The Experience of Nonmediation: Towards an Interdisciplinary Model of "Presence"

Peter Vorderer

Annenberg School for Communication

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Werner Wirth

Institut fuer Kommunikationswissenschaft

Ludwig Maximilian University

München, Germany

Frank Biocca

M.I.N.D. Labs

Michigan State University

Dept. of Telecommunication, Information & Media

East Lansing, MI, USA

Feliz Ribeiro Gouveia

Multimedia Studies and Resource Center/MIND Lab Porto

Porto, Portugal

Lutz Jäncke

Institute of Psychology

Neuropsychology

Zürich, Switzerland

Timo Saari

Knowledge Media Laboratory

Helsinki, Finland

Tilo Hartmann

Department of Journalism and Communication Research

Hannover University of Music and Drama

Hannover, Germany

Christoph Klimmt

Department of Journalism and Communication Research

Hannover University of Music and Drama

Hannover, Germany

Holger Schramm

Department of Journalism and Communication Research

Hannover University of Music and Drama

Hannover, Germany

Saskia Böcking

Institut fuer Kommunikationswissenschaft

München, Germany

Although Presence research has dealt with a great variety of issues related to the experience of using VR systems and other media, it is still in demand of a theoretical foundation that is commonly accepted and that can serve as framework for theorizing and empirical studies. To advance Presence research in the domain of theory, we introduce an interdisciplinary model of Presence experiences that is based on previous work in (media) psychology, communication research, neuropsychology, and VR systems development. This model conceptualizes Presence as internal state that is influenced by both external factors (e. g., screen size) and internal factors (e. g., mood, skills). It is intended to contribute to the unification of the theoretical grounds of Presence research and to allow for a more fruitful interdisciplinary cooperation within the highly diverse community of researchers who are interested in Presence.