ASSIGNMENT
When we think of space, we think of adventure, technological advancement, discovery, and overall positive things (Tutton, 2021). We do not seem to think of the possibilities that crimes inevitability will take place in outer space. Space crime sounds futuristic, and encompasses the “giggle factor”: the invasion of an alien species in usually the United States that need to be stopped come to mind rather than disputes on the International Space Station. Understanding how crimes can take place in outer space and how people respond to them will put us front and centre of an emerging field.
How to understand space crime poses a challenge. With our project, we capitalise on the possibilities of virtual reality (VR) to do so. With VR, you can create any environment possible. We have seen the possibilities of VR to understand crime, in investigating how people would escape a building (Arias et al, 2019), mimic the feelings of solitary confinement (Clifford & White, 2020) or let burglars roam around virtual neighbourhoods to safely discover what deters them (Van Sintemaartensdijk et al, 2021). Using virtual simulations for space missions is on its way (https://medium.com/@humanspaceprogram/how-important-are-space-simulations-2d735b0f04df), so it seems logical to use VR to understand space crime.
Together, we will test a virtual environment in which we expose participants to outer space, and pose them with crime related scenario (a verbal harassment) taking place on a spaceship, while also exposing half of the participants to the same scenario without VR. We will ask participants the responses they would take in the scenario, and subsequently how their perception of space crime potentially has changed.
KEYWORDS
Crime prevention; virtual reality; outer space.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ORGANIZATION
The section Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety at the University of Twente has a distinctive and unique profile in the areas of risk perception and risk communication, conflict and crisis management and the antecedents of risky, antisocial and criminal behaviour. It currently includes 15 research staff members and 6 PhD students. We work from both a psychology and an engineering perspective and cooperate with other scientific disciplines, based on the “high tech, human touch” profile of the University of Twente.
AVAILABILITY
Usually anytime. This internship is open for 2 students.
INTERESTED?
Please contact the PCRS internship coordinator Miriam Oostinga (m.s.d.oostinga@utwente.nl).
LITERATURE
- Arias, S., Fahy, R., Ronchi, E., Nilsson, D., Frantzich, H., & Wahlqvist, J. (2019). Forensic virtual reality: investigating individual behavior in the MGM grand fire. Fire Safety Journal, 109, 102861.
- Clifford, K., & White, R. (2020). Mediated representations of prisoner experience and public empathy. The Palgrave handbook of incarceration in popular culture, 265-287.
- Tutton, R. (2021). Sociotechnical imaginaries and techno-optimism: examining outer space utopias of Silicon Valley. Science as Culture, 30(3), 416-439.
- Van Sintemaartensdijk, I., Van Gelder, J. L., Van Prooijen, J. W., Nee, C., Otte, M., & Van Lange, P. (2021). Mere presence of informal guardians deters burglars: A virtual reality study. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 17, 657-676.