Kristina Suhr presented this talk at UploadVR on Nov 29, 2016 in SF, CA. Kristina Suhr Olsen is a masters student and researcher in the areas of psychology. Previously she has worked with adults and youth and their families struggling with alcohol, narcotic, and sexual addiction. She has also spent time as a psychological counselor improving health and mental conditions for those dealing with stress at companies in Denmark. She was a volunteer group leader for an association of people diagnosed with anxiety disorders, offering treatment and prevention and activities. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Copenhagen and is presently serving as VP of Research and Development with SpiritualVR in San Francisco, CA.

1. Psychology in Virtual Reality
How Virtual Reality Affects Perceptions and Behavior

3. Would you change
behavior?
Would your attitudes
be affected?
Could you perform
some tasks better?
P R E S E N T A T I O N
T E M P L A T E

5. West-African Djembe hand drum
Male casually dressed
dark- skinned body
‘White hands’ baseline
condition
Male light- skinned body
wearing a formal suit

6. Results showed
Participants with the dark hands
played the drums better because they
perceived themselves as more skilled
in that body.

7. The basic technique and methodology could
be applied to any situation

8. Experiments to Understand People’s Real Life Behavior
• Experimental control
• Precise measurement
• Ease of replication
• High ecological validility
Jeremy Bailenson’s (Founder of Stanford Virtual Human Interaction
Lab) poses 4 reasons to do studies in VR
• Dangerous
• Expensive
• Impossible
• Counterproductive

9. • PTSD
• Anxiety disorders
• Phobias
• Stress
• Addictions
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Depression
• Mild cognitive impairment
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Etc.
Virtual Reality – Psychological Treatments

10. The mission I want psychology to have, in
addition to its mission of curing the
mentally ill, and in addition to its mission of
making miserable people less miserable, is
can psychology actually make people
happier?
MARTIN SELLINGMAN
Psychologist who are part of the Positive psychology movement

11. Psychological well-being
Positive Technology:
Levels of positive human
functioning using ICT’s tools
and Positive Psychology
goals

12. We have always created
fantasy universes and
alternative realities with
our imagination, but with
VR we can make them:
• Visible,
• Sharable,
• Immersive, and
• Sometimes touchable
Can create everything and anything in virtual reality

13. Using Superpower in Virtual Reality to Encourage Prosocial Behavior
A study by Robin S. Rosenberg, Shawnee L. Baughman, Jeremy N. Bailenson

14. Behavior Change After Taking Off the Headset

15. Presence is a precondition for emotions to occur at all.
In VR sense of presence is commonly defined as:
“the sense of being in a virtual space that is presented by technological means”
(Slater & Wilbur, 1997; Witmer & Singer, 1998).
Emotions in virtual reality

16. An empathy machine

17. Changing Bodies Changes Minds

18. Reduction in Racial Bias
Peck TC, Seinfeld S, Aglioti SM, Slater M (2013), University of Barcelona

19. VR Can Blur Lines Between
In-Groups and Out-Groups
• An In-group is a social group
commanding a member’s
esteem and loyalty; it is the
one we identify with
• An out-group is a social
group towards which one
feels competition or
opposition
• In-group bias: view our own
group more favorable

20. Use the Power of Technology for Good
Do something ”fun”
Do something ”good for
someone else”

21. Thank You!
Kristina Suhr
kristina@spiritualvr.com