Virtual environments have become an increasingly used form of communication in the modern world. Whether they are text-based, illustrated, or fully immersive, human interaction is now regularly done using a computer. People today will interact with real or virtual people in the same manner through a screen as they would if they were physically in the same room. This provides a strong opportunity for psychologists to study human interactions in a perfectly controlled environment. A simulation was developed in the Unity gaming engine and deployed into human trials with the purpose of studying how subjects will perceive and interact with virtual humans, avatars, of varying ages. Specifically, if they perceive any age group as appearing as more or less intelligent when compared to their peers. The simulation has participants in a boardroom-like setting where they must work with the avatars to solve simple mathematical problems. Participants are asked to judge the intelligence or abilities of the avatars twice, once early and once later in the simulation. Testing with 17 participants, it was found that people overwhelmingly believed that the older avatar was smarter when asked early in the simulation. However, more people believed that the younger man would be more helpful in solving the final math problem near the end of the simulation. The trends show that this simulation can collect valuable data for researchers, and reinforces that virtual environments are a key tool in psychological trials.

Recommended Citation: Wagner J., Ebrahimi E., Stoker G., Morago B., (2023). Studying the Perceived Intelligence Between Ages Using Virtual Spaces. UNCW MS CSIS Proceedings. V. 17 , N. 21 .