Telepresence via Television: Two Dimensions of Telepresence May Have Different Connections to Memory and Persuasion.[1]

TLDR

Presence must extend to all virtual environments, including traditional media such as television and advertising. The study examined how visual angle and room illumination affect telepresence during normal TV viewing and suggested that the departure factor reflects deeper absorption into the virtual environment. Participants completed a self‑report presence measure, and factor analysis identified two dimensions—arrival and departure—based on Gerrig’s transport theory. The arrival and departure factors were distinct, with departure not merely the absence of physical presence, and they differed in their effects on memory and attitude change, while visual angle and illumination had no impact on telepresence.

Abstract

To be truly useful for media theory, the concept of presence should be applicable to all forms of virtual environments including those of traditional media like television and traditional content such as advertising. This study reports the results of an experiment on the effects of the visual angle of the display (sensory saturation) and room illumination (sensory suppression) on the sensation of telepresence during normal television viewing. A self-report measure of presence yielded two factors. Using [Gerrig's (1993)] terminology for the sense of being transported to a mediated environments, we labeled the two factors “arrival,” for the feeling of being there in the virtual environment, and “departure,” for the feeling of not being there in the in physical environment. It appears that being in the virtual environment is not equivalent to not being in the physical environment. A path analysis found that these two factors have very different relationships to viewer memory for the experience and for attitude change (i.e., buying intention and confidence in product decision). We theorize that the departure factor may be measuring the feeling that the medium has disappeared and may constitute a deeper absorption into the virtual environment. The study did not find evidence that visual angle and room illumination affected the sensation of telepresence