Investigating the Impact of Avatar Action Sounds on the Plausibility Illusion in Virtual Reality

The building blocks of presence have been defined as Place Illusion (PI) and Plausibility Illusion (Psi). Research conducted on Psi in virtual reality (VR) is still lacking compared to PI, and even more so in the context of sound design. Breaks in presence can lead to user disengagement, making it crucial to understand how different sensory inputs help sustain the immersive experience. We hypothesise that avatar action sounds could influence the users’ sense of Psi and, consequently, their sense of presence. We compared the effects of three different sonic environments on participants’ Psi: (1) environmental sounds only, (2) a combination of environmental and avatar action sounds, and (3) a combination of environmental and tonally adjusted avatar action sounds. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups. We also present the findings of a semi structured interview and offer design recommendations for creating more engaging and impactful VR experiences.