Augmented reality in the health domain: Projecting spatial augmented reality visualizations on a perceiver's body for health communication effects

An experiment is reported that studied the effects of spatial embodiment in augmented reality on medical attitudes about the self. College students (N = 90) viewed public service announcements (PSAs) with overlaid virtual fetuses and X-rayed images of lungs on various interfaces representing embodiment - a two-dimensional screen, a three-dimensional (3D) mannequin, and the participants' bodies (3D). Results indicated that PSA messages with richer embodied interfaces increase the sense of "being there," also known as spatial presence (SP), in sequential order; this leads to increased negative emotion regarding smoking cigarettes and an increased willingness to engage with a cigarette cessation campaign. When the SP mediates the dual model process, only affective attitudes increase the behavioral intention to engage with the campaign.