Mike Richardson

Immersion is a widely experienced yet conceptually contested phenomenon, particularly within Human–Computer Interaction. The Two-Competitor Model proposes that immersion arises from shifts in attentional focus between actual and induced realities. Although the model provides a testable framework for quantifying immersive experiences, it assumes these realities compete along orthogonal dimensions which overlooks instances in which sensory input from the actual reality can enhance, rather than reduce, immersion. This position paper examines three concise examples to demonstrate how cross-sensory interactions can increase the salience of sensory streams in the actual reality while simultaneously supporting the induced reality. By highlighting these dynamics, we argue that cross-sensory interactions challenge the competitive structure of the Two-Competitor Model and offer productive avenues for empirical investigation. This work aims to stimulate further discussion on how multisensory and crossmodal processes contribute to the psychological experience of immersion.

Facial expressions transmit information about internal states, both during social interaction and in response to shared stimuli such as films. When individuals view the same content, synchrony in their expressions reflects shared information processing, and the degree to which their expressions correlate indicates how similarly their perceptual and affective systems are responding to the common input. This makes interindividual expression synchrony a potential marker of engagement and subjective experience. However, the acquisition and analysis of facial data pose both ethical and technical challenges to researchers. ‘Trace’ is a research media player implemented in PsychoPy’s online platform Pavlovia, which captures anonymised facial landmark coordinates through a webcam, without the ethical and technical constraints of capturing and storing video images of participants. Nonetheless, its usefulness is currently limited due to the lack of available preprocessing and analysis tools. This paper describes the functionality of TraceLAB, a MATLAB-based toolbox designed for the preprocessing of Trace data: specifically, the formatting, aligning, and filtering of data. In addition, TraceLAB implements some novel analysis techniques to allow researchers to quantify interindividual synchrony of expressions (through correlated component analysis) and head movements (through Surrogate Synchrony), which may be interpreted as measures of shared information processing. These techniques are demonstrated here on both simulated and real datasets.

Digital theatre broadcasting has risen in popularity, yet it remains relatively novel, meaning the production norms for such content have yet to be established. We measured heart rate synchrony within three live streamed performances and provided data to the filming team to inform the creative direction for the following performance. The audience demonstrated greater heart rate synchrony on the final night compared to the first two nights and rated the final night as significantly more enjoyable. We also measured movement data and narrative engagement and found that movement negatively correlated to narrative engagement and narrative engagement positively correlated with enjoyment. These results highlight the benefits of using physiological assessment of moment-by-moment audience experience and the potential for these data to shape the creative process.

Extended Reality (XR) technologies are beginning to enter the mainstream and have the potential to change the way humans interact with computers on a global scale. As with all powerful tools, XR not only has the potential for enormous good, but also brings in a new set of challenges for policy to guide its innovation and development. This paper draws on a wide range of expertise from academia, research and development, and industry to collectively provide guiding principles for XR policy. The authors began discussions and developed a framework at a workshop at ACM SIGCHI 2024 and the ideas presented here are the result of debate, discussion, refinement, and offer next steps for the development of pervasive XR. We present three main principles for XR policy: Trust, Agency, and Inclusivity, along with a cross-cutting theme of Future-Proofing. Each principle is broken down and we offer example implementations. This paper aims to build upon previous work and efforts for fair and equitable XR for all, and further dialogue towards tangible changes in policy to help guide responsible innovation in virtual worlds.

Measuring attention and engagement is essential for understanding a wide range of psychological phenomena. Advances in technology have made it possible to measure real-time attention to naturalistic stimuli, providing ecologically valid insight into temporal dynamics. We developed a research protocol called Trace, which records anonymous facial landmarks, expressions, and patterns of movement associated with engagement in screen-based media. Trace runs in a standard internet browser and resembles a contemporary media player. It is embedded in the open-source package PsychoJS (the JavaScript sister library of PsychoPy) hosted via Pavlovia, and can be integrated with a wide range of behavioral research methods. Developed over multiple iterations and tested with over 200 participants in three studies, including the official broadcast of a major theatre production, Trace is a powerful, user-friendly protocol allowing behavioral researchers to capture audience attention and engagement in screen-based media as part of authentic, ecologically valid audience experiences.

For individuals with vision impairment (VI), there can be physical and technical barriers to participating in research and accessing research outputs. As a result, researchers often target smaller VI samples and individuals with VI are left under-involved and underrepresented in the VI research discourse. This study aimed to evaluate the accessibility and utility of the Online Participant Engagement Network for Vision Impairment Research (OPEN VI Research) and explore the broader experiences of research involvement in individuals with VI to develop guidelines for researchers studying this area. Qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured focus group with seven adults with VI, and analysed using a dual inductive reflexive thematic analysis approach. Three overarching meta-themes emerged through the analysis: ‘access’, ‘participant permanence’ and ‘motivation’. It was identified that preferences for being reached to take part in research and optimisation for accessible web-design differed based on individual needs associated with varying levels of VI. The importance of researchers recognising participants with VI as active contributors, before, during and after participation, was also outlined. In addition, despite some participants expressing negative experiences of researchers failing to follow-up post-participation, it was found that focus group members remained highly motivated to continue to take part in research. To address these findings, guidelines for researchers were developed based on participant suggestions and discussed in relation to relevant literature. This study fills the gap in the literature on individuals with VI’s views and experiences of research involvement and the suggested guidelines have the potential to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of the practice of researchers of VI.

Digital theatre broadcasting has risen in popularity, yet it remains relatively novel, meaning the production norms for such content have yet to be established. We measured heart rate synchrony within three live-streamed performances and provided data to the filming team to inform the creative direction for the following performance. The audience demonstrated greater heart rate synchrony on the final night compared to the first two nights and rated the final night as significantly more enjoyable. We also measured movement data and narrative engagement and found that movement negatively correlated to narrative engagement and narrative engagement positively correlated with enjoyment. These results highlight the benefits of using physiological assessment of moment-by-moment audience experience and the potential for these data to shape the creative process.