Does Height Really Matter?: Perception in Virtual Reality

Does Height Really Matter?: Perception in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality research is a novel area in psychology. Previous research demonstrates that modifications can be made to increase the perceived weight of virtual objects in a virtual reality (VR) simulation (Rietzler et Al., 2018). However, most research fails to address the relationship between perceived weight in-game and the characteristics of the user's avatar - their in-game self. The purpose of this research is to discover if manipulating in-game avatar height impacts the participant's perceived strength. Using PlayStation VR, participants are placed into a virtual environment as a tall or short first-person avatar. They are then asked to compare the weight of in-game objects with weighted bottles in the lab. We predict that users with tall in-game avatars will have higher perceived strength, and will rate virtual objects as being similar in weight to lighter objects in the lab.