Visual fidelity of different immersive displays: An evaluation based on psychophysiological human responses to virtual built environments

Virtual environment is increasingly served as a pre-occupancy method for assessing human responses to built spaces, making it important to understand how environmental medium affects human responses. Existing studies have paid limited attention to perceived differences produced by immersive displays, and used less realistic environments. This study aims to investigate to what extent immersive displays (static pictures, 360° panoramas, and dynamic VR videos) affect human responses. To this end, the study developed three highly simulated virtual scenes (natural, artificial, composite), and tested 45 participants, with their responses assessed using subjective scales (VPS, PANAS, SRRS) and physiological electrodermal activity (EDA) measures. Results show that VR videos significantly outperformed the other forms in both psychological and physiological responses, while no significant difference exists between pictures and panoramas. These findings highlight the distinct features or effects of immersive displays and contribute to refining virtual tools for early-stage evaluation of human responses to spatial environments.