Explorations in Virtual Reality: Absorption, Cognition and Altered State of Consciousness

In this exploratory study, we investigated whether Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to be a research tool for studying consciousness and cognition. We took into consideration both individual differences in absorption (leading to varying degrees of interaction and experience in VR), and the specific cognitive set with which the participant enters the VR (instructions emphasizing either introspective sensitization or metaphoric-symbolic cognition). High absorption was found to predispose subjects to experience an altered state of consciousness. Furthermore, this susceptibility was moderated by the cognitive set employed. Unfortunately, the particular VR game was rather violent, and tended to make our subjects “turn off” the focus on their own subjective experience. We speculate regarding future developments in this domain.