Sexual presence: Toward a model inspired by evolutionary psychology

Presence is a phenomenon widely studied by different scientific disciplines. It can be defined as the feeling of being immersed in a reality generated by a range of simulation and immersive technologies, like virtual reality (VR) and related technologies. In this paper we explore a particular variety of this feeling, namely sexual presence, using evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework. We translate differences between women and men in sexual imagery and in sexual behaviour into a sexual presence model, introducing proto, core and extended sexual presence as conceptual layers explaining presence. Our aim is to give an evolutionary interpretation of sexual presence, in light of recent findings, and to provide some new ideas for future studies. •We propose a new model of the concept of presence.•Sexual presence is an evolutionary phenomenon, different for men and women.•The presence feeling arises from an adequate combination of form and content.•Sexual presence is important in the study of behaviour through new virtual reality.•We report a model to induce the highest level of presence in controlled situations.