The impact of communicative parameters on the speaker’s spatial orientation in virtual reality

Abstract

In this paper, we try to show a specificity of the speaker’s spatial orientation system as a complex of cognitive functions in virtual reality (VR). Spatial orientation can be egocentric, allocentric or geocentric depending on which verbal deictic occurs as a point of reference. The use of one or another type of spatial orientation in VR can be conditioned by various factors. We explore the impact of communicative parameters on the speaker’s spatial orientation in VR. For that purpose, a VR experiment was conducted by applying five scenes with different communicative parameters. The consideration of the connection between the communicative parameters embedded in five different scenes and cognitive processes in the speaker’s orientation in VR is a novelty. The specific features of speaker orientation are presented in terms of three different deictic and communicative aspects: the opposition person-oriented and distance-oriented systems; the communicative situations themselves and their internal parameters; the location of the referent in proximal, medial and distal positions. 24 informants participated in the experiment, and 725 reactions presented in the form of lines were obtained as material which was analyzed and processed in the Semograph Information System. The results showed that in the communication in VR, the allocentric orientation prevails even with the proximal position of the referent, the deictic coordinate system can be fully integrated into some communicative situations, and certain communicative parameters can affect the speaker’s spatial orientation. We discuss the mechanisms that might explain the results and offer recommendations for future experiments.