Abstract
The increasing use of virtual reality (VR) environments in different domains of research and psychotherapy offers advantages over traditional treatment approaches. However, in order to feel immersed and involved by the VR experience, participants require VR scenarios that promote the subjective feeling of “being there,” i.e., presence. The most utilized mean of operationalization of presence is through self-report scales and questionnaires. This article aims to report the translation and adaptation of the presence questionnaire (PQ) into Brazilian Portuguese, comparing the factorial distribution of the adapted version with the original PQ. Translation and back-translations were conducted by a team of Brazilian psychologists and computer science professionals with experience on the field. Participants (n = 100) answered the Brazilian version of the questionnaire after wearing a head-mounted display (HMD) and driving a virtual automobile in a VR scenario. The principal component analysis of the translated version generated factors consistently with the original study; however, items that had equivocal construct adequacy in the original PQ changed factors. The factor structure of the PQ is discussed. The growing use of VR environments requires instruments assessing the presence of immersed individuals, and the Brazilian Portuguese version of the PQ appears to be a viable option.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson P, Rothbaum BO, Hodges LF (2003) Virtual reality exposure in the treatment of social anxiety. Cogn Behav Pract 10(3):240–247. doi:10.1016/S1077-7229(03)80036-6
Bohil CJ, Alicea B, Biocca FA (2011) Virtual reality in neuroscience research and therapy. Nat Rev Neurosci 12(12):752–762. doi:10.1038/nrn3122
Botella C, García-Palacios A, Villa H, Baños RM, Quero S, Alcañiz M, Riva G (2007) Virtual reality exposure in the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia: a controlled study. Clin Psychol Psychot 14(3):164–175. doi:10.1002/cpp.524
Bouchard S, St-Jacques J, Robillard G, Renaud P (2008) Anxiety increases the feeling of presence in virtual environments. Presence-teleop Virt 17(4):376–391. doi:10.1162/pres.17.4.376
Cozby, PC (2003). Métodos de pesquisa em ciências do comportamento. Editora Atlas, São Paulo
Difede J, Cukor J, Jayasinghe N, Patt I, Jedel S, Spielman L, Hoffman HG (2007) Virtual reality exposure therapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder following September 11, 2001. J Clin Psychiatry 68(11):1639–1647. doi:10.4088/JCP.v68n1102
Dominique JF, Bentz D, Michael T, Bolt OC, Wiederhold BK, Margraf J, Wilhelm FH (2011) Glucocorticoids enhance extinction-based psychotherapy. P Natl Acad Sci USA 108(16):6621–6625. doi:10.1073/pnas.1018214108
Emmelkamp PMG, Krijn M, Hulsbosch AM, De Vries S, Schuemie MJ, Van der Mast CAPG (2002) Virtual reality treatment versus exposure in vivo: a comparative evaluation in acrophobia. Behav Res Ther 40(5):509–516. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00023-7
Fachel JM, Camey S, Cunha JÁ (2000) Avaliação psicométrica: a qualidade das medidas e o entendimento dos dados. Psicodiagnóstico, 5 edn. pp 158–170
Field A (2009) Discovering statistics using SPSS. Sage publications, London
Garcia-Palacios A, Hoffman H, Carlin A, Furness TA III, Botella C (2002) Virtual reality in the treatment of spider phobia: a controlled study. Behav Res Ther 40(9):983–993. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00068-7
Gerardi M, Cukor J, Difede J, Rizzo A, Rothbaum B (2010) Virtual reality exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep 12(4):298–305. doi:10.1007/s11920-010-0128-4
Hoffman HG, Richards T, Coda B, Richards A, Sharar SR (2003) The illusion of presence in immersive virtual reality during an fMRI brain scan. Cyberpsychol Behav 6(2):127–131. doi:10.1089/109493103321640310
Klinger E, Bouchard S, Légeron P, Roy S, Lauer F, Chemin I, Nugues P (2005) Virtual reality therapy versus cognitive behavior therapy for social phobia: a preliminary controlled study. Cyberpsychol Behav 8(1):76–88. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.76
Krijn M, Emmelkamp PM, Olafsson RP, Biemond R (2004) Virtual reality exposure therapy of anxiety disorders: a review. Clin Psychol Rev 24(3):259–281. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2004.04.001
Krijn M, Emmelkamp PM, Olafsson RP, Bouwman M, Van Gerwen LJ, Spinhoven P, Van der Mast CA (2007) Fear of flying treatment methods: Virtual reality exposure vs. cognitive behavioral therapy. Aviat Space Environ Med 78(2):121–128. doi:10.5944/rppc.vol.19.num.3.2014.13898
Maltby N, Kirsch I, Mayers M, Allen GJ (2002) Virtual reality exposure therapy for the treatment of fear of flying: a controlled investigation. J Consult Clin Psychol 70(5):1112. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.70.5.1112
Murray J, Cerqueira D, Kahn T (2013) Crime and violence in Brazil: systematic review of time trends, prevalence rates and risk factors. Aggress Violent Behav 18(5):471–483. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2013.07.003
Nunes F, da Costa R, Machado L, de Moraes R (2011) Realidade virtual para saúde no brasil: conceitos, desafios e oportunidades. Rev Bras Eng Biomed 27(4):243–258. doi:10.4322/rbeb.2011.020
Parsons TD, Rizzo AA (2008) Affective outcomes of virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and specific phobias: a meta-analysis. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 39(3):250–261. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.07.007
Powers MB, Emmelkamp PM (2008) Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis. J Anxiety Disord 22(3):561–569. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.04.006
Riva G (2005) Virtual reality in psychotherapy: review. Cyberpsychol Behav 8(3):220–230. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.220
Rizzo A, Difede J, Rothbaum BO, Reger G, Spitalnick J, Cukor J, Mclay R (2010) Development and early evaluation of the Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan exposure therapy system for combat-related PTSD. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1208(1):114–125. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05755.x
Rothbaum BO, Anderson P, Zimand E, Hodges L, Lang D, Wilson J (2006) Virtual reality exposure therapy and standard (in vivo) exposure therapy in the treatment of fear of flying. Behav Ther 37(1):80–90. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2005.04.004
Slater M (2004) How colorful was your day? Why questionnaires cannot assess presence in virtual environments. Presence 13(4):484–493. doi:10.1162/1054746041944849
Slater M, Usoh M, Steed A (1994) Depth of presence in virtual environments. Presence 3(2):130–144. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013904
Stevens J. (1992). Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. 2nd ed. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Hillsdale
Takatalo J, Nyman G, Laaksonen L (2008) Components of human experience in virtual environments. Comput Hum Behav 24(1):1–15. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2006.11.003
Witmer BG, Singer MJ (1998) Measuring presence in virtual environments: a presence questionnaire. Presence 7(3):225–240. doi:10.1162/105474698565686
Witmer BG, Jerome C, Singer MJ (2005) The factor structure of the presence questionnaire. Presence 14(3):298–312. doi:10.1162/105474605323384654
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silva, G.R., Donat, J.C., Rigoli, M.M. et al. A questionnaire for measuring presence in virtual environments: factor analysis of the presence questionnaire and adaptation into Brazilian Portuguese. Virtual Reality 20, 237–242 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-016-0295-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-016-0295-7