Measuring the Effects of Virtual Environment Design on Decision-Making

Recent research indicates an impairment in decision-making in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) when completing the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). There is a high potential for emotions to explain the IGT decision-making behavior. The design of a virtual environment (VE) can influence a user's mood and hence potentially the decision-making. In a novel user study, we measure decision-making using three virtual versions of the IGT. The versions differ with regard to the degree of immersion and design of the VE. Our results revealed no significant impact of the VE on the IGT and hence on decision-making.