An Exploration of Digital Human Cognition through Sensory Perception Across Real and Virtual Selves

Understanding human cognition in virtual environments (VE) is essential for improving digital human modeling and creating realistic experiences. By recognizing how context affects sensory perception, designers can more effectively adapt environmental and task-related elements of experience design. This study compared participants' ability to detect and identify sensory cues, namely, passive tactile and olfactory stimuli, between real-life (RL) and VE. We also examined visual context dependency of sensory awareness in order to understand the contribution of environmental elements on sensory awareness. This study is designed to measure the feeling of being in a real room, detection, identification, and perceived realism, intensity, roughness, and pleasantness of odor and tactile stimuli in both RL and its VE counterpart. Participants were exposed to sensory stimuli with or without visual cues. During the experiment, participants were given listening tasks. This design aims to understand how visual cues affect sensory perception and how different environments shape sensory performance. The findings revealed that the feeling of being in a real room in VEs was high when all sensory cues (olfactory, tactile, visual) were present. Notably, in VE, odor detection was more accurate, whereas in RL, surface detection and identification were more reliable. When visual cues were present, participants detected olfactory and tactile cues more effectively. These findings shed light on how sensory perception encountered in RL shapes VE experiences and cognitive processes. These insights could enhance VE experiences by guiding the design of more realistic immersive settings and informing the use of sensory elements in VE design.