Intercepting real and simulated falling objects: what is the difference?
The use of virtual reality is nowadays common in many studies in the field of human perception and movement control, particularly in interceptive actions. However, the ecological validity of the simulation is often taken for granted without having been formally established. If participants were to perceive the real situation and its virtual equivalent in a different fashion, the generalization of the results obtained in virtual reality to real life would be highly questionable. We tested the ecological validity of virtual reality in this context by comparing the timing of interceptive actions based upon actually falling objects and their simulated counterparts. The results show very limited differences as a function of whether participants were confronted with a real ball or a simulation thereof. And when present, such differences were limited to the first trial only. This result validates the use of virtual reality when studying interceptive actions of accelerated stimuli.
Baurès
Robin
R
Univ Paris-Sud, UPRES EA 4042 Contrôle Moteur et Perception, Orsay F-91405, France. baures@uni-mainz.demailto
Benguigui
Nicolas
N
Amorim
Michel-Ange
MA
Hecht
Heiko
H
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception; D009043:Motor Activity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011601:Psychophysics; D013997:Time Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult