Date of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Academic Program

Psychology BS

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Tyler Surber

Second Advisor

Alen Hajnal

Advisor Department

Psychology

Abstract

For an actor to accurately perceive if a gap affords crossing, they must consider environmental constraints, particularly spatial dimensions like gap depth and gap width, and their own physical capabilities, as determined by body/action-scaled information, namely body height and jumping ability. Prior research has examined the gap-crossing affordance across various contexts (real-world, augmented reality, and virtual reality). However, no research has investigated the gap-crossing affordance through performing a standing jump estimation within VR. The present study investigated how depth and width influence the perception of gap-crossing, operationalized as the act of performing a standing jump across a gap within a VR environment. Presented utilizing a Meta Quest Pro VR headset, the virtual environment consisted of an outdoor space with two wooden platforms separated by a gap that was scaled to each participant’s body dimensions. Gap depth was scaled to the participant's eye height, and gap width was scaled to the average maximal distance the participants jumped from a standing position. Thirty participants judged if they could perform a standing jump across the gap based on the depth (80 to 140% of eye height) and width (80 to 140% of maximum jump distance) presented. Data was collected on yes/no responses, accuracy, and response time. We hypothesized that participants would overestimate their jumping ability. This was confirmed by the perceived boundary occurring around a gap width that was 120% of their maximal jump distance. The effect of gap depth on perception was not significant. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed that accuracy was lowest at 120% of maximal jump distance. The Width x Depth interaction was significant, showing that at a gap width corresponding to 120% of maximal jump distance accuracy was highest for a large depth (120% of eye height). It appears that people are more accurate around the action boundary when the gap becomes dangerously large. Gap width and depth significantly affected reaction times, with wider gaps and larger depths causing progressively longer response times. Contrary to past research, response times peaked at widths larger than the action boundary (πd>1). These findings suggest that non-immersive VR environments may reduce the salience of depth cues and dampen emotional and perceptual cues that typically constrain judgments, thus causing participants not to consider any margin of safety. Additional data collection is ongoing for a follow-up study testing the effects of the consequences of perceived actions.

Download

Share

COinS