Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments

Abstract Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel opportunities for investigating human perception beyond conventional laboratory settings, facilitating the study of naturalistic behavior with controlled virtual environments. To benefit from this technology, the foundational aspects must be compared to tra...

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Main Authors: Francisco Rocabado, Laís Muntini, Omar Fahmi Jubran, Thomas Lachmann, Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08319-1
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author Francisco Rocabado
Laís Muntini
Omar Fahmi Jubran
Thomas Lachmann
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
author_facet Francisco Rocabado
Laís Muntini
Omar Fahmi Jubran
Thomas Lachmann
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
author_sort Francisco Rocabado
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel opportunities for investigating human perception beyond conventional laboratory settings, facilitating the study of naturalistic behavior with controlled virtual environments. To benefit from this technology, the foundational aspects must be compared to traditional personal computer (PC) monitor setups. The validity and reliability of stimuli presentation and response collection must be established to ensure that any findings can be attributed to experimental variables, not the method. To address this, we designed a single-word recognition (lexical decision) task administered in both VR and PC monitor setups. Stimulus presentation was controlled across tasks, visual angles were matched, and responses were gathered via VR controllers in both settings. Results replicated the lexicality effect (i.e., faster word than pseudoword reading) in both setups. Reaction times and error rates showed no significant differences between VR and PC monitor setups, underscoring VR’s utility for collecting reliable behavioral data in language studies. These results demonstrate that VR-derived mental chronometry measures yield findings comparable to conventional methods, establishing a benchmark for future immersive research.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
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publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-99d14bd2633a40b7976f44d762120ecd2025-08-20T03:45:27ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-011511810.1038/s41598-025-08319-1Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environmentsFrancisco Rocabado0Laís Muntini1Omar Fahmi Jubran2Thomas Lachmann3Jon Andoni Duñabeitia4Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad NebrijaCentro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad NebrijaCenter for Cognitive Science, RPTU KaiserslauternCentro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad NebrijaCentro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad NebrijaAbstract Virtual Reality (VR) offers novel opportunities for investigating human perception beyond conventional laboratory settings, facilitating the study of naturalistic behavior with controlled virtual environments. To benefit from this technology, the foundational aspects must be compared to traditional personal computer (PC) monitor setups. The validity and reliability of stimuli presentation and response collection must be established to ensure that any findings can be attributed to experimental variables, not the method. To address this, we designed a single-word recognition (lexical decision) task administered in both VR and PC monitor setups. Stimulus presentation was controlled across tasks, visual angles were matched, and responses were gathered via VR controllers in both settings. Results replicated the lexicality effect (i.e., faster word than pseudoword reading) in both setups. Reaction times and error rates showed no significant differences between VR and PC monitor setups, underscoring VR’s utility for collecting reliable behavioral data in language studies. These results demonstrate that VR-derived mental chronometry measures yield findings comparable to conventional methods, establishing a benchmark for future immersive research.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08319-1
spellingShingle Francisco Rocabado
Laís Muntini
Omar Fahmi Jubran
Thomas Lachmann
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
Scientific Reports
title Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
title_full Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
title_fullStr Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
title_full_unstemmed Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
title_short Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
title_sort transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08319-1
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AT thomaslachmann transforminglanguageresearchfromclassicdesktopstovirtualenvironments
AT jonandonidunabeitia transforminglanguageresearchfromclassicdesktopstovirtualenvironments