Creating sense of presence in a virtual reality experience: Impact on neurophysiological arousal and attitude towards a winter sport

•Cognitive involvement increased sense of presence in a virtual reality experience.•Increase in sense of presence positively affected neurophysiological arousal.•Increase in sense of presence positively affected attitude towards sport.The authors of this study examined the impact of sense of presence on affective responses to a virtual reality experience and attitude towards a winter sport—luge. An experiment was implemented to compare virtual reality experience environments where a sense of presence was stimulated to the experimental group. Electroencephalogram was used to measure emotional arousal and self-report measures were used to assess attitudes. The experimental group with higher sense of presence showed higher arousal and attitude towards luge. While most of the literature of virtual reality has focused on creating a high-fidelity virtual environment, results of this study highlight the importance of creating an immersive environment in the physical space where a person experiences virtual reality. The authors further discuss the implications to scholars and managers.