Virtual Reality allows researchers to create much more realistic and natural settings for our research. For example, we could create a realistic representation of the inside of an aircraft to help those with flying phobias. Virtual Reality also gives us complete control over what participants can see. Objects can be made to appear, move and disappear. One of the ways we use Virtual Reality is to study how people perceive space and time. We explore how people perceive and talk about objects by varying where and when the objects appear. Researchers have access to an Optitrack Motive: 12 camera motion tracker S250e system with NVIS ST50 head-mounted display’s (with Arrington eye-tracking).
Griffiths, D., Bester, A., & Coventry, K.R. (2019). Space trumps time when talking about objects. Cognitive Science, 43, e12719.