Virtual reality as a category of psychology within the information concept

Abstract

Attempts to justify the need to clarify the definition of "psychological virtual reality" and to distinguish its semantic content with such concepts as "subjective reality "and" ideal reality". It is proposed to do this on the basis of the information concept of virtual reality, developed by the author and presented in the works, references to which are given in the article. The basic idea is that the psyche and virtual reality of any origin should be considered as information phenomena. The basis of the methodology of the information concept of virtual reality is the information approach and dialectical method. In this study, methods of analysis, comparison and generalization are also used. Analyzes the research devoted to the development of the category "virtual reality" in the framework of "virtualistics" as a direction in psychology. The main problem in defining psychological virtual reality is that researchers do not compare all virtual phenomena, but only two of them: psychological and computer. If anything, the comparison is one of the options - the ability to create an illusionary reality. Showed that the category of virtual reality used in modern scientific knowledge does not reflect the information essence of this phenomenon. To find an independent meaning of this category, it is necessary to use the concept of "virtualization" as a polar category "information", denoting the way information exists at the level of the psyche outside of interaction, in a passive state. In modern psychological scientific literature, the category "virtual reality" is more often used in studies of psychological dependence on virtual reality computer systems. At the same time, the meaning of the virtual reality category itself is understood as a software product. The concept of "psychological virtual reality" remains to the end uncertain. What influences people's consciousness: virtual reality, information or each of them? Can information in a coded state have an impact on the psyche, and if so, what are the mechanisms of this impact? Perhaps the term "virtualization" will help to explain the processes of virtualization and devirtualization of information processes in the most complex system of our psyche.