University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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

Chen, Chen

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

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
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2023 Chen Chen

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