Objectives: This study proposes an alternative hypothetical scenario method capitalizing on the potential of virtual reality (VR). Rather than asking participants to imagine themselves in a specific situation, VR perceptually immerses them in it. We hypothesized that experiencing a scenario in VR would increase feelings of being “present” in the situation, and add to perceived realism compared to the written equivalent. This, in turn, was expected to trigger stronger emotional experiences influencing subsequent behavioral intentions. Methods: In an experiment, participants (N = 153), visitors of a large music festival, either read a “bar fight” scenario or experienced the scenario in VR. Following the scenario, they were presented a series of questions including intention to aggress, perceived risk, anticipated shame/guilt, presence, perceived realism, and anger. Analyses were conducted using analysis of variance, stepwise regression, and mediation analysis using nonparametric bootstrapping. Results: In line with expectations, the results indicate significant differences between conditions with the VR scenario triggering stronger presence, higher realism, and higher intention to aggress. Importantly, presence and anger mediated the relation between condition and intention to aggress. Conclusions: We show that the VR scenario method may provide benefits over written scenarios for the study of criminal decision-making. Implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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虚拟现实场景方法：从犯罪想象到沉浸式犯罪决策研究

目标：本研究提出了一种利用虚拟现实（VR）潜力的替代假设情景方法。虚拟现实并没有让参与者想象自己在特定情况下的想象，而是将他们沉浸在其中。我们假设体验VR场景会增加在场景中“呈现”的感觉，并且与书面形式相比会增加感知到的真实感。反过来，这有望触发更强的情感体验，从而影响随后的行为意图。方法：在一个实验中，参加者（N = 153），大型音乐节的访客都阅读了“酒吧打架”场景或体验了VR中的场景。根据场景，向他们提出了一系列问题，包括攻击意图，感知到的风险，预期的耻辱/内gui，存在，感知到的现实主义和愤怒。使用方差分析，逐步回归和使用非参数自举的中介分析进行分析。结果：符合预期，结果表明条件之间存在显着差异，VR场景会触发更强的存在感，更高的真实感和更高的侵略意图。重要的是，存在和愤怒介导了条件与攻击意图之间的关系。结论：我们表明，虚拟现实情境方法可以比书面情境为犯罪决策研究提供更多的好处。讨论了含义。结果表明，在不同条件下，VR场景会触发更强的存在感，更高的真实感和更高的侵略意图。重要的是，存在和愤怒介导了条件与攻击意图之间的关系。结论：我们表明，虚拟现实情境方法可以比书面情境为犯罪决策研究提供更多的好处。讨论了含义。结果表明，在不同条件下，VR场景会触发更强的存在感，更高的真实感和更高的侵略意图。重要的是，存在和愤怒介导了条件与攻击意图之间的关系。结论：我们表明，虚拟现实情境方法可以比书面情境为犯罪决策研究提供更多的好处。讨论了含义。