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CHAPTER 3: HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
As previous discussion, engagement and attention are both important aspects that measure user’s media experience. The communication medium with higher interactivity and vividness can bring out higher telepresence, and then higher telepresence may contribute to engaging and fulfilling user experience, which would be positively associated with vitiation behavior. Moreover user’s level of engagement may tend to be stronger when the user has related experience or specific personality. The research framework is shown in Figure 3-1.
We compared three different communication medium－VR, website and video.
For the VR, user can have 360° vision by wearing the head-mounted display and the sounds from the speaker. Users can also interact with the object, such as pick up or see the detail of the relics or painting etc., hence providing the highest telepresence.
As to video, users can only watch the video on the screen and listen to the sounds from the speaker. Users cannot interact with the content of the video but click
“play” or “stop” button, and thus, it brings a lower telepresence than VR. With regard to the website, users can see the details of the relics on the screen and use the mouse to interact with the picture or object on the screen. It has the same level of vividness as video but with higher interactivity, so it represents a middle course between VR and video.
In the following sections, we will focus on comparing the three communication mediums in terms of engagement and attention. The effects of engagement and attention on arousing people’s interest in visiting museum are then proposed.
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Figure 3-1. Research Model
3.1 The Effect of Telepresence on Attention
Communication medium with a high level of interactivity can let the users to focus on the cues and feedback from the interface in order to determine how to act and proceed (Yi, Jiang & Benbasat, 2015). In addition, according to Lee’s (2011), media with more interactivity can enhance people’s attention. Moreover, Nisbett &
Ross (1980) stated that if information is described as vividness (e.g. plaint text compares to poster with picture), it is likely to attract and hold people’s attention.
Communication medium with vividness design can attract users’ attention, since people have limited cognitive resource (Li & Bukovac, 1999). Because both of interactivity and vividness are the dimensions of telepresence, and VR has highest levels of telepresence, followed by website and video respectively. Thus, we propose,
Hypothesis 1: The levels of telepresence of communication medium are positively associated with attention
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3.2 The Effect of Telepresence on Engagement
A high level of interactivity gives user a feeling of “control” over the communication mediums (Hutchins, Hollan, & Norman, 1985) and facilitates an acute involvement (Cyr, Head & Ivanov, 2009; Featherman et al. 2011; Von Ahn &
Dabbish, 2008), which leads to increased pleasure. Some studies (Hoffman &
Novak, 1996; Webster, Trevino & Ryan, 1994) says that a higher level of interactivity can encourages people to be more active and exploratory during the experience, therefore it can let the user feel more engaged and fulfilment. Fiore et al.
(2005) has found that user’s enjoyment was increased significantly when they interacted with virtual models in online clothing stores. Also, Cvijikj & Michahelles (2013) stated that a communication medium with higher level of vividness can let the user have higher level of engagement, because with higher vividness, the medium could be more appealing to them. Fortin & Dholakia (2005) also noted that the interactivity and vividness both impact significantly on engagement. Since engagement is positively associate with the feelings of pleasure and fulfilment, the medium that can bring more pleasure and fulfilment are usually those that are easier to engage people (Parzefall & Hakanen, 2010; Vella-Brodrick, Park & Peterson, 2009). Therefore, we propose,
Hypotheses 2: The levels of telepresence of communication medium are positively associated with engagement
Whereas we expect telepresence will be effective in engaging users, the strength of this effect may be different, depending on users’ personality and prior related experience. As we mentioned in literature review, people who are high in extraversion have high levels of excitability, sociability, and emotional expressiveness. They are more likely to focus on the mediated environment and get
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involved with media stimuli (Laarni, Ravaja, Saari & Hartmann, 2004); it’s easier for them to engage in many activities, because they are able to process many stimuli at the same time. Also, there’s a research has proved that extravert can represents a stronger engagement when they were in online brand community context (Ul, Rahman & Hollebeek, 2017). Thus, for the same communication media, they can experience higher sense of engagement than people who are low in extraversion (Szymura & Nęcka, 1998). Therefore, we propose,
Hypothesis 3: The effect of the telepresence on increasing engagement is stronger for the users with the personality of “extraversion”.
As we discussed before, the users who have more related experience are easier to enjoy the medium. Their related experience may let the strength of this effect be different (Held and Durlach, 1992; Heeter, 1992; Loomis, 1992), because they can fill the expectations gap or the challenge of using the communication medium better (Taylor & Todd, 1995). For example, user with experience of using VR may be adapted to the equipment and virtual environment more easily than those who don’t have this kind of experience (Slater & Usoh, 1993). Thus, we propose,
Hypothesis 4: The effect of the telepresence on increasing engagement is stronger for the users with related experience.
3.3 The Effect of Attention on Engagement
Even attention and engagement can both be influenced by telepresence, the level of attention may also have some impact on engagement. According to Szafir &
Mutlu (2012), by increasing users’ attention can improve the focus, which increasing their engagement. Also, In Hsu, Chou, Chen & Chan’s (2007) experiment, they found that if the communication medium can gain users’ attention, they devoted themselves in the game then further observed their status of engagement via
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the communication medium. Thus, if participants pay more attention, they will become more engage and willing to devote in the task (Joseph, 2005, Li & Lerner, 2013). Therefore, we propose,
Hypothesis 5: The levels of attention are positively associated with engagement
3.4 The Effect of Attention and Engagement on Visitation Behavior
Various studies (Jiang & Benbasat, 2007; Suh & Lee, 2005) have found that by creating an engaging and playful experience with a communication medium can motivate and create a positive feeling to users. Also, According to Witmer & Singer (1998), if users pay more attention on the communication medium, they become more involved in the experience and have a positive experience. These positive feelings tend to increase people’s involvement in historical relic information gathering, which is likely to enhance their desire for visiting the museum or recommending it to their friends then further impact on their visitation behavior.
Therefore, we propose,
Hypothesis 6: A higher level of attention of communication medium will impact people’s visitation behavior.
Hypothesis 7: A higher level of engagement of communication medium will impact people’s visitation behavior.
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