The study's main aim is to validate a Norwegian virtual reality (VR) adaptation of The
Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) in an acquired brain injury population (ABI). The
secondary aim is to increase our understanding of the interplay between social cognition and
general cognition in a realistic social setting, i.e. an immersive virtual environment.
TASIT is one of the few available standardized tests of social cognition with good and
documented norms and psychometric properties. The original TASIT consists of three subtests,
one subtest measuring emotion recognition and two subtests measuring Theory of Mind. It has
an A and a B form for retest purposes. Each subtest consists of short videos depicting
various social scenes. The participant's task is to identify a character's emotions, beliefs
or intentions, depending on the subtest. TASIT predicts social cognitive impairments in
several patient groups, including ABI.
VR is an immersive, computer-generated three-dimensional environment. Computer- and
behavioral interfaces are used to simulate the behavior of 3D entities that interact in real
time with a user who is immersed in the virtual environment. VR facilitates a sense of social
presence, i.e. a feeling of being part of social situations, not attainable in a
two-dimensional medium. Assessing social cognition in a virtual environment with higher
social presence could increase the test's ecological validity.
For the Norwegian version of TASIT the manuscripts from all videos from the A form were
translated into Norwegian. The original dialogues and plot lines from the original test were
retained, except minor adaptations for modernization purposes and to exploit the potential
for social presence in VR. The scenes were filmed with a 360-degree camera, allowing
production of one immersive three-dimensional VR version (VR TASIT) and a standard,
two-dimensional desktop version (DT TASIT). The versions are otherwise identical.
Research Questions: The overall aim is to improve assessment and understanding of social
cognitive impairment in patients with ABI. This will be done by investigating the
psychometric properties and validity of a VR version of TASIT.
The primary research question is:
What is the construct validity (known groups validity, convergent and divergent
validity) and test-retest reliability of a Norwegian VR version of TASIT (VR TASIT), and
are the psychometric properties comparable or improved compared to the original test?
Secondary research questions are:
Does the VR version of TASIT contribute to increased ecological validity in assessment
of social cognition?
Does the application of VR TASIT result in increased cognitive load compared to the 2D
version, and thus in higher correlations with tests of processing speed, attention,
abstract thinking and executive functioning?