This study systematically compares two digital cultural heritage presentation methods, interactive exploration and guided narrative, to examine their effects on user experience, cognitive load, and cultural knowledge acquisition. The study developed a...
This study systematically compares two digital cultural heritage presentation methods, interactive exploration and guided narrative, to examine their effects on user experience, cognitive load, and cultural knowledge acquisition. The study developed a three-stage experimental framework to test these methods. First, a high-fidelity digital model of the Amitayus Buddha Hall in the Potala Palace was created using Unreal Engine 5 to ensure content equivalence. Then, an interactive Web3D platform and a guided AI video were derived from this model as experimental stimuli.
A single-factor between-subjects online experiment was conducted with 130 participants. The study measured and compared group differences across five core dimensions: visual experience, spatial presence, cognitive load, cultural knowledge, and willingness to share. The results showed significant functional differentiation between the two groups. The guided narrative group demonstrated significant advantages in visual experience, cognitive ease, and cultural knowledge comprehension, while the interactive exploration group scored significantly higher on spatial presence and willingness to share.
Structural equation modeling further identified cognitive ease as a partial mediator between presentation paradigm and knowledge acquisition, suggesting that the guided narrative paradigm promotes knowledge comprehension by reducing extraneous cognitive load, while the presentation paradigm also exerts an independent direct effect on knowledge acquisition. These results show that the two paradigms are not simply superior or inferior to one another, but rather exhibit functional differentiation within the digital cultural heritage communication ecosystem. The P2 paradigm, with its low cognitive cost and high affective engagement, is well-suited for reaching a wide audience, emotional resonance, and knowledge dissemination strategies. The P1 paradigm, with its interactive spatial experience, holds distinctive value in application contexts where immersion and spatial presence are primary objectives. This study provides cultural heritage institutions with evidence-based strategies for differentiated digital content design, while offering a rigorous and replicable experimental methodological framework for cross-media comparative research.