# Current Perceptions of Virtual Reality Technology
## 1 Introduction
### Acceptance Models for Behaviour  
The ambition to integrate VR and related technologies, such as augmented and mixed reality, into daily life depends not just on the creation of high-quality hardware and experiences but also on the successful adoption of the technology by the intended users. Here we discuss models that aim to predict such behaviour. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) [67] was developed to understand the relationship between an individual's attitude toward a certain behaviour, their behavioural intentions, and their actions, and can be applied to the use of technology such as VR. While the separation of behavioural intentions from actually carrying out behaviour is important in this model, it proposes that the intention to engage in a specified behaviour is the best predictor of whether it actually occurs. These behavioural intentions are influenced by both societal norms and the person's own attitudes, as illustrated in Figure 1a. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) [68] was developed from the TRA as a model of how people accept and use technology. It proposes that the perceived usefulness and ease of use of a technology are the two most important predictors of whether it will be used (Figure 1b). _Perceived usefulness_ is defined as how much the individual believes that using the piece of technology would enhance their performance, and _perceived ease of use_ is the amount the individual thinks that using the technology would be effortless. A meta-analysis of applications of the TAM found perceived usefulness to be the strongest predictor of intention to use [69]. Despite the success of the TAM [70; 71; 72; 73; 74; 75], it has been argued that such acceptance models may lack some important variables or are not fully applicable in all circumstances [76]. For example, the extent to which an individual is actually able to engage in a behaviour due to resources and opportunities is not taken into consideration in either the TAM or the TRA. In particular, for technology with a significant financial cost, the perceived ability to accommodate this cost should be considered. Thus, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) [77] may serve as a more comprehensive theory than the TAM, which is shown in Figure 1c. This is an extension of TRA with many of the same predictors, such as attitude,norms, and intention. Critically, however, perceived control over one's behaviour is added to the model. The Virtual Reality Hardware Acceptance Model (VR-HAM, Figure 2) is an adaptation of the TAM developed specifically for VR [78]. This model adds the extra objective variables of age and price, as well as the subjective variables of curiosity, usefulness, enjoyment, and ease of use. In this model, perceived enjoyment was found to be the most powerful predictor of the acceptance of VR, consistent with research implementing this model in the case of handheld devices [71]. Similarly, other variations of the TAM have been used to predict uptake. In a survey of 350 participants, a modified TAM was used with the goal of understanding the acceptance of VR in South Korea [79]. Perceived enjoyment, social interactions, and the strength of social ties were added to the model; the findings showed that social interactions and the strength of social ties increased perceived enjoyment. Further to this, perceived enjoyment had a more significant effect on intention to use than did perceived usefulness. This is an important point of difference from the TAM, for which perceived usefulness is the main predictor of adoption and perceived enjoyment is not considered. Further modifications of the original TAM include perceived cost as an additional factor and have also been applied to understand the intentions of participants with prior experience with VR and/or an expressed interest in using the technology [80]. In this  
Figure 1: Acceptance models for behaviour: (**a**) The Theory of Reasoned Action [67]; (**b**) The Technology Acceptance Model [68]; (**c**) The Theory of Planned Behaviour [77].