13 Persuasive Effects of Presence in Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract. In general, current research suggests that virtual environments, compared to classical advertising media, provide users with a higher level of presence, more perceptual and psychological immersion. This paper reviews empirical findings from an ongoing research program studying information processing consequences of presence in virtual environments. Based on theoretical models and preliminary findings from recent empirical studies summarized in this chapter, a two-step theoretical model of persuasion-related effects is proposed: more presence will, probably, lead to more arousal and affect, which will have a subsequent impact on depth of processing, making the user more likely to process information affectively, more implicitly and heuristically. This, in turn, will have the effect of making him/her less aware of an embedded persuasive message, which will thus have a moderating effect on various advertising-related outcomes: less ad recall, but more positive brand attitudes and favorable purchase intentions. The paper proposes that due to their specific characteristics, immersive virtual environments could be more effectiv