Affording Social Experience for Adolescents Using Immersive Virtual Reality: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers high-fidelity simulations for enriched social experiences in adolescents.
• This study focuses on a multi-user IVR collaborative game using SLAM-based tracking.
• Explores technology acceptance's impact on social experience, mediated by presence, collective efficacy, and group effectiveness, with a focus on social-emotional competence (SEC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop a multi-user IVR collaborative game for fostering social experience.
• To investigate the mediating role of presence, collective efficacy, and group effectiveness.
• To examine the moderating effect of social-emotional competence (SEC) on technology acceptance and social experience.

Main Methods:

• A total of 104 seventh graders participated, with 87 valid responses collected.
• Utilized a multi-user IVR collaborative game with SLAM-based inside-out tracking.
• Employed questionnaire-based data collection to assess technology acceptance, presence, collective efficacy, group effectiveness, and social experience.

Main Results:

• Technology acceptance positively influenced social experience both directly and indirectly.
• A significant mediation pathway was identified: technology acceptance → presence → collective efficacy → group effectiveness → social experience.
• Social-emotional competence (SEC) did not moderate the relationships between technology acceptance and social experience or group effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Technology acceptance is a key driver of social experience in IVR collaborative games.
• The findings suggest a pathway through which IVR can enhance social skills.
• Results inform the development of targeted IVR interventions for social-emotional learning in young people.