Virtual reality games as a tool for personnel assessment?

Could virtual reality games soon find their way into HR departments? Because results of a study by the University of Cologne and the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences also suggest that virtual reality games can be a useful complementary tool for HR management in companies to predict an applicant's job performance. The study, "Intelligence at play: game-based assessment using a virtual-reality application," by Markus Weinmann of the University of Cologne and his fellow researchers, was recently published in the journal Virtual Reality.

Virtual reality games as "intelligence tests"

Several studies have already shown that video games can provide cues to, or even help develop, intellectual and cognitive abilities. Since intelligence is one of the most widely used predictors of job performance, video games could be of interest to human resource management. Although many companies are increasingly using VR technologies to recruit candidates, few studies have specifically examined whether and how VR games can be used to draw conclusions about intelligence in this area. The study by Markus Weinmann and his colleagues helps to close this gap between research and practice.

Playing under laboratory conditions

Weinmann and his research colleagues invited 103 participants to their lab. Under controlled conditions, they played the commercial VR game "Job Simulator" and completed the short version of the BIS-4 intelligence test. The researchers' analyses show that participants who completed the game faster than others also had higher general intelligence and processing capacity. A 17 % increase in processing capacity correlated with less time spent playing the game (by an average of 3.7 minutes). The results suggest that VR games may be useful adjunct tools in organizations to predict job performance.

Scientific novelty

According to the report of the two research institutes, the results are a scientific novelty, as it has hardly been possible to conduct VR studies with modern VR hardware so far. For example, there are only a few studies that have examined the relationship between behavior in VR and intelligence. "There are already some companies that use games, so-called 'serious games,' for recruiting. The new results fit this specific application of VR games and show that they can be used for recruiting," Weinmann said. The scientists plan to continue their research on the potential of video games for practical applications. Among other things, they are investigating how people behave toward virtual avatars in the metaverse.

Source: Techexplore.com