The mixed reality experience questionnaire: Time, space, and sociality in hybrid everyday life

Context and relevance. The cyber-physical environment of mixed reality is becoming an integral part of everyday life amid accelerating digitalization, which calls for both theoretical understanding of this experience and the development of psychological tools to assess it. Objective: to develop and pilot a questionnaire measuring the experience of mixed reality (MREQ). Hypothesis. Social presence is expected to be a positive predictor of life satisfaction in mixed reality. It is also hypothesized that the questionnaire scales can be used to identify profiles of individual adaptation to mixed reality. Methods and materials. The study involved 1,841 people aged 14—39 (61% women). To test convergent and discriminant validity, the following methods were used: the question “What world do I live in?”, the DDLSM-2 Scale, the MAAS Scale, the Questionnaire of the Expression of the Level and Direction of Reflection, the Subjective Happiness Scale and the Life Satisfaction Scale. Results. The structure of the questionnaire was confirmed through CFA and EFA and comprises three scales: temporal perception distortion, spatial integration, and social presence. The scales demonstrate distinct functional roles: temporal distortion and spatial integration are associated with difficulties in integrating the mixed reality experience and contribute negatively to overall happiness and the integrity of the technologically extended self, whereas social presence serves as an adaptive resource and is positively related to life satisfaction. Conclusions. The questionnaire assessing the experience of mixed reality is a reliable and valid instrument. Based on the combined analysis of questionnaire scale scores and individuals’ subjective perception of their place in the world, three types of adaptation to mixed reality were identified: integrated (adapted), avoidant (conditionally adapted), and absorbed (maladapted), differing in levels of social presence and the intensity of disorienting experiences related to temporal distortion and spatial integration.

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