From Perception to Cognition: How Latency Affects Interaction Fluency and Social Presence in VR Conferencing

2026-03-10

AI Summary

This study addresses the critical yet poorly understood impact of end-to-end latency in VR-mediated remote meetings on user interaction fluency and social presence. To elucidate the underlying perceptual and cognitive mechanisms, the authors propose a novel dual-layer “perception–cognition” analytical framework, mapping interaction fluency to perceived responsiveness and social presence to cognitive comprehensibility. Through a controlled experiment, they quantitatively assess these constructs using Absolute Category Rating (ACR) and the Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory (NMSPI). The findings reveal distinct mechanisms by which latency differentially affects user experience in VR versus traditional video conferencing, offering empirical evidence and actionable design guidance for optimizing immersive communication systems.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Social Networks and Social Media: Social media analysis through the lenses of networks

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) conferencing has the potential to provide geographically dispersed users with an immersive environment, enabling rich social interactions and user experience using avatars. However, remote communication in VR inevitably introduces end-to-end (E2E) latency, which can significantly impact user experience. To clarify the impact of latency, we conducted subjective experiments to analyze how it influences interaction fluency from the perspective of quality perception and social presence from the perspective of social cognition, comparing VR conferencing with traditional video conferencing (VC). Specifically, interaction fluency emphasizes user perception of interaction pace and responsiveness and is assessed using Absolute Category Rating (ACR) method. In contrast, social presence focuses on the cognitive understanding of interaction, specifically whether individuals can comprehend the intentions, emotions, and behaviors expressed by others. It is primarily measured using the Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory (NMSPI). Building on this analysis, we further investigate the relationship between interaction fluency and social presence under different latency conditions to clarify the underlying perceptual and cognitive mechanisms. The findings from these subjective tests provide meaningful insights for optimizing the related systems, helping to improve interaction fluency and enhancing social presence in immersive virtual environments.

Problem

• latency
• interaction fluency
• social presence
• virtual reality conferencing
• user experience

Innovation

• latency
• interaction fluency
• social presence
• VR conferencing
• subjective evaluation