Virtual reality is redesigning the study of human behavior
What if studying the human mind didn’t have to feel so artificial?
What if, instead of a sterile white room and a keyboard, the lab looked more like a street, a plaza, or a real conversation?
Two studies led by neuroscientist Jon Andoni Duñabeitia suggest that this future is already here: virtual reality is reshaping how we investigate the brain.
Researchers at the Nebrija Research Center in Cognition (CINC), at Nebrija University, have shown that classic tasks used to assess cognitive functions—such as word recognition and inhibitory control—can be effectively adapted to virtual reality environments without compromising scientific validity.
The studies, published in Scientific Reports (Nature Group) and Behavioral Sciences, replicate well-established effects from experimental psychology using immersive settings that more closely resemble everyday life.
Language in Immersive Environments
In the first study, titled Transforming language research from classic desktops to virtual environments, the research team examined language processing by comparing participants’ performance in a lexical decision task—distinguishing real words from pseudowords—across two conditions: a traditional computer monitor and virtual reality headsets.
Key variables such as viewing angle, exposure time, and response method (via controllers) were held constant.
Results showed that participants identified real words faster and more accurately than pseudowords in both conditions.
No significant differences were found between the formats, confirming that virtual reality can reproduce robust cognitive patterns observed over decades of laboratory research.
Assessing Executive Functions
The second study, Assessing Inhibitory Control in the Real World Is Virtually Possible, focused on inhibitory control—a key executive function that enables individuals to ignore irrelevant information and manage conflicting stimuli.
To explore this, researchers adapted two classic tasks (the Simon Task and the Flanker Task) to a virtual urban environment populated with human-like avatars.
Once again, the expected cognitive patterns emerged: participants responded more slowly to incongruent stimuli and more efficiently to congruent ones.
Duñabeitia explains:
“The fact that we can reproduce classic effects with human-like avatars—effects that have traditionally relied on abstract stimuli—demonstrates two important things. First, these cognitive effects are so robust that they persist beyond the confines of the lab. And second, we can humanize experimental sessions and design studies that are more aligned with real-life stimuli.”
A Shift in Psychological Research
Together, these studies suggest a potential paradigm shift in experimental psychology. Virtual reality enables researchers to uphold methodological rigor while embracing environments that more accurately reflect everyday experiences. This significantly broadens the scope for studying the mind in action, in interaction, and in context.
According to Duñabeitia:
“Virtual reality has the potential to transform cognitive research beyond its applications in entertainment, offering controlled yet realistic environments. For instance, in studying loneliness and social isolation, VR can simulate social interactions to examine their cognitive impact. Likewise, for individuals with limited mobility, it provides the opportunity to assess cognitive processes without the physical constraints of traditional labs.”
These findings highlight the value of immersive technology as a powerful ally to science—not only for its technical capabilities, but for its potential to bring psychological research closer to real life without sacrificing experimental control.
It’s a way of giving the lab a more human face.
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