Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study
Summary: Virtual reality’s (VR) ability to create convincing illusions of presence makes it a powerful media for therapeutic and prosocial applications. Correspondingly, it also presents ethical challenges as the line between the real and virtual blurs, the focus of our study. Forty-nine participant...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009162 |
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| author | Michael Wiesing Gemma Comadran Mel Slater |
| author_facet | Michael Wiesing Gemma Comadran Mel Slater |
| author_sort | Michael Wiesing |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Virtual reality’s (VR) ability to create convincing illusions of presence makes it a powerful media for therapeutic and prosocial applications. Correspondingly, it also presents ethical challenges as the line between the real and virtual blurs, the focus of our study. Forty-nine participants interacted with a virtual experimenter that invited participants to sit on a chair, with 20% doing so without checking for a real chair. The virtual experimenter had also placed a tablet in a drawer, and a week later, in the corresponding real room, 45% of participants expected a tablet to be in the same place. Additionally, implicit attitudes were influenced based on subtle differences in wording of interview questions asked by the virtual experimenter. A Bayesian analysis supported these findings. Hence, participants may take virtual objects as real, risking their safety, or may inappropriately apply observations in VR to real-life problem solving, resulting in vulnerability to deception. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-450ff7b4efe04caab46aae5e1925cef8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-450ff7b4efe04caab46aae5e1925cef82025-08-20T02:32:31ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-06-0128611265510.1016/j.isci.2025.112655Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental studyMichael Wiesing0Gemma Comadran1Mel Slater2Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainEvent Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, SpainEvent Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CorrespondenceSummary: Virtual reality’s (VR) ability to create convincing illusions of presence makes it a powerful media for therapeutic and prosocial applications. Correspondingly, it also presents ethical challenges as the line between the real and virtual blurs, the focus of our study. Forty-nine participants interacted with a virtual experimenter that invited participants to sit on a chair, with 20% doing so without checking for a real chair. The virtual experimenter had also placed a tablet in a drawer, and a week later, in the corresponding real room, 45% of participants expected a tablet to be in the same place. Additionally, implicit attitudes were influenced based on subtle differences in wording of interview questions asked by the virtual experimenter. A Bayesian analysis supported these findings. Hence, participants may take virtual objects as real, risking their safety, or may inappropriately apply observations in VR to real-life problem solving, resulting in vulnerability to deception.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009162Psychology |
| spellingShingle | Michael Wiesing Gemma Comadran Mel Slater Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study iScience Psychology |
| title | Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study |
| title_full | Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study |
| title_fullStr | Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study |
| title_short | Confusing virtual reality with reality – An experimental study |
| title_sort | confusing virtual reality with reality an experimental study |
| topic | Psychology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225009162 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelwiesing confusingvirtualrealitywithrealityanexperimentalstudy AT gemmacomadran confusingvirtualrealitywithrealityanexperimentalstudy AT melslater confusingvirtualrealitywithrealityanexperimentalstudy |