1. VR as a Tool for Experimental Economics: A Case Study for Common Pool Resource Extraction Games
- Author
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Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Ciències de la Computació, Andujar Gran, Carlos, Fairén González, Marta, Peris Sanchez, Antonio, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Ciències de la Computació, Andujar Gran, Carlos, Fairén González, Marta, and Peris Sanchez, Antonio
- Abstract
This research project attempts to evaluate whether Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as method to better evaluate the complexities of human economic behaviors. Traditional economic models, often rely on the idea that humans are consistently rational decision-makers. However, recent studies show that economic decisions are influenced by socio-affective cues, challenging this classical view. We believe that through the use of VR, we can evoke these socio-affective cues, and evaluate their effect on the economic behaviour of participants, within a controlled laboratory environment. To do this we performed a case study on the application of VR as an experimental tool, in the realm of Common Pool Resource (CPR) extraction games. For this, we designed and developed a CPR extraction game for the Oculus Quest 2. Participants engage in successive rounds of wood extraction, which they subsequently use to manufacture furniture, converting their actions into monetary profit. However, excessive extraction, leading to depletion beyond sustainable thresholds, reduces the collective profits of the group, creating a social dilemma. This dynamic draws attention to the tension between individual gains and collective welfare, mirroring real-world dilemmas faced in shared resource scenarios. Leveraging VR, our study introduces two experimental treatments. In the first, participants are immersed in a virtual forest, visually confronted with the immediate environmental impact of their choices. With today's pressing environmental conservation concerns, this immersive environment has the potential to induce significant socio-affective responses. In contrast, the second treatment offers a neutral space where decisions rely solely on numerical data, absent of environmental cues. Orchestrating the experiment is a server application, which ensures that the decisions of one participant within their VR simulation, influence the shared resources of others in the same group. This application also st
- Published
- 2023