Motion Sickness in Virtual Reality Environments

Virtual reality (VR) refers to a computer-simulated experience that mimics a variety of specific physical surroundings to immerse the user in a virtual environment (VRE). Although the use of VR has provided many benefits, this technology does carry potential adverse physical effects. VR sickness occurs when a person's exposure to a VRE causes symptoms similar to traditional motion sickness. These symptoms are normally present in most VREs, but have shown to be more apparent in a horror VRE versus a pleasant VRE.  Previous research observed adult heart rate and blood pressure were more elevated in a horror VRE versus a pleasant one. In this experiment motion sickness scores in adolescents were examined in a horror VR environment compared to a pleasant environment in 14 participants (11 female and 3 male, mean age 18) and confirmed through the measurement of heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), galvanic skin response (GSR), and a VR Presence survey. The experiment was split into two sessions; participants played both the pleasant VRE and the horror VRE with a 2-3 day time period between sessions. GSR, HR, BP, and symptoms of motion sickness were measured before and after VR play. A VR presence survey was given after play to ensure full participation in the VRE. Motion Sickness scores were higher in the Horror VRE (p= 0.0001). HR, BP, and GSR showed no significant differences. Results support the hypothesis that Motion Sickness scores would be higher in the Horror VRE versus the Pleasant VRE in adolescents.