Behavioral Compliance in Virtual Reality: Effects of Warning Type

Virtual Reality (VR) is used to examine the effect of different warnings on behavioral compliance. Sixty university students performed a virtual end-of-day routine security check and interacted with four workplace ISO type warnings and three posted signs. The scenario was designed so that warning presentation was not pre-cued or expected. Other signs, however, were pre-cued; these were expected because they were part of the instructed tasks that were carried out. Participants were randomly to static vs. dynamic conditions. Behavioral compliance was measured according to whether participants followed the directive to press particular panel buttons. Data demonstrate that dynamic warnings produce higher behavioral compliance than static ones, but there were no dynamic vs. static differences for the pre-cued posted signs. Implications arising from the use of this technique and resultant findings are discussed.