Virtual motivation: The psychological and transfer of learning effects of immersive virtual reality practice

Previous research has shown practice within an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment improves real-world (RW) performance. Increased user motivation is one possible advantage of practicing in VR. One recent study showed that an enriched gaming environment led to higher levels of engagement, resulting in a direct learning benefit. The purpose of this study was to compare the intrinsic motivation, engagement, and transfer of learning differences between VR practice and RW practice of the same motor skill. Participants (n = 61) were randomly assigned to a RW practice group (n = 30) or a VR practice group (n = 31) in which they performed a golf putting task. Analyses showed VR practice led to a significantly greater increase in average IMI score than RW practice. Analyses for performance showed there was a significant (p < .001) improvement in accuracy (i.e., radial error) from pre to posttest, but the two groups did not differ from one another. Overall, these results partially support our hypotheses and suggest that VR practice led to a greater increase in motivation compared to RW practice. Additionally, these results suggest that VR practice was similarly effective at improving accuracy compared to RW practice. Future research directions are discussed.