Interactions en environnements virtuels: aspects multimodaux

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2012-2013.Les environnements virtuels prennent jour après jour une importance grandissante dans nos sociétés modernes. Leurs applications sont de plus en plus nombreuses, allant du récréatif et de l'éducatif au thérapeutique et à la télémédecine. Cependant, les paramètres exacts qui influencent l'organisation sociale dans les espaces virtuels sont encore grandement méconnus. Les résultats présentés dans ce mémoire visent à approfondir nos connaissances des interactions sociales en environnements virtuels. L'étude des interactions sociales, facteur clé de l'immersion dans les environnements virtuels, sera divisée selon trois aspects : les aspects langagiers, les aspects visuels et un cas extrême des aspects visuels en environnements virtuels. Le premier chapitre de ce mémoire, portant sur les aspects langagiers des environnements virtuels, démontre que le jugement d'humanité d'un interlocuteur durant une interaction sociale dépend non seulement du comportement de celui-ci, mais également du comportement du juge lui-même. De plus, nos résultats mettent l'accent sur l'aspect collaboratif du dialogue, tout comme sur la nature multidimensionnelle et multifactorielle de ce processus. Le deuxième chapitre de ce mémoire, portant sur les aspects visuels des environnements virtuels, suggère que les dynamiques sociales pourraient avoir une plus grande importance pour l'utilisateur que la récompense immédiate qu'apporte l'utilisation optimale de l'interface, et ainsi, représenter un facteur majeur d'immersion dans les environnements virtuels. Le troisième chapitre de ce mémoire, portant sur un cas particulier de l'aspect visuel des environnements virtuels, démontre que la sélection sociale basée sur l'apparence semble jouer un rôle considérable dans le regroupement social des communautés en ligne. Ainsi, présenter une apparence semblable pourrait donc représenter un moyen de favoriser l'émergence de groupes sociaux solides et durables. En somme, les résultats présentés dans les différents chapitres de ce mémoire sont non seulement essentiels pour la compréhension des fondements cognitifs des comportements sociaux dans les contextes virtuels, mais également pour l'optimisation de l'utilisation et du design des environnements virtuels immersifs futurs

The Experience of Physical and Social Presence in a Virtual Learning Environment as Impacted by the Affordance of Movement Enabled by Motion Tracking

This research synthesizes existing research findings that social presence (sense of connection with others) and physical presence (sense of being there) increase learning outcomes in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) with findings that traditional motion tracking of participants wearing head mounted displays in virtual reality increases both physical and social presence. This information suggests that motion tracking in mixed reality VLEs has a positive impact on social presence and on physical presence. For this study, the affordance of free movement among virtual objects is enabled by Microsoft Kinect tracking of the user\u27s position that is translated to movement of the virtual camera to simulate user movement and proximity to elements of the virtual environment. This study used a mixed method, multimodal approach including qualitative, subjective, objective, and physiological data to measure social and physical presence. The testbed for this research was TLE TeachLivE™, a mixed reality classroom populated with virtual students. The subjective measures are 1) modified Witmer and Singer Questionnaire and 2) Social Presence Instrument (Bailenson, 2002b). The objective measure is a literature based Social Presence Behavioral Coding sheet used to record frequency of occurrences of factors of social presence. Finally, the physiological measure is heart rate as recorded by the MIO Alpha. The primary contribution of this study was that the hypotheses that the affordance of movement in a mixed reality classroom has a positive impact on user perception and experience of a) physical presence and b) social presence in a VLE were supported. This hypothesis was supported in all three measures. The secondary contribution of this research is the literature based Social Presence Behavioral Coding. The final contribution of this research is a research framework that integrates subjective, objective, and physiological measures of social presence in one study. This approach can be applied to various user experience research studies of various VLEs. Finally, in addition to general alignment of the physiological, objective, and subjective measures, there were anecdotal instances of factors of social presence occurring simultaneously with increased heart rate

Interactions Between Humans, Virtual Agent Characters and Virtual Avatars

Simulations allow people to experience events as if they were happening in the real world in a way that is safer and less expensive than live training. Despite improvements in realism in simulated environments, one area that still presents a challenge is interpersonal interactions. The subtleties of what makes an interaction rich are difficult to define. We may never fully understand the complexity of human interchanges, however there is value in building on existing research into how individuals react to virtual characters to inform future investments. Virtual characters can either be automated through computational processes, referred to as agents, or controlled by a human, referred to as an avatar. Knowledge of interactions with virtual characters will facilitate the building of simulated characters that support training tasks in a manner that will appropriately engage learners. Ultimately, the goal is to understand what might cause people to engage or disengage with virtual characters. To answer that question, it is important to establish metrics that would indicate when people believe their interaction partner is real, or has agency. This study makes use of three types of measures: objective, behavioral and self-report. The objective measures were neural, galvanic skin response, and heart rate measures. The behavioral measure was gestures and facial expressions. Surveys provided an opportunity to gain self-report data. The objective of this research study was to determine what metrics could be used during social interactions to achieve the sense of agency in an interactive partner. The results provide valuable feedback on how users need to see and be seen by their interaction partner to ensure non-verbal cues provide context and additional meaning to the dialog. This study provides insight into areas of future research, offering a foundation of knowledge for further exploration and lessons learned. This can lead to more realistic experiences that open the door to human dimension training

Perceiving Sociable Technology: Exploring the Role of Anthropomorphism and Agency Perception on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

With the arrival of personal assistants and other AI-enabled autonomous technologies, social interactions with smart devices have become a part of our daily lives. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to understand how these social interactions emerge, and why users appear to be influenced by them. For this reason, I explore questions on what the antecedents and consequences of this phenomenon, known as anthropomorphism, are as described in the extant literature from fields ranging from information systems to social neuroscience. I critically analyze those empirical studies directly measuring anthropomorphism and those referring to it without a corresponding measurement. Through a grounded theory approach, I identify common themes and use them to develop models for the antecedents and consequences of anthropomorphism. The results suggest anthropomorphism possesses both conscious and non-conscious components with varying implications. While conscious attributions are shown to vary based on individual differences, non-conscious attributions emerge whenever a technology exhibits apparent reasoning such as through non-verbal behavior like peer-to-peer mirroring or verbal paralinguistic and backchanneling cues. Anthropomorphism has been shown to affect users’ self-perceptions, perceptions of the technology, how users interact with the technology, and the users’ performance. Examples include changes in a users’ trust on the technology, conformity effects, bonding, and displays of empathy. I argue these effects emerge from changes in users’ perceived agency, and their self- and social- identity similarly to interactions between humans. Afterwards, I critically examine current theories on anthropomorphism and present propositions about its nature based on the results of the empirical literature. Subsequently, I introduce a two-factor model of anthropomorphism that proposes how an individual anthropomorphizes a technology is dependent on how the technology was initially perceived (top-down and rational or bottom-up and automatic), and whether it exhibits a capacity for agency or experience. I propose that where a technology lays along this spectrum determines how individuals relates to it, creating shared agency effects, or changing the users’ social identity. For this reason, anthropomorphism is a powerful tool that can be leveraged to support future interactions with smart technologies