Human-Animal Interaction in Immersive Virtual Reality: The Role of Social Presence and Positive Effects

In immersive virtual reality (IVR), the quality of interactions depends greatly on social presence (SP). Yet, SP research predominantly focuses on human-like actors, neglecting animals. We aim to explore SP beyond anthropomorphism by identifying factors influencing SP and investigating their transferability to virtual animals. Additionally, we investigate SP in relation to positive effects of virtual human-animal interaction (HAI). In our subsequent IVR-experiment, subjects were accompanied by a golden-retriever in a dog park. Two different levels of SP factors were presented using a within-subject design (N=27). Results show that the manipulated SP factors, namely visual representation (behavior), interactivity and task type, significantly influenced SP (p<0.001). Regarding positive effects of virtual HAI, we measured subject’s stress levels throughout the experimental procedure. A significant reduction in self-reported stress was observed between each of the two IVR-conditions and the previous stress-task, independent of SP factors. However no significant differences in heart rates could be identified. Moreover, SP factors appeared to have a significant impact on positive affect of subjects, but not on negative affect. These initial findings show promising possibilities for use in the development of future systems, e.g. concerning virtual animal-assisted interventions and can therefore offer benefits to both humans and animals.