Abstract Rapid reactions to stimuli in the visual periphery are crucial in many sports. Previous studies have shown that in the real world (RW) reaction times (RTs) increase with stimulus eccentricity. Virtual reality (VR) is developing into a promising tool for assessing and training reactions to peripheral stimuli in sport-specific scenarios under controllable conditions that would be difficult to implement in RW. However, given physiological differences between natural vision and vision via head-mounted displays, it is essential to determine whether performing tasks in VR results in comparable patterns as observed in RW studies. This study examined RTs to stimuli at varying distances to the display’s center in VR. The test employed a virtual reaction wall consisting of 8 × 8 buttons, one of which illuminated randomly, requiring a rapid virtual touch upon detection. A linear mixed-effects model was used to examine how RTs were affected by the distance from the display center, the horizontal and vertical position of the stimulus on the display, the hand with which the response was made, and a possible learning effect. The results indicate a significant increase in RTs with greater stimulus distance to the display’s center (18.9% per 10° increase), a learning effect (10.1% faster reactions over time), and a minimal influence of other factors. These results are consistent with RW studies, suggesting that VR may be suitable for assessing and training responses to peripheral stimuli in complex scenarios. Future studies should integrate eye tracking to relate head-centered stimulus angles more directly to retinal eccentricity.
Bürger et al. (2026) studied this question.