Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 615-8540, Japan.
Department of Psychology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 4;12(1):5637. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09628-5.
Social presence is crucial for smooth communications in virtual reality (VR). Current telecommunication systems rarely submit spatial auditory information originating from remote people. However, such information may enhance social presence in VR. In this study, we constructed a dynamic binaural synthesis system and investigated the effect of spatial auditory information of a remote partner on a participant's behavior using the social Simon effect (SSE). The SSE is a spatial stimulus-response compatibility effect between two persons. The SSE occurs when one perceives that their partner is present. Several studies have confirmed the SSE in actual environments. We presented partner sounds diotically (i.e., without spatial information) to one group or binaurally (i.e., with spatial information) to another group through headphones without providing visual information about the partner. The results showed that the SSE was induced only in the binaural group in the current auditory VR (Experiment 1), whereas both groups exhibited the SSE in an actual environment (Experiment 2). These results suggest that the auditory spatial information of remote people is sufficient to induce the SSE and has a potential to enhance social presence.
社交存在感对于虚拟现实（VR）中的顺畅交流至关重要。当前的远程通信系统很少提供来自远程人员的空间听觉信息。然而，这些信息可能会增强 VR 中的社交存在感。在这项研究中，我们构建了一个动态双耳合成系统，并通过社交西蒙效应（SSE）研究了远程伙伴的空间听觉信息对参与者行为的影响。SSE 是两个人之间的空间刺激-反应相容性效应。当一个人感知到他们的伙伴在场时，就会出现 SSE。已有多项研究在实际环境中证实了 SSE 的存在。我们通过耳机向一组参与者呈现立体声（即没有空间信息）的伙伴声音，而向另一组参与者呈现立体声（即具有空间信息）的伙伴声音，同时不提供关于伙伴的视觉信息。结果表明，只有在当前听觉 VR 中，双耳组才会产生 SSE（实验 1），而在实际环境中，两组都表现出了 SSE（实验 2）。这些结果表明，远程人员的听觉空间信息足以引起 SSE，并且有可能增强社交存在感。
