Virtual reality and spatial cognition: Bridging the epistemic gap between laboratory and real-world insights

Abstract

Immersive virtual reality (VR) carries important potential, both for the creation of scientific knowledge and also for its communication. This is particularly important for studies of human spatial cognition, where psychologists now possess the power to combine the scale and fidelity of the real world with the malleability and control of the laboratory. Accordingly, the application of immersive and motile VR tasks to the study of spatial navigation appears to be the ideal means to bring the real world into the laboratory, and an accessible solution for acquiring more ecologically valid data with which to build our theories. Reports of VR-based studies, however, provide an equivocal picture, and there are circumstances under which our findings might be entirely unaffected by whether participants are freely exploring an immersive virtual world or sat before a computer monitor and navigating using a joystick. This ambiguity has ramifications for the knowledge that we build, as well as the means by which we communicate that knowledge. This paper discusses some of these issues in the context of psychological research, exploring pros and cons in the adoption of immersive VR as an empirical tool, and what it means for the theories we build. An important lesson for scientists and students alike is to reflect upon the utility of a method and to know when it is appropriate for it to be deployed. The study of human navigation can, therefore, provide a useful platform for consideration of how one might critically evaluate the added value of adopting particular digital solutions.