Investigating the Role of Vection, Presence, and Stress on Visually Induced Motion Sickness

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is a common side-effect when using visual displays such as Virtual Reality applications. The goal of the present study was to further investigate how VIMS is related to the sensations of vection (i.e., illusory self-motion) and presence (i.e., feeling of "being there"). In addition, we explored how acute stress, anxiety, and discomfort may affect the severity of VIMS. A total of 53 participants were exposed to a 15-min-long VIMS-inducing visual stimulus while their level of VIMS was recorded before, during, and after stimulus exposure. Results showed significant, positive correlations between VIMS severity and vection frequency (i.e., the total amount of vection experienced), vection intensity, and presence. Only weak to moderately strong correlations were found for VIMS and stress. Interestingly, regression analysis revealed that vection frequency and the level of discomfort experienced prior to the experiment were the two best predictors of VIMS severity. The results of this study help to better understand how VIMS, vection, and presence are linked to each other and how individual and situational factors add to the experience of VIMS.