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Validation of the Virtual Reality Neuroscience Questionnaire: Maximum Duration of Immersive Virtual Reality Sessions Without the Presence of Pertinent Adverse Symptomatology
Panagiotis Kourtesis, Simona Collina, Leonidas A. A. Doumas, Sarah E. MacPherson
TL;DR
VR research and clinical practice lacked guidance on maximum session duration and a brief tool measuring both VR software quality and VRISE intensity. This study validated the 20-item VRNQ and examined session duration and software-related predictors, finding support for sessions up to 70 minutes under specified conditions.
Problem
VR research and clinical practice lacked guidance on maximum session duration and a brief quantitative tool assessing both software attributes and VRISE intensity.
Method
The study validated the 20-item VRNQ using three VR sessions per participant and analyses of reliability, validity, session duration, demographic associations, and VRISE predictors.
Results
VR sessions were supported up to 70 minutes when users were familiarized and software met parsimonious VRNQ cut-offs; session duration correlated with total VRNQ score (BF10 = 81.54; r(120) = 0.310, p < .001).
Takeaways & Limitations
The VRNQ enables brief quantitative reporting of VR software quality and VRISE intensity, while its cut-offs can support software suitability assessment.
Takeaways & Limitations
The VRNQ does not directly quantify linear or angular accelerations, and future work should validate it convergently against VRISE and software-attribute measures.
Abstract
from arXiv · showhide
Research suggests that the duration of a VR session modulates the presence and intensity of VRISE, but there are no suggestions regarding the appropriate maximum duration of VR sessions. The implementation of high-end VR HMDs in conjunction with ergonomic VR software seems to mitigate the presence of VRISE substantially. However, a brief tool does not currently exist to appraise and report both the quality of software features and VRISE intensity quantitatively. The VRNQ was developed to assess the quality of VR software in terms of user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE. Forty participants aged between 28 and 43 years were recruited (18 gamers and 22 non-gamers) for the study. They participated in 3 different VR sessions until they felt weary or discomfort and subsequently filled in the VRNQ. Our results demonstrated that VRNQ is a valid tool for assessing VR software as it has good convergent, discriminant, and construct validity. The maximum duration of VR sessions should be between 55-70 minutes when the VR software meets or exceeds the parsimonious cut-offs of the VRNQ and the users are familiarized with the VR system. Also. the gaming experience does not seem to affect how long VR sessions should last. Also, while the quality of VR software substantially modulates the maximum duration of VR sessions, age and education do not. Finally, deeper immersion, better quality of graphics and sound, and more helpful in-game instructions and prompts were found to reduce VRISE intensity. The VRNQ facilitates the brief assessment and reporting of the quality of VR software features and/or the intensity of VRISE, while its minimum and parsimonious cut-offs may appraise the suitability of VR software. The findings of this study contribute to the establishment of rigorous VR methods that are crucial for the viability of immersive VR as a research and clinical tool.
3 Lab of Experimental Psychology, Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, Naples, Italy
The study was associated with the Interdepartmental Centre for Planning and Research “Scienza Nuova” at Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples.
- The research centre was named Scienza Nuova.
- The centre is affiliated with Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples.
- The paper lists Virtual Reality, VRISE, VR Sickness, Cybersickness, Neuroscience, Neuropsychology, and Psychology as keywords.
1 Introduction
Immersive VR is promising for neuroscience and neuropsychology, but VRISE and the lack of quantitative software-quality measures complicate research and clinical use. The authors therefore developed the VRNQ to assess software features and VRISE intensity and to inform session duration.
- VRISE includes nausea, dizziness, disorientation, fatigue, and postural instability associated with immersive VR.
- Longer VR sessions are associated with greater VRISE probability and intensity, while extensive linear and angular accelerations can provoke intense symptoms quickly.
- No guidelines specified an appropriate maximum duration for VR research or clinical sessions.
- Existing measures assessed simulator-sickness symptoms but did not quantify VR software attributes and may not fully capture VRISE.
- The VRNQ contains 20 questions covering user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE, with five criteria in each domain.
2 Methods
The study recruited 40 participants for three ergonomic VR-game sessions, collecting VRNQ responses after participants played until weariness or discomfort. Reliability, factor validity, demographic associations, session differences, gamer status, and predictors of VRNQ outcomes were analyzed statistically.
- Forty participants aged 28–43 years included 18 gamers and 22 non-gamers.
- The three selected games used ergonomic navigation, 6-DoF hand-controller interactions, comprehensible tutorials, and in-game instructions and prompts.
- The VRNQ assessed user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE through 20 questions grouped into four domains.
- Each participant completed three VR sessions using different software, with one week between sessions and an induction before each session.
- Reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis evaluated the VRNQ’s internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity.
- Bayesian correlations, paired and independent samples t-tests, and linear regression examined demographic variables, session duration, gamer status, VRNQ scores, and predictors.
3 Results
The VRNQ showed strong reliability and validity, while session duration increased across sessions and was associated with software quality. VRNQ scores and Bayesian analyses identified software-related factors linked to VRISE, without substantial demographic effects.
- Reliability and CFA: Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.89 to 0.90 across VRNQ domains, indicating very good internal reliability.The reported domains were user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE.
- Reliability and CFA: The VRNQ demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity, with no significant correlations among its factors.The CFA model also showed good fit according to the reported fit indices.
- Cut-off scores: VRNQ minimum cut-offs were 25 per domain and 100 overall, whereas parsimonious cut-offs were 30 per domain and 120 overall.These thresholds corresponded to median item responses of at least 5 and 6, respectively.
- Bayesian t-tests: Gamers spent more total time in VR than non-gamers, with evidence strongest for total duration (BF10 = 14.99) and session 1 (BF10 = 2,532).The reported total-duration difference appeared to be driven by the larger session-1 difference.
- Correlations and regression: Session duration positively correlated with total VRNQ score (BF10 = 81.54; r(120) = 0.310, p < .001), while age and education showed no significant associations.The best VRISE prediction model included immersion, graphics, sound, instructions, and prompts; observed power was 0.998.
4 Discussion
The discussion presents the VRNQ as a brief tool for jointly assessing VR software quality and VRISE, while linking software quality and user familiarization to session duration and symptom intensity. It supports sessions up to 70 minutes under specified software-quality and familiarization conditions, while identifying limits requiring further validation.
- The VRNQ as a Research and Clinical Tool: 5-10 minutes: the VRNQ assesses user experience, game mechanics, in-game assistance, and VRISE, with CFA results supporting good construct validity.Its validity was also discussed in relation to convergent and discriminant validity.
- The VRNQ as a Research and Clinical Tool: Minimum cut-offs indicate the lowest acceptable VR software quality, whereas parsimonious cut-offs support more conservative suitability standards.Because VRNQ data are ordinal, median total and sub-scores are recommended for assessment and comparison across software.
- The VRNQ as a Research and Clinical Tool: The VRNQ combines assessment of VRISE and VR software features more broadly than SSQ or VRSQ, but its 20 items and five VRISE items do not provide exhaustive assessment.More extensive questionnaires remain preferable for in-depth software-feature or VRISE investigations.
- Maximum Duration of VR Sessions: After familiarization, gaming experience did not significantly affect later session durations, while software quality was associated with session duration.The second and third sessions lasted longer than the first, but the third was not significantly longer than the second.
- Maximum Duration of VR Sessions: Age, education, and gaming experience did not affect VRNQ responses, whereas software quality and familiarization were associated with differences in VRISE intensity.VRISE was very mild to absent for most participants across sessions.
- Maximum Duration of VR Sessions: 55-70 minutes: VR sessions were considered feasible when users were familiarized with VR technology and software met the parsimonious VRNQ cut-offs.The discussion recommends considering software quality when defining session duration and using an extended introductory tutorial for longer sessions.
- The Quality of VR Software and VRISE: Higher immersion, better graphics and sound, and more helpful in-game instructions and prompts were predictors of lower VRISE intensity.The discussion connects these predictors with established roles of sound, rendering, assistance, and immersion in VR experience.
- Limitations and Future Studies: Further studies should test convergent validity with VRISE and software-attribute measures and examine larger samples, different hardware, ergonomic interactions, and provocative content.The present study used one hardware type and could not directly quantify linear or angular accelerations.
6 Author Contributions
The primary author originated the study and contributed across all aspects, while the other authors focused on methodology and discussion.
- The primary author had the initial idea and contributed to every aspect of the study.
- The remaining authors contributed to the methodological aspects and discussion of the results.
- The VRNQ may be downloaded from the supplementary material.
VRNQ Total Score
Across three sessions, the reported VRNQ scores included total values from 31.12 to 32.14 for several domains, while the suggested cut-offs were intended to support judgments of software quality and VRISE.
- Across three sessions, one reported total score was 126.3 (7.55) with a value of 0.69.
- The median of each VRNQ sub-score and total score should meet the suggested cut-offs to support adequate software quality without significant VRISE.Parsimonious cut-offs provide more robust support for software suitability.