The original paper is published in the Annual Proceedings of the International Society on Presence Research.

Abstract: To date, merely a few studies have been conducted accounting for both emotional traits and gender differences in sense of presence. Yet, results indicate that men and women may indeed differ in the way they experience virtual environments and in the levels of presence they report. Given the scarcity of findings, the present study aimed at broadening the understanding of a possible gender gap in presence experiences. Participants (N=40) were randomly assigned to either an experimental group giving a presentation in front of a virtual audience or a control group merely imagining the audience. Significant differences between male and female participants were found on all presence subscales (Spatial Presence, Realness, Sense of Being There) except for Involvement. Men generally reported a higher sense of spatial presence, more perceived realism and higher levels of the sense of actually being in the environment than women. The inclusion of social interaction anxiety as a covariate revealed a significant influence only on the Sense of Being There. Potential contributing factors for the observed gender differences are discussed and implications for future research endeavors considering gender as a mediating factor are given.

Project: Gender & Presence