Bridging Engagement and Behavioral Performance in Immersive Virtual Reality: The Role of Interaction Design and Cultural Context

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality (VR) integrates both experiential and procedural training like no other technology, providing exceptional opportunities in vocational education. Specifically, in the teaching/learning process, VR incorporates the modeling of real-world environments, powerful interactive 3D graphics, and computer simulation. The impact on the behavior of users is underexplored. The current study attempts to bridge this gap by developing the Integrated Behavioral Evaluation Framework (IBEF). This new framework is built upon the behavioral concepts of immersive systems, User Engagement, behavioral accuracy, procedural competence, and behavioral interpretation. An explanatory quantitative research design was adopted with a sample of 120 vocational education students who had undergone immersive VR-based training in table manners. High User Engagement did not translate into procedural accuracy in execution. Participants’ engagement was impacted more by the procedural setting than the design of the immersive VR-based dining simulation. The results of the current study reaffirm that behavioral execution, especially in culturally moderated scenarios, is impacted by the digital readiness of the user and their behavioral frameworks. The IBEF provides an extended evaluation framework for immersive learning compared to existing frameworks by merging the contextual interpretation of behavioral actions and subjective psychological components. This evaluation framework offers an in-depth understanding of procedural instruction in immersive learning environments. It is of value to educators, instructional designers, and VR developers. The framework proposed may extend beyond hospitality education and assist with the evaluation of immersive learning across other areas of vocational education, healthcare simulation, engineering training, or other fields involving the development of procedural skills. 

Received: 12 June 2026 | Revised: 7 September 2026 | Accepted: 14 October 2026

Conflicts of Interest 

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. 

Data Availability Statement 

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the Zenodo repository at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20663266. 

Author Contribution Statement 

Aditia Gustiana Gunawan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Project administration, Funding acquisition. Rina Rifqie Mariana: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Aji Prasetya Wibawa: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Supervision.  Heru Wahyu Herwanto: Validation, Resources, Writing – review & editing. Moh. Muzayyin Amrulloh: Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Funding acquisition. Dian Julianto Wahyudi: Validation, Resources, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition. Yulias Prihatmoko: Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Funding acquisition.