Poster: Effects of Virtual-Agent Gender and Gaze While Waiting in a Confined VR Space

Human gaze behavior has been extensively investigated for many aspects of navigation, yet several phenomena, especially those that emerge in crowded, confined waiting situations, are still not well understood.

Thus, we conducted a VR pilot study in which eight participants stood in a confined- space waiting area with twelve virtual agents whose gender (male/female) and gaze direction (directed/averted) were manipulated. Results show that opposite- gender agents lead participants to maintain larger interpersonal distances (~0.6 m) and increase fixation counts, indicating a gender - driven proxemic effect. In contrast, the agents’ gaze direction produced inconclusive changes in comfort or social-presence ratings, suggesting that further research is needed.