Creating a social virtual reality application for psychological research: A tutorial.

Abstract

Social virtual reality (VR) setups allow two or more individuals to interact in a shared virtual environment while embodying computerized avatars. Such setups allow for detailed investigations into social-cognitive processes, can extend the functionality of existing single-user VR applications and can be used to design novel educational settings and psychotherapeutic treatments. While researchers may use commercially available social VR applications in addressing a range of research questions, an in-house software solution is typically developed when a research project requires more flexible experimental control or should conform to the highest data security standards. This tutorial demonstrates the construction of a social VR application based on an example software that mimics a VR setup but can be run and explored on an individual computer. Information flow emphasizes transparency to allow researchers to flexibly adapt the software to their own environment and research demands. The software is designed for use in controlled laboratory environments but can be extended for use in field research.