The Role of the Field Dependence-independence Construct on the Flow-performance Link in Virtual Reality

The flow experience-performance link is commonly found weak in virtual environments (VEs). The weak association model (WAM) suggests that distraction caused by disjointed features may be associated with the weak association. People characterized by field independent (FI) or field dependent (FD) cognitive style have different abilities in handling sustained attention, thus they may perform differently in the flow-performance link. To explore the role of the field dependence-independence (FDI) construct on the flow-performance link in virtual reality (VR), we developed a VR experimental environment, based on which two empirical studies were performed. Study 1 revealed FD individuals have higher dispersion degree of fixations and showed a weaker flow-performance link. Next, we provide visual cues that utilize distractors to achieve more task-oriented attention. Study 2 found it helps strengthen the task performance, as well as the flow-performance link of FD individuals without increasing distraction. This paper helps draw conclusions on the effects of human diversity on the flow-performance link in VEs and found ways to design a VR system according to individual characteristics.