Effects of Travel Technique and Large Displays on Cognition in Virtual Environments

— We preformed two studies to investigate the cognitive effects related to two important dimensions of virtual environment systems: travel technique and display. Options for both elements vary significantly in quality and cost. Our first study examined four different methods of travel in an virtual environment and their effect on cognition. Our second study examined the effects of large displays and large field-of-view on cognition. Both studies employed a between-subjects experimental design to investigate cognitive effects. In each study, users explored a virtual room and answered a set of questions based on Crook's condensation of Bloom's taxonomy. The questions were targeted to assess the participants' cognition of the virtual room with respect to knowledge, understanding and application, and higher mental processes. Participants also drew a sketch map of the virtual environment and the objects within it from memory. Users' sense of presence was measured using the Steed-Usoh-Slater Presence Questionnaire. Our results suggest that a natural travel technique impacts VE cognition (understanding and application), and that further studies are necessary to determine the effect of display size and field of view .