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The widespread use of virtual environments in today’s society leads to the importance of researching how using these virtual environments affect us, as well as how we can best use them. Video games are a very commonly used type of virtual environment/application of virtual environments. Video game research is rife with conflicting results, from studies into training, effects on emotion, to effects on visual attention. Chapter 2 considers the impacts of playing video games on visual attention and shows that the effects depend on the type of attentional process measured, and the video game genres played. Chapter 3 looks at how studies measure video game experience, and suggests a more sophisticated measure, including video game genres and platforms. This chapter also considers to what extent different video game genres are linked to different cognitive skills. Chapter 4 covers research between video game playing, task switching, and impulsivity. Chapter 5 shows that home video game playing (i.e. on home console platforms) affects both implicit memory and explicit memory, but mobile video game playing does not. Recent technological advances allowed the development of a newer form of virtual environment, virtual reality. Virtual reality has become more popular over the last few years in manufacturing and entertainment industries. However, studies into applying virtual reality to educational settings are limited. Chapter 6 presents a study that tests the effects of virtual reality on learning. The results show increased motivation and engagement with learning materials, when xxiv compared to learning with textbook-style or video materials. Chapter 7 compares learning in virtual reality, mixed reality and traditional lecture style modalities, and finds that participants report higher levels of engagement in both Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality conditions, and higher levels of positive emotions in the Virtual Reality condition. Implications for how individuals are affected by both of these types of virtual environments is discussed, including how they can be applied to learning.

There has been a recent development and growth of augmented reality devices across the world. The technology has the potential to enhance a user's perception and experience of the environment which surrounds them. For designers and engineers of 3D displays (e.g. vehicle HUDs) the technology offers an opportunity to form a more enriched and exciting experience for drivers. A key anticipation of AR is the capability to present virtual information at depth, as well as on displays with a wide field of view. Applying psychological theories and models of visual attention (e.g. perceptual load theory) and depth perception (e.g. modified weak fusion), the aim of the study was to establish human abilities with AR advancements in depth and useful field of view (UFOV). Conclusions were applied to the development of psychological theory and helpful design guidelines for AR designers and engineers. This has been done by creating two sets of experimental paradigms. The first set of experiments presented peripheral Landolt C target stimuli on a large display (120o), simultaneously whilst participants controlled a central tracking task (CTT). Over two experiments workload was manipulated on both central and peripheral tasks, including presentation time, contrast, tracking speed, and size. Results indicated that peripheral performance did not decrease as a function eccentricity. Conclusions suggested a demonstration of attentional selection dependent on stimulus parameters, with performance potentially dependent on more temporal characteristics than eccentricity. 'Best-practice' design guidelines are presented for AR HUDs with large display size. The second design paradigm implemented a two-alternative forced-choice psychophysical depth judgment task, assessing thresholds for correctly determining the depth of a virtual diamond in reference to a real-world object. Over a series of experiments a number of parameters were assessed including virtual image height in the visual field, virtual image cue properties (relative size and brightness), and background scene manipulations. Depth thresholds for the AR image were tested with the pedestrian target at 5m, 10m, 20m and 25m. Results demonstrated that depth resolution is poor in augmented reality compared to real-world environments, with conclusions indicating a potential difference in how relative cues of depth interact with each other in AR environments, i.e. in AR cues from virtual imagery and real-world background may not be effectively combined together. Design guidelines regarding where in depth a virtual image needs to be placed to 'match' that of a specific real-world object, and how relative cues to influence depth perception are presented.

This thesis explores the acquisition of spatial knowledge as a means to support wayfinding in virtual environments. Specifically, the thesis presents an investigation into the potential benefits one might gain through the application of a variety of tools, each of which has been designed to support one of the three stages of cognitive map development - landmark-based representation, route-based representation, and survey-based representation (Siegel & White, 1975). Each tool has been evaluated with respect to improvements in wayfinding, and also in their support for environmental learning. Measures were taken of each tool used in isolation, and also when used together as a complete toolset. The between-subjects evaluation process involved 101 participants, randomly assigned to one of five conditions. Each participant was asked to navigate a virtual environment to locate three specific items. To evaluate wayfinding, participants were asked to perform the same task on six occasions within the same session. After discovering all items, a measure indicating route efficiency was recorded. On completing all six trials participants were asked to produce a map of the virtual environment. It was hypothesised that the presence of tools would improve the acquisition of spatial knowledge, and thus route efficiency and map production. Comparing the 'no-tool' and the 'all tool' conditions, a 2x6 repeated measures ANOVA found that when providing the tools concurrently there was a statistically significant improvement in the efficiency of route taken (F(1,38)=4.63, p<0.05). However, when evaluating the tools in isolation, no significant improvement in route efficiency was found. Also, no significant difference between conditions was identified when comparing the quality of maps produced by participants across conditions. The thesis concludes by arguing that the application of the complete toolset benefits wayfinding, although it is noted that the evidence does not support the hypothesis that this is caused by improved spatial learning.