The Role of the Field Dependence-Independence Construct on the Curvature Gain of Redirected Walking Technology in Virtual Reality

Redirected walking (RDW) enables users to physically stay inside a limited area while moving in large-scale virtual environments by purposefully introducing scene motions. Utilizing the curvature gain could improve the effectiveness of redirection. User’s thresholds of curvature gain may be influenced by field dependence-independence (FDI) cognitive style and gender. In order to conduct a more thorough investigation of how FDI structure and gender affect thresholds of curvature gain, we have created three different virtual reality (VR) experimental scenes, evaluated thresholds of curvature gain using the psychophysical “limit method”, and conducted correlational and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results reveal a significant association between FDI structure and the threshold of curvature gain, with gender acting as a moderator in this relationship in complex scene. These findings provide valuable insights for the personalized design of RDW systems.