An Approach to Investigate an Influence of Visual Angle Size on Emotional Activation During a Decision-Making Task

Decision-making is an important ability in our daily lives. Decision-making can be influenced by emotions. A virtual environment and objects in it might follow an emotional design, thus potentially influencing the mood of a user. A higher visual angle on a particular stimulus can lead to a higher emotional response to it. The use of immersive virtual reality (VR) surrounds a user visually with a virtual environment, as opposed to the partial immersion of using a normal computer screen. This higher immersion may result in a greater visual angle on a particular stimulus and thus a stronger emotional response to it. In a between-subjects user study, we compare the results of a decision-making task in VR presented in three different visual angles. We used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) as task and to detect potential differences in decision-making. The IGT was displayed in one of three dimensions, thus yielding visual angles of 20 degrees, 35 degrees, and 50 degrees. Our results indicate no difference between the three conditions with respect to decision-making. Thus, our results possibly imply that a higher visual angle has no influence on a task that is influenced by emotions but is otherwise cognitive.