ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the still-developing technology of Virtual reality (VR), its possibilities, and limitations in scientific contexts, with a focus on the research field of embodied cognition. For that aim, various cognitive effects are described and contrasted with one another, including presence (the feeling of being there) versus immersion (objective criteria supporting presence) or the sense of embodiment (properties of the virtual body are treated as signals from the real body) versus body ownership (the seen virtual body is seen as the own body). By collecting these different phenomena and providing examples, this chapter gives an overview of VR as a research environment and inspires usages for future studies in cognitive science.
