Social, Spatial, and Self-Presence as Predictors of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Social Virtual Reality

2026-02-13

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Preferences

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Psychology-informed user models and recommender systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Extensive research has examined presence and basic psychological needs (drawing on Self-Determination Theory) in digital media. While prior work offers hints of potential connections, we lack a systematic account of whether and how distinct presence dimensions map onto the basic needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We surveyed 301 social VR users and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Results show that social presence predicts all three needs, while self-presence predicts competence and relatedness, and spatial presence shows no direct or moderating effects. Gender and age moderated these relationships: women benefited more from social presence for autonomy and relatedness, men from self- and spatial presence for competence and autonomy, and younger users showed stronger associations between social presence and relatedness, and between self-presence and autonomy. These findings position presence as a motivational mechanism shaped by demographic factors. The results offer theoretical insights and practical implications for designing inclusive, need-supportive multiuser VR environments.

Problem

• presence
• basic psychological needs
• social virtual reality
• Self-Determination Theory
• demographic factors

Innovation

• presence
• basic psychological needs
• social virtual reality
• Self-Determination Theory
• demographic moderation