User attributes in processing 3D VR-enabled showroom: Gender, visual cognitive styles, and the sense of presence

Virtual environments (VEs) offer unique opportunities enabling users to experience real-time interactive objects and environments. Due to its dynamic three-dimensional (3D) presentation capability on two-dimensional screens, research has addressed the VE in relation to users’ spatial cognitive factors. However, little is known about users’ preferred cognitive modes for processing visual information and factors that affect visual cognitive processing in experiencing VEs. Research on gender differences in human–computer interaction has developed as a subfield approached from an interdisciplinary perspective that encompasses fields such as information science, marketing, neuroscience, and education. This study aims to investigate whether different visual cognitive styles influence the sense of presence (i.e., simulated experience in VEs) and how visual cognitions and presence affect user satisfaction of the 3D integrated system, as well as to uncover empirical evidence of gender influence on those relationships.