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Dr Brendan Rooney is a psychologist whose research focuses on how interactive and design features of immersive and AI-enabled technologies (such as virtual reality and socially interactive agents) prompt thoughts, feelings and behaviours. His work explores social cognition, emotion, and user experience in human-technology interaction, using behavioural, physiological, and self-report methods. Within ADAPT, he contributes to the Digitally Enhanced Engagement strand, particularly the Interaction and Control challenge. He is currently involved in projects examining perceived realism, social presence, and emotional engagement in immersive media and human–agent interaction, including collaborations on VR perspective-taking, awe and emotion regulation. Dr Rooney is based in the UCD School of Psychology, where he directs the Media and Entertainment Psychology Lab. His research and industry partners include Children’s Health Ireland, Barretstown and collaborators across Europe and North America in psychology, HCI, and media studies.
