Sharing places: testing psychological effects of location cueing frequency and explicit vs. inferred closeness

Recent ethnomethodological work in context and location awareness has indicated that location cues hold many socially meaningful cues for interaction. Location-aware technologies are therefore expected to bring about a shift in social life. Yet little is known about underlying psychological effects and the role of specific design decisions. The present research aims to experimentally test some of these effects. In a laboratory experiment participants' location in a virtual game world was shared. The effects of location Cueing frequency and Cueing mode (explicit or inferred closeness) on affinity, social presence, awareness, and game experience were explored. Higher cue frequencies resulted in higher perceived challenge and flow experienced in the game. The data also showed trends of heightened awareness and more behavioural engagement. A trend towards more psychological involvement was found when cues explicitly communicated that players shared a location in the game.

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