Time Perception in Virtual Reality: Effects of Emotional Valence and Stress Level

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Syrigou, Kyriaki, Stoforou, Marina, Kourtesis, Panagiotis
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Syrigou, Kyriaki
Stoforou, Marina
Kourtesis, Panagiotis
author_facet Syrigou, Kyriaki
Stoforou, Marina
Kourtesis, Panagiotis
contents Immersive virtual reality (VR) enables controlled tests of how emotional context distorts subjective time, yet findings remain mixed. Fifty-seven adults explored three five-minute VR environments (tranquil garden, neutral room, threatening sewer) while eye tracking recorded pupil diameter. Baseline stress was assessed before VR exposure. After each environment, participants estimated elapsed time and rated mood, calmness, and arousal. Repeated-measures ANCOVA (baseline stress as covariate) and linear mixed-effects models converged on a valence gradient: garden intervals were overestimated, sewer intervals underestimated, and neutral estimates were intermediate. Pupil diameter showed the complementary pattern (sewer > garden > neutral) and covaried with the magnitude of temporal distortion. Baseline stress did not predict time estimates and did not moderate valence effects. Results indicate that affectively distinct VR contexts reliably shift perceived time and elicit convergent physiological and self-report responses. These findings inform emotion-aware design of immersive experiences and digital-wellbeing safeguards that support safe, sustained immersion.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_07354
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Time Perception in Virtual Reality: Effects of Emotional Valence and Stress Level
Syrigou, Kyriaki
Stoforou, Marina
Kourtesis, Panagiotis
Human-Computer Interaction
H.5.2; J.3; J.4; K.4
Immersive virtual reality (VR) enables controlled tests of how emotional context distorts subjective time, yet findings remain mixed. Fifty-seven adults explored three five-minute VR environments (tranquil garden, neutral room, threatening sewer) while eye tracking recorded pupil diameter. Baseline stress was assessed before VR exposure. After each environment, participants estimated elapsed time and rated mood, calmness, and arousal. Repeated-measures ANCOVA (baseline stress as covariate) and linear mixed-effects models converged on a valence gradient: garden intervals were overestimated, sewer intervals underestimated, and neutral estimates were intermediate. Pupil diameter showed the complementary pattern (sewer > garden > neutral) and covaried with the magnitude of temporal distortion. Baseline stress did not predict time estimates and did not moderate valence effects. Results indicate that affectively distinct VR contexts reliably shift perceived time and elicit convergent physiological and self-report responses. These findings inform emotion-aware design of immersive experiences and digital-wellbeing safeguards that support safe, sustained immersion.
title Time Perception in Virtual Reality: Effects of Emotional Valence and Stress Level
topic Human-Computer Interaction
H.5.2; J.3; J.4; K.4
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.07354