Investigating Mechanisms to Promote Engagement in Psychomotor Training Using Systematic Breaks in Presence in Virtual Reality

Aug 26, 2026

Psychomotor learning benefits from task-specific, goal-oriented repetitive training, yet learning outcomes also depend on maintaining motivation and commitment while preventing boredom and attentional loss. Engagement, defined as active participation and cooperation, is linked to psychological needs, meaningful interaction with surrounding objects, and feedback on performance and emotional states. This dissertation examines how engagement in VR psychomotor tasks can be promoted by systematically removing elements tied to the three dimensions of Presence and evaluating their distinct contributions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages245

Reading Time10 h 17 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Engagement in psychomotor training and VR Presence

Experimental findings: gameplay vs VR

Experimental findings: Breaks in Presence across Presence dimensions

Design guidelines for immersive virtual environments

Vrije Universiteit Brussel Investigating mechanisms to promote engagement in psychomotor training using systematic breaks in presence in virtual reality Caldas Flautero, Oscar Ivan Publication date: 2023 License: CC BY-NC-ND Document Version: Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Caldas Flautero, O. I. (2023) . Investigating mechanisms to promote engagement in psychomotor training using systematic breaks in presence in virtual reality. [PhD Thesis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada] . Copyright No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, without the prior written permission of the author(s) or other rights holders to whom publication rights have been transferred, unless permitted by a license attached to the publication (a Creative Commons license or other), or unless exceptions to copyright law apply. Take down policy If you believe that this document infringes your copyright or other rights, please [contact openaccess@vub.be](contact openaccess@vub.be), with details of the nature of the infringement. We will investigate the claim and if justified, we will take the appropriate steps. Download date: 26. Aug. 2026 Investigating Mechanisms to Promote Engagement in Psychomotor Training Using Systematic Breaks in Presence in Virtual Reality (Part of a Joint Ph.D. agreement) Oscar Iván Caldas Flautero November, 2023 Ph.D. thesis submitted under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ir. Carlos Rodríguez-Guerrero (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) Prof. Dr. Ir. Oscar F. Avilés (Universidad Militar Nueva Granada) Prof. Dr. Ir. Tom Verstraten (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and the co-supervision of Prof. Dr. Ir. Mauricio Mauledoux (Universidad Militar Nueva Granada) Jury members Prof. Dr. Ir. Vesna Novak (University of Cincinnati) Prof. Dr. Ir. Maria Torres-Vega (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) Prof. Dr. Ir. Kevin De Pauw (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Prof. Dr. Ir. Edward Guillén (Universidad Militar Nueva Granada) in order to be awarded the following degrees Doctor of Engineering Sciences by Vrije Universiteit Brussel Doctor en Ciencias Aplicadas by Universidad Militar Nueva Granada The author gives permission to make this Ph.D. dissertation available for consultation and to copy parts of this Ph.D. dissertation for personal use. In all cases of other use, the copyright terms have to be respected, in particular with regard to the obligation to state explicitly the source when quoting results from this Ph.D. dissertation. 17/11/2023 Title: Investigating Mechanisms to Promote Engagement in Psychomotor Training Using Systematic Breaks in Presence in Virtual Reality Author: Oscar Iván Caldas Flautero Doctor of Applied Sciences (UMNG) Doctor of Engineering Sciences (VUB) Academic year: November, 2023 Abstract It is widely accepted that task-specific and goal-oriented repetitive training is required to improve the benefits of neural plasticity when seeking psychomotor learning. However, success also depends on preserving desired behaviors, such as motivation and commitment, and avoiding undesired ones, like boredom and loss of concentration. The willingness to actively participate and cooperate in the learning process is called engagement, and it is related to satisfying basic psychological needs, interacting with the objects around significantly, and receiving feedback about performance and emotional states to enhance the psychomotor learning experience. Several approaches have been addressed in recent years to promote engagement, mostly with gamification to promote such basic psychological needs (i.e., competence, autonomy, and social-relatedness) and virtual reality (VR) to enhance environmental interactions and multi-sensory feedback. Still, few studies can assess the single effects of such techniques to promote engagement in physically demanding learning tasks. This is cru

FAQs

What concept does the dissertation focus on to improve psychomotor learning in VR?

It focuses on engagement, defined as active participation and cooperation in the learning process, linked to motivation, psychological needs, meaningful interaction, and feedback about performance and emotional states.

How does the dissertation evaluate the role of VR in engagement?

In the first part, it examines whether engagement changes when considering gameplay and the use of VR separately, measuring behavioral indicators, psychophysiological signals, and emotional self-reports.

What are “systematic Breaks in Presence,” and how do they affect engagement?

The study proposes that systematic Breaks in Presence can reveal how each Presence dimension contributes to engagement under fixed game difficulty, showing stronger effects for breaking physical and self-presence than for social presence.

Aug 26, 2026

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