What is "being there": An ontology of the immersive experience

Chen, Chen

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121363 Copy

Description

Title

What is "being there": An ontology of the immersive experience

Author(s)

Chen, Chen

Issue Date

2023-07-14

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Fisher, Jacob T
• Yao, Mike

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

• Fisher, Jacob T
• Yao, Mike

Committee Member(s)

• Wise, Kevin
• Hotaling, Jared

Department of Study

Inst of Communications Rsch

Discipline

Communications and Media

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• immersion
• presence
• transportation
• flow
• systematic review
• metaverse

Abstract

Presence, immersion, flow, and transportation describe a similar phenomenological experience—the feeling of being whisked away from one’s immediate surroundings and absorbed in another. Although these constructs have been developed in different research paradigms centered on different forms of media and different technologies, the first study of this dissertation shows that they are also frequently entangled, being alternatingly described as precursors, correlates, sub-processes, or outcomes of one another. Study 2 further synthesizes past literature and suggests that a viable path forward toward developing a more integrative understanding of the immersive experience can be found in considering the processes that these constructs share: interactivity, boundary alteration, and motivation. Building on findings from the review conducted in Study 2, Study 3 begins investigating the interrelationships between boundary alteration and motivation. The findings show initial evidence that proximity, as an indication of one’s boundary alteration, changes the motivational value associated with mediated tasks, influences one’s media choices, and modifies one’s sense of immersion. Finally, this work provides a roadmap for future research to provide a more comprehensive view of the ontology of immersive experience.

Graduation Semester

2023-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121363

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Chen Chen

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