I am Here to Make Friends: Examining Peer Selection and Peer Influence on Cheating Behaviour using VR

• In Event: Virtual reality, smartphones and social media: The potential of novel methods for the study of crime

Abstract

Although the statistical association between peer delinquency and adolescent delinquency is robust, causal evidence is still limited and proposed psychological mechanisms untested. Further, despite its theoretical importance, peer selection is understudied and often treated as a nuisance. In this study, we will utilize Virtual Reality (VR) to address the above gaps. Participants will be recruited for an experiment supposedly focusing on how VR gaming influences friendship formation.
The core task is a VR quiz game, in which participants (with their peers) compete against a ‘victim’, with the side answering more quizzes correctly taking the prize of each round. Participants will have 10 seconds to decide their answer and keep it in their mind. Then the correct answer will be shown and participants need to indicate if the answer they have in mind is correct, which allows dishonest behaviour. The questions are difficult so high scores would indicate more cheating behaviour at the group level.
After measuring baseline attitude toward delinquency, participants will complete the first round of quizzes alone (no peer). Then they will play three rounds of joint quizzes where they play the game in the presence of a peer (VR avatar) exhibiting either high or low delinquent tendencies. In the first round of the joint quiz, they will be randomly assigned with one partner and complete the quiz (active peer influence). At the end of each round of the joint quiz, participants will report their satisfaction and perceived similarity with their partner and decide if they want to change partners for the next round (selection). After the joint quizzes, participants will again complete a solo quiz and their attitude toward delinquency. With this design, we aim to examine how delinquent peers influence at-the-moment cheating behaviour and attitude toward delinquency as well as the mechanisms of peer selection

Authors

• Yikang Zhang, maastricht university

• Jean-Louis van Gelder, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law