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Immersive Technology and the Virtual Sport Spectator Experience
Book chapter

Immersive Technology and the Virtual Sport Spectator Experience

Luke R. Potwarka, Peter A. Hall, Chad Goebert and Hasan Ayaz
The Routledge Handbook of Digital Sport Management, pp 232-244
11 Oct 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003088899-20

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is two-fold. First, a discussion is initiated with readers about new and innovative ways that sport spectators are experiencing live sport events. To this end, particular attention will be focused on discussing increasing trends toward spectators' use of immersive technologies (i.e., virtual reality, augmented reality, and virtual fandom) to engage with elite sport event stimuli. Second, the chapter will build the case for the promising role of translational neuroscience in understanding the cognitive and affective nature of these immersive experiences. As part of this discussion, the chapter will highlight specific functional neuroimaging imaging methods available to sport researchers, including electroencephalography (EEG); functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS); and functional magnetic resonance (fMRI), as well as eye-tracking technology. This chapter takes the position that employing neuroimaging methods can transform our knowledge and understanding of virtual experiences beyond what can be gleaned solely from traditional self-report experiential measures, which have dominated research in live sport spectating contexts (Funk & James, 2001; Madrigal, 2006). Indeed, this chapter has important insights for sport researchers wishing to better understand the current shift toward virtual sport spectatorship and emerging social neuroscience methods for understanding these experiences.

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