Towards physiological detection of a “just-right” challenge level for motor learning in immersive virtual reality: a pilot study

Motor learning is facilitated when tasks are practiced at a “just-right” challenge level: sufficiently achievable to maintain motivation, but complex enough to enable performance improvement. Immersive virtual reality (VR) may facilitate “just-right” task challenge attainment through its motivating environment and parametrizable task difficulty. Learner motivation in immersive VR tasks is usually measured by oral questions that can interrupt the flow of the play experience. While wearable sensors can unobtrusively measure physiological indicators of motivation and engagement, they are prone to artefacts during movement-based tasks. This study explored relationships between task performance, physiological data, and self-reported affective experience across three nominal task difficulty levels in immersive VR with typically developing children. Thirteen children completed one repeated-measures session of a seated unimanual task involving bouncing a virtual ball on a virtual racket. Nominal task difficulty (3-min periods of minimal, moderate, high difficulty) was manipulated by varying ball gravitational effects. Electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR), electroencephalography (EEG), and post-task affect questionnaires were collected. Results showed that over 90% of EDA and HR data were usable, while artefacts limited post-processed EEG data to 48.98%. There were no significant changes in performance or self-reported affect across nominal difficulty levels, though mean normalized EDA increased as task difficulty progressed. Positive correlations were found between motivation and controller displacement. Findings of this pilot study highlight both the technical feasibility and the limitations of physiological measures, especially EEG data collection, during movement-based immersive VR tasks with children. Results suggest that achieving “just-right” challenge may require longer exposure periods and tasks with more compelling motivational elements than those used in this study.