Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States of America.
Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 29;17(9):e0273788. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273788. eCollection 2022.
Educational virtual environments (EVEs) are defined by their features of immersion (degree of sensory engagement) and fidelity (degree of realism). Increasingly, EVEs are being used for career development and training purposes, which we refer to as career-oriented EVEs. However, little research has examined the effects of immersion and fidelity on career-related outcomes, like self-efficacy and interests, and the learning dynamics that may influence these outcomes. We address these research needs across two studies using an inductive approach. Study 1 compares welding career exploration in EVEs to traditional career exploration and finds that individuals using EVEs report more positive career self-efficacy. Study 2 examines the influence of social learning dynamics, or how individuals learn from each other through behavioral modeling, on performance and career-related self-efficacy and interest. Groups were assigned to use either a high or low immersion and fidelity EVE. Findings indicate strong social learning dynamics in both EVEs, but the effects were stronger for groups using the higher immersion and fidelity EVE. Specifically, groups converged on two performance measures, and the performance of individuals who were situated as behavioral models significantly predicted the performance of other group members. Performance at the individual level, in turn, predicted career self-efficacy and interest for men but not women, and only for those using the higher immersion and fidelity EVE. Based on these findings, we conclude with practical recommendations for and implications of implementing career-oriented EVEs for career exploration and skills training.
教育虚拟环境 (EVEs) 的定义特征为沉浸感（感官参与程度）和逼真度（真实程度）。越来越多的 EVEs 被用于职业发展和培训目的，我们称之为面向职业的 EVEs。然而，很少有研究探讨沉浸感和逼真度对职业相关结果（如自我效能感和兴趣）的影响，以及可能影响这些结果的学习动态。我们通过两项研究使用归纳法来解决这些研究需求。研究 1 将 EVEs 中的焊接职业探索与传统职业探索进行比较，发现使用 EVEs 的个体报告的职业自我效能感更为积极。研究 2 研究了社会学习动态的影响，即个体如何通过行为建模相互学习，对绩效和职业相关的自我效能感和兴趣的影响。将小组分配到使用高或低沉浸度和逼真度的 EVE。研究结果表明，两种 EVE 中都存在强烈的社会学习动态，但对于使用更高沉浸度和逼真度 EVE 的小组，影响更为强烈。具体而言，小组在两个绩效指标上趋于一致，而作为行为模型的个体的绩效显著预测了其他小组成员的绩效。反过来，个人层面的绩效预测了男性但不是女性的职业自我效能感和兴趣，并且仅适用于使用更高沉浸度和逼真度 EVE 的男性。基于这些发现，我们最后提出了实施面向职业的 EVEs 进行职业探索和技能培训的实际建议和影响。
