Psychology in Virtual RealityHow Virtual Reality Affects Perceptions and Behavior

Would you change behavior?

Would your attitudes be affected?

Could you perform some tasks better?

P R E S E N T A T I O NT E M P L A T E

West-African Djembe hand drum

Male casually dressed dark- skinned body

‘White hands’ baseline condition

Male light- skinned body wearing a formal suit

Results showedParticipants with the dark hands played the drums better because they perceived themselves as more skilled in that body.

The basic technique and methodology could be applied to any situation

Experiments to Understand People’s Real Life Behavior• Experimental control• Precise measurement• Ease of replication• High ecological validility

Jeremy Bailenson’s (Founder of Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab) poses 4 reasons to do studies in VR• Dangerous• Expensive• Impossible• Counterproductive

• PTSD

• Anxiety disorders

• Phobias

• Stress

• Addictions

• Obsessive compulsive disorder

• Depression

• Mild cognitive impairment

• Autism spectrum disorder

• Etc.

Virtual Reality – Psychological Treatments

The mission I want psychology to have, in

addition to its mission of curing the

mentally ill, and in addition to its mission of

making miserable people less miserable, is

can psychology actually make people

happier?

MARTIN SELLINGMANPsychologist who are part of the Positive psychology movement

Psychological well-being

Positive Technology:Levels of positive humanfunctioning using ICT’s toolsand Positive Psychologygoals

We have always created fantasy universes and alternative realities with our imagination, but with VR we can make them:

• Visible,• Sharable,• Immersive, and • Sometimes touchable

Can create everything and anything in virtual reality

Using Superpower in Virtual Reality to Encourage Prosocial BehaviorA study by Robin S. Rosenberg, Shawnee L. Baughman, Jeremy N. Bailenson

Behavior Change After Taking Off the Headset

Presence is a precondition for emotions to occur at all. In VR sense of presence is commonly defined as:

“the sense of being in a virtual space that is presented by technological means”(Slater & Wilbur, 1997; Witmer & Singer, 1998).

Emotions in virtual reality

An empathy machine

Changing Bodies Changes Minds

Reduction in Racial Bias

Peck TC, Seinfeld S, Aglioti SM, Slater M (2013), University of Barcelona

VR Can Blur Lines Between In-Groups and Out-Groups

• An In-group is a social groupcommanding a member’sesteem and loyalty; it is the one we identify with

• An out-group is a social group towards which onefeels competition or opposition

• In-group bias: view our owngroup more favorable

Use the Power of Technology for Good

Do something ”fun”

Do something ”good for someone else”

Thank You!

Kristina Suhrkristina@spiritualvr.com