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University of Essex homepage Departments Psychology Research Units and Facilities The Minecraft Psychology Lab
Department of psychology

Minecraft Psychology Lab

A dedicated lab space to explore the virtual world of the globe's most popular video game and research how the brain processes wayfinding, puzzle-solving, and online interaction.

Minecraft lab

Unlocking the power of play

Here at Essex, we are determined to answer the questions posed by our increasingly digital world in shaping our society and its long-term impact.

About the lab

Gaming plays a crucial role in shaping social behaviour, particularly in today's generation, where online platforms serve as the primary space for interaction and Minecraft provides a highly customizable environment, enabling researchers to build virtual spaces tailored to their specific needs.

This flexibility makes it an ideal platform for studying human behaviour, offering unique insights into real-world interactions. By leveraging Minecraft and other gaming environments, researchers can gain valuable understanding of both neurodivergent and neurotypical communication patterns. Minecraft also offers an engaging platform for students to design and conduct experiments, encouraging creativity in research projects.

Students have use of our exceptional research labs and facilities including our Centre for Brain Science as part of their lectures, research projects and research experience.

The objectives

  • Explore how individuals interact with each other in collaborative problem-solving scenarios, observing communication styles and teamwork dynamics.
  • Examine how people search for objects, navigate environments, and how the virtual world stimulates exploratory behaviour. 

Research Lead

Dr Wijnand Van Tilburg

Dr Wijnand Van Tilburg

Senior Lecturer and Experimental Social Psychologist

Department of Psychology, University of Essex

Active in the research into boredom and nostalgia, Dr Van Tilburg mainly focuses on the study of emotion in the context of interpersonal judgement and decision making. With the research led by Dr Van Tilburg, the lab offers a malleable and interactive environment that enables students to learn about the psychology behind social behaviour, research with their problem-solving skills and build creative experiments within the game.
"We are proud to be the first psychology department that offers such a dedicated lab space to both students and researchers. It emphasises our commitment to providing high-quality psychology education that puts students’ learning first and conducting excellent research through innovation and methodological approaches that challenge the status quo."
Professor Silke Paulmann Head of Department Department of psychology
Minecraft lab
Minecraft and the power of play

As the world's first video game psychology lab, students and researchers have the unique opportunity to explore, experiment, and build studies in the block-based multiplayer sandbox, offering an immersive environment to study human behaviour in a virtual world. Focusing on problem-based learning, this innovative approach enhances understanding and equips students with valuable skills to set their career in motion.

Read the story about the world's first video game psychology lab Understanding the digital world with Minecraft
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