Toolboxes for creating immersive virtual reality experiments in psychological, behavioral, and cognitive research: A scoping review

Background: Immersive VR, especially head-mounted displays, allows unmatched ecologically valid research in human psychology, behavioral sciences, and cognitive neuroscience. Custom VR environments provide considerable experimental control, but their development is often resource-intensive. Virtual reality research is now more accessible thanks to software development kits and platforms. Despite their growing use, these toolboxes lack a systematic overview of their usability and application, hindering informed decision-making by researchers. Objective: The current scoping review maps the landscape of existing VR toolboxes for immersive cognitive, behavioral, and psychological research. We found toolboxes, documented their uses across study areas, and aggregated data on their usability for non-programmers. Methods: In December 2024, we searched scientific databases and grey literature using PRISMA-ScR principles. We found peer-reviewed English-language papers on immersive VR authoring tools for human behavioral research using a preset search strategy and a multi-reviewer method to assure reliable screening and data extraction. We mapped toolbox features, major research applications, and non-programmer researcher usability using descriptive and thematic analysis of retrieved data. Results and Discussion: Our synthesis identified 33 different toolboxes, revealing that the most common applications are for general purposes, spatial navigation, and social cognition. These insights can assist developers and researchers in addressing challenges such as complex scripting requirements and inconsistent documentation. This review presents a thorough evidence map and a research agenda aimed at improving the development and application of effective, user-friendly virtual reality tools within the behavioral and brain sciences.