An EEG-Based Investigation of the Effect of Perceived Observation on Visual Memory in Virtual Environments

Abstract

The presence of external observers has been shown to affect performance on cognitive tasks, but the parameters of this impact for different types of tasks and the underlying neural dynamics are less understood. The current study examined the behavioral and brain activity effects of perceived observation on participants’ visual working memory (VWM) in a virtual reality (VR) classroom setting, using the task format as a moderating variable. Participants (n = 21) were equipped with a 57-channel EEG cap, and neural data were collected as they completed two VWM tasks under two observation conditions (observed and not observed) in a within-subjects experimental design. The “observation” condition was operationalized through the addition of a static human avatar in the VR classroom. The avatar’s presence was associated with a significant effect on extending the task response time, but no effect was found on task accuracy. This outcome may have been due to a ceiling effect, as the mean participant task scores were quite high. EEG data analysis supported the behavioral findings by showing consistent differences between the no-observation and observation conditions for one of the VWM tasks only. These neural differences were identified in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the occipital cortex (OC) regions, with higher theta-band activity occurring in the dlPFC during stimulus encoding and in the OC during response selection when the “observing” avatar was present. These findings provide evidence that perceived observation can inhibit performance during visual tasks by altering attentional focus, even in virtual contexts.

Wearable Biosensor Technology in Education: A Systematic Review

“…Overall, it was found that investigation of stress levels improves the quality of academic classes [45,129]. Students' stress levels increase before examinations and during timed exams [60,71,130], and high levels of stress are correlated to poorer evaluation performance and psychological health problems [77,83]. Other analyzed physiological constructs include motivation [87], flow state [62], concentration [68], and sustained attention [118], where an increase in all of them correlates to improved educational interventions and allows the possibility of implementation of e-learning platforms through BCIs or Augmented Reality (AR) systems [62,68].…”

Wearable Biosensor Technology in Education: A Systematic Review

“…Overall, it was found that investigation of stress levels improves the quality of academic classes [ 45 , 121 ]. Students’ stress levels increase before examinations and during timed exams [ 60 , 69 , 124 ], and high levels of stress are correlated with poorer evaluation performance and psychological health problems [ 75 , 81 ]. Other analyzed physiological constructs include motivation [ 85 ], flow state [ 26 ], concentration [ 66 ], and sustained attention [ 113 ], where an increase in all of them correlates to improved educational interventions and allows for the possibility of implementation of e-learning platforms through BCIs or AR systems [ 26 , 66 ].…”

Using Immersive Virtual Reality to Enhance Social Interaction Among Older Adults: A Cross-Site Investigation

“…For older adults, design factors and intuitive interfaces may be particularly important in promoting the adoption of VR technology and comfort with using it ( Roberts et al, 2019 ; Siriaraya & Ang, 2019 ; Syed-Abdul et al, 2019 ). A topic that has repeatedly emerged in the research literature is the design of avatars and full-body tracking to reflect real-world experiences ( Darfler et al, 2022 ; Kalantari & Neo, 2020 ). Older adults tend to prefer more “realistic engagement” scenarios in VR that reflect ordinary environments and people, rather than “gamified” scenarios that bestow users with superhuman abilities to perform challenging tasks ( Freeman & Maloney, 2021 ; Freeman et al, 2020 ).…”