Into the matrix: collecting psychometric data from consumers immersed in virtual worlds

Consumer-oriented virtual reality (VR) brand experiences are becoming increasing popular despite the paucity of information about marketing best practices. This research describes a technique for embedding traditional psychometric measures into virtual environments that allows for the collection of data from consumers immersed in a simulated experience. Additionally, we provide proof-of-concept of this methodology by extending prior research findings in the embodied cognition literature to virtual environments. Specifically, our results demonstrate that temperature-related embodiment can be experienced by consumers immersed within a virtual world. The methodological, theoretical, and marketing implications of this research are discussed.