Kozhevnikov Maria, Dhond Rupali P
Psychology Department, National University of Singapore Singapore.
Front Psychol. 2012 Aug 10;3:284. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00284. eCollection 2012.
Most research on three-dimensional (3D) visual-spatial processing has been conducted using traditional non-immersive 2D displays. Here we investigated how individuals generate and transform mental images within 3D immersive (3DI) virtual environments, in which the viewers perceive themselves as being surrounded by a 3D world. In Experiment 1, we compared participants' performance on the Shepard and Metzler (1971) mental rotation (MR) task across the following three types of visual presentation environments; traditional 2D non-immersive (2DNI), 3D non-immersive (3DNI - anaglyphic glasses), and 3DI (head mounted display with position and head orientation tracking). In Experiment 2, we examined how the use of different backgrounds affected MR processes within the 3DI environment. In Experiment 3, we compared electroencephalogram data recorded while participants were mentally rotating visual-spatial images presented in 3DI vs. 2DNI environments. Overall, the findings of the three experiments suggest that visual-spatial processing is different in immersive and non-immersive environments, and that immersive environments may require different image encoding and transformation strategies than the two other non-immersive environments. Specifically, in a non-immersive environment, participants may utilize a scene-based frame of reference and allocentric encoding whereas immersive environments may encourage the use of a viewer-centered frame of reference and egocentric encoding. These findings also suggest that MR performed in laboratory conditions using a traditional 2D computer screen may not reflect spatial processing as it would occur in the real world.
大多数关于三维（3D）视觉空间处理的研究都是使用传统的非沉浸式二维显示器进行的。在这里，我们研究了个体如何在3D沉浸式（3DI）虚拟环境中生成和转换心理图像，在这种环境中，观看者会感觉自己被一个3D世界所包围。在实验1中，我们比较了参与者在以下三种视觉呈现环境下完成谢泼德和梅茨勒（1971）心理旋转（MR）任务的表现：传统二维非沉浸式（2DNI）、3D非沉浸式（3DNI——立体眼镜）和3DI（带有位置和头部方向跟踪的头戴式显示器）。在实验2中，我们研究了在3DI环境中使用不同背景如何影响MR过程。在实验3中，我们比较了参与者在心理旋转3DI和2DNI环境中呈现的视觉空间图像时记录的脑电图数据。总体而言，这三个实验的结果表明，视觉空间处理在沉浸式和非沉浸式环境中是不同的，并且沉浸式环境可能需要与其他两种非沉浸式环境不同的图像编码和转换策略。具体来说，在非沉浸式环境中，参与者可能会利用基于场景的参照系和异心编码，而沉浸式环境可能会鼓励使用以观察者为中心的参照系和自我中心编码。这些发现还表明，在实验室条件下使用传统二维电脑屏幕进行的MR可能无法反映现实世界中发生的空间处理情况。
