The Role of Interactive Media Features on the Affective Response: a Virtual Reality Study

Affective dimension is an important aspect of user experience in interactive media. For this reason, many authors are exploring how to induce relevant emotions and to improve the level of involvement in the interactive experience. In order to mediate the affective response several authors state that there is a mutual relationship between emotion and cognition. This vision suggests that it is possible to manipulate the emotional response by using two different strategies focused on cognitive and affective factors: matching expectations or defining specific goals and interpretations. By combining these strategies, our study aimed to test the impact of the characteristics of an interactive media virtual reality (VR) on the affective state of the participants. In particular, we simultaneously manipulated the background narrative and the ecological features of the virtual environment (VE). We also assessed the effects on user’s affective response by combining self-report evaluations and physiological measurements. Results confirm the importance of thoroughly investigating cognitive and affective factors, when designing interactive media that may be critical for the future development of VE applications.