Virtual Reality as a Window into Sibling Aggression

The few previous studies that investigated aggression between siblings, assessed aggression primarily through self- or parent-report, with the limitation of reporter bias. The current study examined whether an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) experiment can provide a valid assessment of adolescents’ aggressive responses towards their sibling by testing congruence with other similar measures and by examining associations of known risk factors for sibling aggression with the aggression observed in the VR experiment.

Pairs of young adolescent siblings (N = 26; aged 8–15 years) were invited to the lab to complete several questionnaires and participate in a custom-made interactive VR experiment. In the VR experiment, participants interacted with their virtual sibling both verbally and physically. Participants’ responses to the virtual sibling’s behavior, designed to provoke anger and aggression, were observed during two different VR scenarios.