Current applications of virtual reality in assessing social cognitive functions: a review

Social cognition encompasses the emotional and cognitive processes that enable individuals to understand and respond to the emotions and mental states of others, which is essential for effective social interaction. Traditional assessments of social cognition have been criticized for providing limited contextual information, relying on static stimuli, and failing to reflect social cognitive functioning during real-life interactions. This review focuses on advancing virtual reality (VR) methods for assessing social cognition, highlighting their capability to create interactive and realistic social scenarios that enhance ecological validity. A focused narrative review was conducted using predefined eligibility criteria to identify VR-based tools for the assessment of social cognition in adults. Studies were selected based on their use of multidimensional approaches, particularly those assessing theory of mind alongside other social cognitive components and demonstrating potential for clinical application. REALSoCog Task, the VR version of the Norwegian adaptation of the Awareness of Social Inference Test (N-TASIT), and CogMap for Social Cognition (CogMap-SC) are prominent tools that utilize VR to assess various components of social cognition. These VR-based assessments provide a more sensitive and comprehensive approach to measuring social cognition. Although these tools offer significant advantages in assessing social cognitive functioning, it is crucial to acknowledge their limitations, including technological challenges and limitations in the evaluation of their psychometric properties. Overall, this review provides an overview of the potential of virtual reality-based tools in advancing the assessment of social cognition.