May I experience more presence in doing the same thing in virtual reality than in reality? An answer from a simulated job interview

► Among several definitions of presence, we considered the sense of immersion in a sociocultural scenario. ► We compared the effects of socio-cultural cues in an immersive virtual and a real world simulation. ► The simulations were related to an anxiety-inducing setting: the job interview. ► Presence and anxiety scores were higher in VR interview than in the real world simulation. ► Presence is a result of a social construction of reality.