Virtual reality experiments in economics

Alessandro Innocenti ()

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2017, vol. 69, issue C, 71-77

Abstract: The paper provides a review of research using virtual reality as a laboratory tool in economics. It addresses the question of whether behavior in virtual environmentsis a valuable source of empirical evidence for economists. A typology of virtual reality experiments based on the difference between low-immersive (LIVE) and high-immersive virtual environments (HIVE) is proposed. It is argued that virtual reality experiments are framed field experiments, which allow testing the effect of contextual cues on economic behavior under the strict control of the experimenter. This feature enhances replicability and attenuates the context-free illusion that represents an important limitation of the standard laboratory approach in economics.

Keywords: Virtual reality; Experimental economics; Laboratory methods; Virtual worlds; Immersive environments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B41 C90 C93 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceco:v:69:y:2017:i:c:p:71-77

DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2017.06.001

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