Monkey See, Monkey Break? Study of Rule-Breaking Imitation in Virtual Crowds

Rule-breaking behaviors, such as jaywalking or skipping queues, are common in crowds but difficult to study in real-world settings due to limited control and observability. Virtual reality (VR) provides a controlled alternative, but its validity depends on whether VR elicits realistic rule-breaking behavior. We conducted a VR study with 65 participants navigating a virtual city with four scenarios differing in social norms: walking on grass, crossing outside a crosswalk, jaywalking at a red light, and skipping a line. In each scenario, the proportion of rule-breaking virtual characters was manipulated (0%, 25%, 50%). Participants' movements and gaze were recorded to assess behavior and attention. Results showed higher rule-breaking as the number of violators increased, except in the low-stakes crossing scenario. Rule-breakers attended more to violating characters, whereas rule-followers focused on compliant ones. Participants cited efficiency, safety, and social norms as key factors guiding their decisions. Overall, VR reproduced natural patterns of social compliance and noncompliance, supporting its use for studying rule-breaking and applications in crowd simulation, urban design, safety training, and immersive media.