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. 2023 Feb;65(1):107-124.
doi: 10.1177/00187208211008687. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

The Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ): Estimating Individual Susceptibility to Motion Sickness-Like Symptoms When Using Visual Devices

Behrang Keshavarz  1   2 , Brandy Murovec  1   2 , Niroshica Mohanathas  1   3 , John F Golding  4
Affiliations

The Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ): Estimating Individual Susceptibility to Motion Sickness-Like Symptoms When Using Visual Devices

Behrang Keshavarz et al. Hum Factors. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: Two studies were conducted to develop and validate a questionnaire to estimate individual susceptibility to visually induced motion sickness (VIMS).

Background: VIMS is a common side-effect when watching dynamic visual content from various sources, such as virtual reality, movie theaters, or smartphones. A reliable questionnaire predicting individual susceptibility to VIMS is currently missing. The aim was to fill this gap by introducing the Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire (VIMSSQ).

Methods: A survey and an experimental study were conducted. Survey: The VIMSSQ investigated the frequency of nausea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, and eyestrain when using different visual devices. Data were collected from a survey of 322 participants for the VIMSSQ and other related phenomena such as migraine. Experimental study: 23 participants were exposed to a VIMS-inducing visual stimulus. Participants filled out the VIMSSQ together with other questionnaires and rated their level of VIMS using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ).

Results: Survey: The most prominent symptom when using visual devices was eyestrain, and females reported more VIMS than males. A one-factor solution with good scale reliability was found for the VIMSSQ. Experimental study: Regression analyses suggested that the VIMSSQ can be useful in predicting VIMS (R2 = .34) as measured by the SSQ, particularly when combined with questions pertaining to the tendency to avoid visual displays and experience syncope (R2 = .59).

Conclusion: We generated normative data for the VIMSSQ and demonstrated its validity.

Application: The VIMSSQ can become a valuable tool to estimate one's susceptibility to VIMS based on self-reports.

Keywords: cybersickness; migraine; sex; simulator sickness; virtual reality.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scoring procedure for the VIMSSQ subscales (upper panel) and the VIMSSQ total score (lower panel). Note. Refer to the text for a detailed description of the scoring procedure. VIMSSQ = Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participants’ age distribution separated by sex.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relative frequency of device usage (in percent) for females (top panel), males (center panel), and for both combined (bottom panel). Note. VR = virtual reality.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative frequency of reported symptoms for each of the visual devices averaged across sex. Note. Participants who never have used a particular visual device were removed to enhance comparability across devices, resulting in different sample sizes for TV (n = 309), smartphone (n = 293), tablet (n = 272), 2D movies (n = 310), 3D movies (n = 288), IMAX theatre (n = 256), video games (n = 252), simulator moving (n = 189), simulator stationary (n = 298), VR (n = 119), and commercial displays (n = 262). VR = virtual reality.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean scores for the VIMSSQ subscales nausea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, and eyestrain averaged across visual devices and separated by sex. Note. Error bars represent SD. Single dots represent individual scores for each participant. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .01. VIMSSQ = Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Picture of the experimental setup showing the visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Scatterplot displaying the relationship between the SSQ total score and the VIMSSQ total score (multiple R2 = .354). Note. SSQ = Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire; VIMSSQ = Visually Induced Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire.
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