Stanford Experiments in VR Psychology

I've long been an admirer of Jeremy Bailenson's research at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. His team are behind many very interesting projects researching the social psychology of digital human representation. Nick Yee especially has produced some excellent research output. Bailenson's theory of Transformed Social Interaction is providing a great framework from which to explain some of the findings coming from virtual worlds social psychology research. Here is his fast-paced talk from Metaverse U conference 2008.

Forward thinking for augmented realities

Here is an excellent presentation by Mike Liebhold at this 2008 Metaverse U conference that summarises some of the upcoming and existing technology that I think will have significant impact on the way we blend virtual worlds with the real world.



Mike Liebhold provides a glimpse into a near future changed profoundly by augmented reality. This disruptive technology gets us thinking about the impact and challenges we face of the blending of 2D/3D geodata and virtual worlds. Psychologically speaking, dividing the perceived space we navigate across virtual and real worlds may have considerable drain on our ability to differentiate these domains. At some not so distant time in the future will we be able to separate one from the other? How will we come to relate to synthetic lifeforms that navigate this space and will we see digital migration to higher bandwidth virtual/real locations? Mike's talk ponders the challenge of these complex future digital/real environments.

High Resolution Avatars, Objects, and Environments

We have come a long way since Mario. The impact of high-resolution rendered avatars in 3D multi-user virtual worlds is considerable for our sense of real life identity and engagement with synthetic life forms that are increasingly finding their way into our lives. Psychologically our relations with people may be greatly influenced by our virtual interactions with avatars controlled by advance AI or by real people. The significance of these interactions for us is heavily influenced by the sense of immersion or believability in the virtual world. Our sense of immersion in these worlds is critical for the social relationships that develop. High-resolution graphical representations of people are essential to this.

I think this is an important consideration. The implications are profound when we consider certain scenarios, rather than the more common uses of virtual worlds. For example, how would you respond emotionally and socially to an avatar with a photorealistic face of a long dead parent? How would you respond to the site of a photographically and anatomically accurate 3D virtual spouse flirting or arguing with a virtual representation of yourself or another person? The implications are profound for our social identity and future emotional wellbeing. It is inevitable that as graphics processors allow photorealistic avatars to interact with us in virtual worlds in increasingly realistic ways we will react with complex emotional responses. Where are the ethical boundaries to such research and how far will this diss/embodiment take us towards psychological insight?

I will be exploring these issues further from the end of the year. We'll be looking at the psychological impact of photorealistic synthetic avatars and the implications of their use and the attitudes and (social-emotional) attachments that form from them.

The following meeting in Second Life by the people at Media Grid's 'Immersive Education' initiative may be of value if you are interested in the technology behind such questions. (Friday May 9th, 4-5pm EST / 1pm Second Life time)

Further details from http://immersiveeducation.org/events/

Join us in the graphics sphere http://slurl.com/secondlife/research%20center/122/142/651 at Oddfellow Studios to discuss how high resolution graphics will soon transform Immersive Education. Support for high-resolution avatars, objects and environments is a requirement for the next generation (3rd generation) of Immersive Education that is now under development. During this meeting we’ll discuss and see examples of: high resolution avatars; high resolution objects and environments; photo-based modeling technology that enables high resolution avatars to be automatically created from a photograph of your face; current and next generation graphics rendering engines and game engines; open file formats and open art paths that enable “CREATE ONCE, EXPERIENCE EVERYWHERE”.

Children in Virtual Worlds

A one-day London conference will explore the role of children in virtual worlds. The conference run from 10.00am - 5.30pm on Thursday 22nd May 2008 at The University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London.

BBC Children’s and the University of Westminster invite you to the first conference in the UK to draw together producers and researchers working on virtual worlds and immersive gaming environments for children aged 7-11 online.

Keynote speakers include Richard Deverell, Controller, BBC Children's and Dr Adrian Woolard, Head of Innovation, BBC Future Media and Technology. Other speakers include representatives from Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters, Lego Universe, Prof David Gauntlett (University of Westminster), Lizzie Jackson (University of Westminster), Dr Diane Carr (Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media), Marc Goodchild (Head of Interactive and On Demand, BBC Children's), Aleks Krotoski (Guardian Unlimited), Tamara Littleton (eModeration.com) and Paul Massey (K&L Gates). In addition to the panels and presentations there will be demonstrations on virtual worlds and 3D technology.