Portia Wang
@portiawang.bsky.social
phding @Stanford • previously @Columbia • I design and build things in 🥽 sometimes
Reposted by Portia Wang
The barrier to effective climate communication is often personal distance — for many, it still feels like a faraway threat.
A new Stanford-led study shows that virtual reality can help close that gap.
Read more: bit.ly/4hzzsSt
A new Stanford-led study shows that virtual reality can help close that gap.
Read more: bit.ly/4hzzsSt
Virtual reality helps people understand and care about distant communities
Direct experiences have powerful effects on perception – a truth at the heart of new Stanford-led research showing how immersive VR can make distant places feel more immediate and climate-related impa...
bit.ly
October 29, 2025 at 7:04 PM
The barrier to effective climate communication is often personal distance — for many, it still feels like a faraway threat.
A new Stanford-led study shows that virtual reality can help close that gap.
Read more: bit.ly/4hzzsSt
A new Stanford-led study shows that virtual reality can help close that gap.
Read more: bit.ly/4hzzsSt
Reposted by Portia Wang
People become attached to places they spend time in. 3D maps allow visits in VR. Santoso & colleagues show that visiting distant locations makes even politically conservative participants care about real climate change news in that city, compared to static images.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
September 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
People become attached to places they spend time in. 3D maps allow visits in VR. Santoso & colleagues show that visiting distant locations makes even politically conservative participants care about real climate change news in that city, compared to static images.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
Reposted by Portia Wang
Virtual Becomes Reality finally available (for free) on Quest. Take a guided 15-minute tour of the Stanford lab. Fly like a hero, walk the plank, defend coral in Palau, become a QB, dance with Grover, transform identity in the mirror. Now we are bringing the lab to you!
www.meta.com/experiences/...
www.meta.com/experiences/...
Stanford Virtual Becomes Reality on Meta Quest
With Virtual Reality technology widely available, it’s more important than ever to understand its impact on people and society. Explore highlights of over two decades of research from Stanford's Virtu...
www.meta.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Virtual Becomes Reality finally available (for free) on Quest. Take a guided 15-minute tour of the Stanford lab. Fly like a hero, walk the plank, defend coral in Palau, become a QB, dance with Grover, transform identity in the mirror. Now we are bringing the lab to you!
www.meta.com/experiences/...
www.meta.com/experiences/...
Reposted by Portia Wang
New in @pnas.org! We analyzed 38 million US obituaries to see how we remember the deceased:
- Tradition & benevolence dominate legacies
- Major cultural events (e.g., 9/11) shifted what values were emphasized
- Gender & age of the deceased shape legacies
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
- Tradition & benevolence dominate legacies
- Major cultural events (e.g., 9/11) shifted what values were emphasized
- Gender & age of the deceased shape legacies
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
doi.org
August 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
New in @pnas.org! We analyzed 38 million US obituaries to see how we remember the deceased:
- Tradition & benevolence dominate legacies
- Major cultural events (e.g., 9/11) shifted what values were emphasized
- Gender & age of the deceased shape legacies
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
- Tradition & benevolence dominate legacies
- Major cultural events (e.g., 9/11) shifted what values were emphasized
- Gender & age of the deceased shape legacies
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Reposted by Portia Wang
5 robust, replicated, & meta-analyzed findings from 30 years of psych research in VR. Timeline of events in experiment history, recommendations for consumers & scholars new to the medium, and the DICE model on when to use (and not use) VR.
@nathumbehav.nature.com
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
@nathumbehav.nature.com
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
May 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
5 robust, replicated, & meta-analyzed findings from 30 years of psych research in VR. Timeline of events in experiment history, recommendations for consumers & scholars new to the medium, and the DICE model on when to use (and not use) VR.
@nathumbehav.nature.com
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
@nathumbehav.nature.com
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
Reposted by Portia Wang
How do groups behave in VR?
Monique Santoso coded 9,000 speech acts to develop Virtual Reality Interaction Dynamics Scheme, 10 speech acts (e.g., disagreements, context-dependent commentary). Prior speech acts and current nonverbal behavior predict group action.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
Monique Santoso coded 9,000 speech acts to develop Virtual Reality Interaction Dynamics Scheme, 10 speech acts (e.g., disagreements, context-dependent commentary). Prior speech acts and current nonverbal behavior predict group action.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
May 7, 2025 at 11:13 PM
How do groups behave in VR?
Monique Santoso coded 9,000 speech acts to develop Virtual Reality Interaction Dynamics Scheme, 10 speech acts (e.g., disagreements, context-dependent commentary). Prior speech acts and current nonverbal behavior predict group action.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
Monique Santoso coded 9,000 speech acts to develop Virtual Reality Interaction Dynamics Scheme, 10 speech acts (e.g., disagreements, context-dependent commentary). Prior speech acts and current nonverbal behavior predict group action.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
New #cscw paper out with my amazing collaborators! In it, we predicted and analyzed what features saliently predicted turn-taking behaviors in VR 🗣️📢
Who speaks next?
@PortiaWang.bsky.social analyzed a VR dataset of 77 sessions, 1660 minutes of group meetings over 4 weeks. Verbal & nonverbal history captured at millisecond level predicted turn-taking at nearly 30% over chance. To appear @acm-cscw.bsky.social.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
@PortiaWang.bsky.social analyzed a VR dataset of 77 sessions, 1660 minutes of group meetings over 4 weeks. Verbal & nonverbal history captured at millisecond level predicted turn-taking at nearly 30% over chance. To appear @acm-cscw.bsky.social.
vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
April 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
New #cscw paper out with my amazing collaborators! In it, we predicted and analyzed what features saliently predicted turn-taking behaviors in VR 🗣️📢
Reposted by Portia Wang
New paper out! We explore avatar embodiment experiences of 52 Black users in social VR from ethnographic interviews + lab study. Findings unpack embodied consequences of racial representation in immersive VR and how users navigated challenges to expressing identity. vhil.stanford.edu/publications...
March 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
New paper out! We explore avatar embodiment experiences of 52 Black users in social VR from ethnographic interviews + lab study. Findings unpack embodied consequences of racial representation in immersive VR and how users navigated challenges to expressing identity. vhil.stanford.edu/publications...