Fiza Arshad

Have you ever been so absorbed in a game that you lost track of time? Maybe it was the flashing lights, the pulsing music, the satisfying “ding” of a win. And when it over and done with, you were surprised to find yourself back in your body. This feeling of being immersed is not just fun – it’s powerful.

I’ve spent the last few years studying immersion and multisensory cues for my PhD in cognitive neuroscience, focusing on one big question: How do audiovisual cues – like sounds and visuals – shape our experience during immersion. I want to understand what type of cue intensity pulls people in and keeps them there.

Why It Matters?

Because immersion influences how much fun the activity we are immersed in is. It decides how long we stay engaged, perhaps even how we remember the experience. In some contexts – like education, competitive sports, or therapy – immersion can be a good thing. But in others, like gambling, it could be harmful.

Slot machines, for example, are designed to captivate. They don’t just rely on random outcomes. They’re packed with multisensory cues – bells, celebratory animations, flashing lights – that reward your brain even when your wallet takes a hit.

What I Found?

In my recent paper, I examined if audiovisual cue intensity predicts immersion. The regression models I ran found that high-intensity cue condition predicted 41 percent greater immersion in men relative to women in the moderate-intensity cue condition.

Follow-up analyses revealed this interaction was driven by women who self-reported greater immersion scores in the moderate-intensity playing condition when compared to women who played the simulation under the low or high intensity conditions .

Greater psychological distress and problem gambling severity also predicted higher immersion. And once immersed, people behaved differently. They watched certain parts of the game more, responded faster (or slower), and sometimes lost track of what was happening around them.

In other words, immersion isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a measurable, fluid, powerful psychological state that is shaped by the game, the person, the environment, and their interactions.

So What?

As we spend more time chasing digital environments – whether that’s gaming, learning, or just scrolling – understanding what draws us in (and keeps us there) is more important than ever. And as users, we can start asking better questions, too: Am I in control, or am I just responding to cues? That’s the story I’ve been chasing through my PhD – one light, sound, and spin at a time.

Note: This post was written with the help of generative AI. Feature image generated using AI.