Does virtual reality help to cut the Gordian knot between ecological validity and experimental control?

ABSTRACT

The proliferation of Virtual Reality (VR) over the past decades has introduced a tool to research that holds the promise of providing a means to overcoming drawbacks of traditional experimental and assessment methods in social sciences. By stimulating multiple sensory channels and displaying dynamic contexts, it fosters responses comparable to real-life responses whilst maintaining experimental rigor and standardization. This paper discusses advantages of VR over traditional paradigms and debunks the underlying mechanisms which account for true-to-life reactions to virtual environments In contrast to virtual environments devoid of social cues, implementing social interactions in experiments, poses a demanding challenge. Therefore, we introduce a novel process model as an explanation for participants’ different reactions to virtual entities depending on their agency.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecological validity
• experimental control
• virtual reality
• social presence
• agency

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the paper was written in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.