Uploaded February 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Professor Daniel Freeman talks through his work on a virtual reality simulation of a London Underground Tube journey, designed to assess the role of adjusted height on levels of mistrust and paranoid thoughts.
Mistrust of others may build upon perceptions of the self as vulnerable, consistent with an association of #paranoia with perceived lower social rank. Height is a marker of #socialstatus and authority.
The simulation was part of a project to #research the effect of manipulating height, as a proxy for social rank, on paranoia. Height was manipulated within the immersive virtual reality simulation. Sixty females who reported paranoia experienced a virtual reality train ride twice: at their normal and reduced height. Paranoia and social comparison were assessed.
Reducing a person's height resulted in more negative views of the self in comparison with other people and increased levels of paranoia. The increase in paranoia was fully mediated by changes in social comparison.
The work was carried out at the University of Oxford and was funded by the Medical Research Council.
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Height, Social Comparison, and Paranoia | Virtual Reality Simulation
▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=DoUfiDaGX6k
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ABOUT THE MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (MRC)
The Medical Research Council (MRC) improves the health of people in the UK – and around the world – by supporting excellent science, and training the very best scientists.
Find out more ▶️ ukri.org/councils/MRC
#MRC #Medicine #MedicalSciences #MedicalResearch #Innovation #Health
Professor Daniel Freeman talks through his work on a virtual reality simulation of a London Underground Tube journey, designed to assess the role of adjusted height on levels of mistrust and paranoid thoughts.
Mistrust of others may build upon perceptions of the self as vulnerable, consistent with an association of #paranoia with perceived lower social rank. Height is a marker of #socialstatus and authority.
The simulation was part of a project to #research the effect of manipulating height, as a proxy for social rank, on paranoia. Height was manipulated within the immersive virtual reality simulation. Sixty females who reported paranoia experienced a virtual reality train ride twice: at their normal and reduced height. Paranoia and social comparison were assessed.
Reducing a person's height resulted in more negative views of the self in comparison with other people and increased levels of paranoia. The increase in paranoia was fully mediated by changes in social comparison.
The work was carried out at the University of Oxford and was funded by the Medical Research Council.
Learn more ▶️ukri.org/about-us/mrc
Let’s connect!
Twitter 🔗 twitter.com/The_MRC
LinkedIn 🔗 linkedin.com/company/medical-research-council
YouTube 🔗 youtube.com/c/medicalresearchcouncil
Instagram 🔗 instagram.com/weareukri
We think you’ll like…
Height, Social Comparison, and Paranoia | Virtual Reality Simulation
▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=DoUfiDaGX6k
Development of DNA Analysis | From the Double Helix to the Southern Blot
▶️ youtube.com/watch?v=YefLsdkRKsE
ABOUT THE MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (MRC)
The Medical Research Council (MRC) improves the health of people in the UK – and around the world – by supporting excellent science, and training the very best scientists.
Find out more ▶️ ukri.org/councils/MRC
#MRC #Medicine #MedicalSciences #MedicalResearch #Innovation #Health
