How immersive environments shape self-perception, social categorization, and identity processes

Virtual reality offers a unique opportunity to investigate how people perceive themselves and others in digitally mediated environments. At the Cyberpsychology Lab, we use immersive virtual reality both as a research tool and as an object of psychological research, examining how embodiment, avatar representation, and virtual environments influence social identity, self-perception, and behavior.

A central line of our research focuses on social categorization in virtual reality. We investigate when avatars are perceived as ingroup members, outgroup members, or simply as individuals, and how cues such as ethnic appearance, stereotypical features, group size, and immersive context contribute to these categorization processes. This work helps clarify the psychological conditions under which virtual interactions become genuinely social and intergroup experiences.

We also develop custom virtual environments to study social identity across different domains. These include immersive scenarios designed to investigate intergroup prejudice, identity processes, and the psychological consequences of embodying different virtual selves. Virtual reality is also used to explore gender identity and social identity, providing controlled yet flexible environments in which participants can experience alternative forms of self-representation and embodiment.

Another important area concerns environmental psychology and sustainability. Through immersive simulations, we study how people psychologically respond to climate change, environmental degradation, and possible future scenarios, examining processes such as psychological distance, identification with nature and future generations, emotional responses, and sustainable behavioral intentions.

Finally, we use realistic VR simulations of workplaces to investigate work self-objectification, examining how different organizational environments and task structures can influence the way people perceive themselves as workers.

By combining experimental social psychology with immersive technology, our research uses virtual reality to study identity and behavior in situations that would be difficult, costly, or impossible to reproduce in conventional laboratory settings.