Visual Perspective Taking (VPT) is a part of a more extensive set of applications I developed during my undergraduate study at EHU. The application was designed to examine Theory of Mind in Virtual Reality. Visual perspective taking is the cognitive ability to perceive or imagine how a scene looks from another person's viewpoint. This skill plays a crucial role in social understanding and empathy, as it involves recognising that others may see or experience the world differently.
- Each participant has a set of stimuli tailored to their interests, as expressed in a pre-test questionnaire.
- The application is designed to be as accessible as possible, with clear instructions and visual aids to guide participants through the task.
- A custom tutorial section, with narration, subtitle track and visual aids to ensure participants understand the task.
- A range of avatars was designed, to ensure that participants took part with an avatar they felt comfortable with.
- A lot of the stimuli were modeled after the participants interests, to ensure they were engaged with the task.
The distict challenge of this project was to create a VR application that could accurately measure the ability of individuals to take on the perspective of others. This required a deep understanding of the theory of mind and the ability to translate it into a virtual environment. I also had to consider the unique challenges faced by the neurodivergent population, such as those with autism, who may have difficulty with perspective-taking. To address this, I incorporated elements into the application that catered to the needs of this population, such as visual aids and clear instructions.
