Homo Economicus Meets the Metaverse
Prof. Dr. Bernd Fröhlich
M.Sc. Ephraim Schott
M.Sc. Sebastian Mühlhaus
M.Sc. Tony Jan Zöppig
| Degree | Study Programme | Examination Regulations | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.Sc. | Computer Science for Digital Media | PV18 and lower | 15 |
| M.Sc. | Computer Science for Digital Media | PV20 | 12 |
| M.Sc. | Computer Science and Media | all | 15 |
| M.Sc. | Human-Computer Interaction | PV17 and lower | 15 |
| M.Sc. | Human-Computer Interaction | PV19 | 12/18 |
Motivation
Given current developments in virtual reality technologies and the metaverse, it is time to examine how we make decisions in social virtual environments. Behavioral economics studies the human decision-making process by conducting various experiments based on game theory and comparing the results to the best economic solutions. We know from real-world studies that psychology, culture, emotions, and cognition generally influence our decisions and keep us from acting like homo economicus, a hypothetical human being who makes optimal decisions in accordance with their rational self-interest.
In this project we will study the influence of the virtual environment and the appearance and expressiveness of avatars on decision making in social virtual reality. This behavioral economics study will be prepared, performed and analyzed in collaboration with Prof. Jürgen Rösch, Professor of Digital Economics, and a group of media management master's students.
Hardware
You will gain 24/7 access to our well-equipped lab at Schwanseestraße 143. Should pandemic counter measures limit the accessibility of our infrastructure, we will in all cases supply you with state-of-the-art hardware and boost your journey into immersive virtual worlds.
For the duration of the project, each participant will be supplied with an Oculus Quest 2 HMD. If necessary, we will also hand out desktop workstations to meet any additional hardware requirements, which your own machine cannot handle.
Apart from deploying your applications using this hardware, we strongly encourage you to explore related VR applications in the wild!
Requirements
As well as willingness to work in a team, and enthusiasm for learning about multi-user VR application development, you should have the following competencies:
- passed the VR course
- affinity to scientific studies
- good programming / scripting skills (C#, C++, Python or similar)
Additional advantages are experience in:
- knowledge about behavioral economics and game theory
- 3D modelling
- social VR development
If you are in doubt as to whether you fulfil the requirements, or if you have any further questions regarding the project, we are happy to have a discussion with you at the project fair on 3rd of April.
Assessment
The final assessment of your work will be conducted based on the project contributions of every team member, including:
- Quality and innovation of your practical results
- Active participation in the project during and in between weekly meetings
- Intermediate and final project presentations
- Documentation
If you are interested in human behavior and how it is influenced by virtual reality and want to dive deeper into developing virtual reality applications and conducting scientific studies - join us!