarisation period followed by an 8-min experiential exposure) participants either stood or walked on a Kat Walk Mini S omnidirectional treadmill (ODT) system. Directly afterwards, they completed measures of usability, presence, and cybersickness. Participants also indicated their preferred method for each game and provided qualitative explanations for their rankings. Teleportation and slide-walk were both rated as being more usable than walk-in-place. Teleportation was also associated with the lowest levels of nausea and oculomotor discomfort. In contrast, walk-in-place as implemented on the Kat Walk Mini S was associated with the highest levels (of nausea and oculomotor discomfort) in both games. While teleportation was strongly preferred for Nature Treks VR, slide-walk was preferred for immersion in Ancient Dungeon VR. These findings suggest that locomotion methods should not be evaluated independently of the VR contexts in which they are used. Although teleportation is an effective general-purpose locomotion method, slide-walking can enhance VR experiences that emphasise continuous interaction and navigation.

School-based mental health screening typically relies on single-time-point assessments, which assume that students’ emotional well-being is sufficiently stable for classification based on a single measurement. The present study examined this assumption by evaluating the stability of emotional well-being classifications under repeated mood monitoring. Students from two secondary schools (United Kingdom, n = 413; Australia, n = 354) completed the Brief Emotional Experience Scale weekly across six to seven weeks. Emotional well-being classifications were examined relative to a predefined low well-being threshold to assess stability across time, and a post-monitoring survey examined students’ self-reported perceptions of the monitoring experience. Most students (78%) showed consistently above-threshold classifications across monitoring occasions, while a small proportion (5%) showed persistently low classifications. However, 17% of students fluctuated above and below the low well-being threshold across weeks, indicating that classification status for this group was sensitive to assessment timing. When monitoring data were aggregated using different decision rules, the proportion of students flagged as low well-being varied substantially, ranging from approximately 5% under a conservative stability-based criterion to around 12% when classifications were based on averaged monitoring scores. Classifications derived from averaged monitoring scores showed high agreement with single-time-point classifications, while identifying a partially different subset of students as low well-being, underscoring the sensitivity of threshold-based decisions to classification approach. Student feedback provided preliminary contextual insight into the acceptability of repeated monitoring under routine school conditions, with over half of respondents reporting that the process supported their emotional understanding. A substantial minority also reported greater inclination to talk with others about their well-being. Overall, the findings indicate that single-time-point screening may provide an incomplete basis for emotional well-being classification for some students, and that repeated assessment offers additional temporal context for interpreting threshold-based screening decisions.

Virtual reality (VR) offers new opportunities for delivering psychologically meaningful conversations in digitally mediated settings. This study examined how environmental designs influence user experience during emotionally relevant self-disclosure. Fifty university students completed a within-subjects experiment in which they engaged in a structured positive and negative self-disclosure task across four immersive environments (seaside, garden, urban, and sci-fi). After each interaction, participants rated six experiential dimensions relevant to therapeutic communication: comfort, calmness, pleasantness, focus, privacy, and perceived overall suitability for psychological therapy. Repeated-measures analyses showed that nature-themed environments were rated more positively than non-nature environments across all dimensions. Although the seaside and garden environments did not differ in overall composite ratings, the seaside setting was most frequently preferred for comfort, calmness, and pleasantness in participants’ final rankings. These findings demonstrate that virtual environment design meaningfully shapes users’ emotional and interpersonal experience in VR, highlighting the value of nature-based environments for VR counselling systems and digital mental-health applications.

School-based mental health screening typically relies on single-time-point assessments, which may lead to inaccuracies in identifying students in need of support. Misclassification as either false positives (students flagged unnecessarily) or false negatives (students needing help but overlooked) can have significant consequences. Mood monitoring, a method that involves repeated assessments over time, may offer a more precise and informative approach to screening. We conducted a mood monitoring study in two schools over seven weeks (United Kingdom, n = 413; Australia, n = 418). Students completed the Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) weekly to assess fluctuations in emotional well-being. At the conclusion of the study, students provided feedback on their experience. While 79% of students maintained consistent moderate to high emotional well-being, 17% fluctuated above and below the threshold for low well-being, and 4% maintained consistently low emotional well-being. This suggests that a single-time-point assessment could misclassify up to one in six students. Additionally, over half of the students reported that mood monitoring helped them better understand their own well-being, and a substantial proportion indicated that it encouraged conversations about mental health with peers, parents, or guardians. By tracking emotional well-being over time, this approach may reduce misclassification errors and enhance students’ emotional awareness and communication about mental health. Future research should focus on optimizing the implementation of mood monitoring in different school contexts and assessing its long-term impact on student well-being.

This study presents initial reliability and validity evidence for the Brief Emotional Experience Scale (BEES) as a measure of emotional well-being. Using ordinal confirmatory factor analysis across three cross-sectional samples, Australian university students (n = 1239), the general public (n = 5631), and school students from Australia and the UK (n = 767). A correlated two-factor structure was supported. In the university sample, the BEES demonstrated strong convergent validity with other well-being measures and was linked to the lowest levels of reported distress when completing the survey. Preliminary cut-offs for high emotional distress were developed via comparison with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), identifying around 20% of females and 10% of males as highly distressed. The findings of this research indicate the BEES can be utilised as a simple, flexible, and low-burden measure of emotional well-being.

This study investigates how the behavioural realism of avatars can enhance virtual reality (VR) social interactions involving self-disclosure. First, we review how factors such as trust, enjoyment, and nonverbal communication could be influenced by motion capture technology by enhancing behavioural realism. We also address a gap in the prior literature by comparing different motion capture systems and how these differences affect perceptions of realism, enjoyment, and eye contact. Specifically, this study compared two types of avatars: an iClone UNREAL avatar with full-body and facial motion capture and a Vive Sync avatar with limited motion capture for self-disclosure. Our participants rated the iClone UNREAL avatar higher for realism, enjoyment, and eye contact duration. However, as shown in our post-experiment survey, some participants reported that they preferred the avatar with less behavioural realism. We conclude that a higher level of behavioural realism achieved through more advanced motion capture can improve the experience of VR social interactions. We also conclude that despite the general advantages of higher motion capture, the simpler avatar was still acceptable and preferred by some participants. This has important implications for improving the accessibility of avatars for different contexts, such as therapy, where simpler avatars may be sufficient.

Avatars used in various metaverse social VR platforms exhibit diverse levels of human resemblance, raising questions about whether an optimal level of human likeness exists for enhancing VR social interactions. This study investigated how avatars with varying degrees of human resemblance (cartoon, standard, metahuman) influence perceived realism and enjoyment during VR social interactions involving self-disclosure. While no significant differences were found in perceived realism or enjoyment ratings immediately following interactions with each avatar, the post-experiment survey revealed distinct preferences. The Metahuman avatar, with high human resemblance and graphical resolution, was most frequently chosen as the most realistic. However, the metahuman and cartoon avatars were equally preferred for enjoyment, suggesting that individual preferences can vary in the human resemblance of avatars. A moderate positive correlation was observed between perceived realism and enjoyment ratings, indicating that higher realism contributes to a more positive user experience. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual preferences and exploring factors beyond human resemblances, such as animation realism and graphical fidelity when designing avatars for social VR platforms.