Researchers from the BRC’s Psychological Treatments Theme have contributed to a recent article on the programming characteristics of VR characters and their interpretations by people with paranoia.

Paranoia, when a person perceives hostile intent where there is none, is prevalent in the general population. VR is being used increasingly as a tool to study and treat paranoia, as previous studies have shown that people who mistakenly perceive hostile intent from others also perceive a similar threat from virtual characters.

The article, published recently in Scientific Journals, “A randomised controlled test in virtual reality of the effects on paranoid thoughts of virtual humans’ facial animation and expression” explains the research into how detailed programming the faces of VR characters affects experiences of paranoia in the study participants.