My research investigates how humans engage with immersive and interactive technologies, examining the psychological, communicative, and design principles that shape our experiences in virtual environments. I integrate theories and methods from multiple disciplines to understand how virtual experiences support creative expression, emotional regulation, and psychological well-being. Through rigorous mixed-methods research combining surveys, interviews, computational analysis, and experiments, I explore how individual mental models and cultural contexts influence how we create, share, and benefit from interactive digital experiences. A key focus is on the affordances of these technologies for emotional engagement and creative expression, which became particularly salient during the COVID-19 pandemic as many turned to virtual environments in response to feelings of precarity, powerlessness, or isolation.
In parallel, I research how the design and construction of immersive virtual environments impact users’ emotional experiences. I have developed a novel theoretical framework expanding the current understanding of sensory processing in immersive media to incorporate individual mental models, stimulus factors, and cultural context. This allows designers to make pragmatic, psychologically informed decisions about evoking emotions in users without disrupting immersion. Through a series of experiments using custom virtual environments, I test and refine this model. My interdisciplinary approach, bridging rhetoric, computational expression, and psychological engagement, aligns with initiatives integrating creative and technical aspects of XR. Building on my established work, I see significant opportunities to advance our understanding of how immersive technologies can enhance human capabilities through AI-driven analysis of user experience and expression while ensuring this remains grounded in empirical research and human-centred design principles.
Selected Projects
