Reaction Time as a Proxy for Presence in Mixed Reality with Distraction

Fig. 1: V iew of the virtual scene across three MR conditions: In No Distraction (ND), participants sort images as living or non-living without distractions. In Congruent Distraction (CD), they sort images with virtual distractions. In Incongruent Distraction (ID), they sort images with real-world distractions. Red boxes and arrows label scene elements and are not part of the experiment.

Abstract-Distractions in mixed reality (MR) environments can significantly influence user experience, affecting key factors such as presence, reaction time, cognitive load, and Break in Presence (BIP). Presence measures immersion, reaction time captures user responsiveness, cognitive load reflects mental effort, and BIP represents moments when attention shifts from the virtual to the real world, breaking immersion. While prior work has established that distractions impact these factors individually, the relationship between these constructs remains underexplored, particularly in MR environments where users engage with both real and virtual stimuli. To address this gap, we have presented a theoretical model to understand how congruent and incongruent distractions affect all these constructs. We conducted a within-subject study (N = 54) where participants performed image-sorting tasks under different distraction conditions. Our findings show that incongruent distractions significantly increase cognitive load, slow reaction times, and elevate BIP frequency, with presence mediating these effects.