Comparison between Virtual Reality and Image as an Experimental Tool for Studying Burglars' Target Selection of Residence

This study was conducted to examine the advantages and possibilities of VR as a research method for residential burglary-related studies by comparing two different experimental tools, image and VR. A hypothetical situation of a motivated burglar looking for an appropriate criminal target within a typical detached house block in the suburbs was set up to investigate which architectural design variables the participants used as clues for decision-making. As a result of comparing the image and VR, there was a meaningful difference between the two test results. The same results were obtained from the variables related to the ease of intrusion, while variables related to the risk of detection were only significant in the VR experiment. In addition, it was revealed that the participants made decisions based on more specific judgments and comprehensively considered various environmental conditions in the VR experiment. This confirmed the advantages of VR as an experimental tool for investigating the residential burglars' target selection. Also, VR is expected to be utilized as a new experimental tool, especially in the field of environmental behavior that investigates human behavior in a specific space with various environmental variables.