Recieved: 11/23/2024
Accepted: 12/26/2024
Published: 02/12/2025
Keywords: simulator sickness; virtual reality; sensory conflict; motor program; anticipation; movement construction levels; N.A. Bernstein
Pages: 37-50
DOI: 10.11621/npj.2025.0104
Available online: 12.02.2025
Luniakova, E.G., Rakhimova, A.R., Belousova, M.D. (2025). Simulator Sickness within the Framework of the Level Theory of Movement Regulation: Empirical Study. National Psychological Journal, 20(1) , 37-50. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2025.0104
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CopyBackground. Virtual reality (VR) technologies are being applied in various areas of human activity. However, their use is often associated with the onset of simulator sickness. To date, there is no consensus on the mechanisms behind this disorder and the factors influencing its severity. Examining it in the light of the nature of actions performed by the user in a virtual environment is of particular interest.
Objective. The goal is to study the impact of the leading level of motor skill development in virtual reality on the severity of simulator sickness.
Sample. 40 participants (18 women and 22 men) aged between 19 and 46 years (Mage = 24, SD = 9,197). Participants were informed about the potential short-term negative consequences of participating in the experiment and provided their voluntary consent.
Methods.Two groups of participants, after preliminary testing, underwent training over three days to perform certain types of movements in a virtual environment, followed by re-testing. The groups differed in the focus of the training series — one group focused on body rotations (spatial field level, “Group C”), while the other focused on controlling the rotation of elements in the environment (object action level, “Group D”). Both movements were performed using a controller with similar visual stimulation. The severity of simulator sickness was evaluated using psychophysiological (heart rate (HR), tapping test), cognitive (reverse counting with subtraction), and subjective (Simulator Sickness Questionnaire and subjective scaling) measures.
Results. It was shown that the manifestations and intensity of simulator sickness (SS) are related to the formation of a specific type of movement skill in the virtual environment. Participants in Group C demonstrated a more pronounced SS at the beginning of the training series than participants in Group D. However, in testing after the training series, the severity of SS for all indicators under the conditions of passive observation of rotating stimulation and solving the spatial field level task in this group was significantly lower than in Group D.
Conclusions.The development of movement at the leading level of the spatial field determines the lower expression of SS in virtual reality than the development of skill at the leading level of subject action. Studying simulator sickness from the perspective of the theory of levels of movement construction contributes to a more complete explanation of the formation of this phenomenon.
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Luniakova, E.G., Rakhimova, A.R., Belousova, M.D.. Simulator Sickness within the Framework of the Level Theory of Movement Regulation: Empirical Study. // National Psychological Journal 2025. 1. Pages37-50. doi: 10.11621/npj.2025.0104
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