03/2025

Immersive Virtual Reality Assessments of Working Memory and Psychomotor Skills: A Comparison between Immersive and Non-Immersive Assessments

Abstract

Objective

Immersive virtual reality (VR) enhances ecological validity and facilitates intuitive and ergonomic hand interactions for performing neuropsychological assessments. However, its comparability to traditional computerized methods remains unclear. This study investigates the convergent validity, user experience, and usability of VR-based versus PC-based assessments of short-term and working memory, and psychomotor skills, while also examining how demographic and IT-related skills influence performance in both modalities.

Methods

Sixty-six participants performed the Digit Span Task (DST), Corsi Block Task (CBT), and Deary-Liewald Reaction Time Task (DLRTT) in both VR- and PC-based formats. Participants’ experience in using computers and smartphones, and playing videogames, was considered. User experience and system usability of the formats were also evaluated.

Results

While performance on DST was similar across modalities, PC assessments enabled better performance on CBT and faster reaction times in DLRTT. Moderate-to-strong correlations between VR and PC versions supported convergent validity. Regression analyses revealed that performance on PC versions was influenced by age, computing, and gaming experience, whereas performance on VR versions was largely independent of these factors, except for gaming experience predicting performance on CBT backward recall. Moreover, VR assessments received higher ratings for user experience and usability than PC-based assessments.

Conclusion

Immersive VR assessments provide an engaging alternative to traditional computerized methods, with minimal reliance on prior IT experience and demographic factors. This resilience to individual differences suggests that VR may offer a more equitable and accessible platform for cognitive assessment. Future research should explore the long-term reliability of VR-based assessments.

Direct mention to Nesplora Attention Adults Aquarium within the text:

«Immersive VR neuropsychological assessments, such as the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (Kourtesis et al., 2021) and Nesplora Aquarium (Climent et al., 2021), have demonstrated robust validity. Notably, such immersive formats appear to reduce test fatigue, sustain participant attention, and accurately measure cognitive processes ranging from working memory to executive functions (Kourtesis et al., 2020; Rizzo et al., 2004).»

Referenced research:

Climent, G., Rodríguez, C., García, T., Areces, D., Mejías, M., Aierbe, A., Moreno, M., Cueto, E., Castella, J., Feli González, M., 2021. New virtual reality tool (Nesplora Aquarium) for assessing attention and working memory in adults: A normative study. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult 28, 403–415. doi:10.1080/23279095. 2019.1646745.

Kourtesis, P., Lizarraga, A., & MacPherson, S. E. (2025). Immersive virtual reality assessments of working memory and psychomotor skills: A comparison between immersive and non-immersive assessments. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2503.06333