Visual Attention and Virtual Human Facial Animations in Virtual Reality (VR): An Eye-Tracking Study.

We set out to understand the visual attention and perception of virtual humans in individuals vulnerable to paranoia in a VR eye-tracking study. In a factorial between-groups design, 122 individuals with elevated paranoia experienced a virtual lift ride with virtual humans that varied in facial animation (static or animated) and expression (neutral or positive). Facial animation (p = 0.053) led to a significant reduction in co-presence. Positive expressions (p-adj = 0.046) significantly decreased the visual attention to virtual humans when their faces were static. Our results indicate that virtual human programming could influence user perception and visual behaviours for people with mistrust.