We propose two models of how a subjectu2019s growing experience in a medium affects presence: The Spin model (based on Spinoza) which predicts that subjects begin as present and then learn to become non-present; and the SoD model (based on Coleridge) which predicts that subjects expend effort to suspend their disbelief during presence. In a longitudinal study, 47 subjects (divided randomly into an attention-focussing and attention-neutral group) were exposed to the same VE over three days, and measured with the ITC-SOPI after the first and final exposures, and then again after a 72 hour delay. The data show the attention-neutral subjects experienced a slight increase in spatial presence, while the attention-focussed subjects showed no change over time. After the delay, the attention-focussing group experiences an increase in spatial presence and the attention-neutral group remains unchanged. We argue that this is, within the limits of the study, evidence for the Spin model. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and measurement implications of the models and results.
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