The influence of visual manipulations on behavioural, physiological and perceptual responses in the heat: A multi-experiment, mixed methods approach
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Thermal perception is essential for human survival through its influence on behavioural thermoregulation. Existing literature suggests that thermal perception can be altered by simple visual manipulations, but this has not been empirically investigated using more contemporary immersive tools such as virtual reality or during exposure to high ambient environments. We tested the hypothesis that visual manipulation, using virtual reality (VR), would alter thermal perception during both rest and exercise in ambient temperatures above ≥ 35 °C. Across three separate experiments, participants cycled at a fixed intensity in 35 °C (experiment 1, n=16), rested in 40 °C (experiment 2, n=12), or completed a fixed-RPE protocol in 35 °C (experiment 3, n=12). Participants completed three visits for each experiment; a ‘hot’ VR environment, a ‘cold’ VR environment, and No VR environment. A single, participant-blind, block randomised controlled, cross-over design was employed. Key outcome measures were thermal comfort, thermal sensation, behavioural thermoregulation, and thermophysiological variables. Additionally, participants were interviewed to explore their perceptual experience in depth, and this added insightful data about their experiences. Visual manipulation had no effect on thermal sensation, thermal comfort, behavioural thermoregulation or any other thermophysiological variables (all p > 0.05). It is concluded that visual manipulations using virtual reality do not alter thermal perceptual, behavioural thermoregulation or thermophysiolological variables during rest or exercise in the heat, but interview data suggest participants believed the VR environments had more of an effect than elucidated quantitatively. These novel findings provide evidence that the hue-heat hypothesis may only exist in thermoneutral environments, further research should confirm this in other (e.g. cold) environments.
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213637954