laboratory and then leaving, closing the door, and going outside. >> reporter: not so, says jeremy bailenson virtual experiences are very intense and the effects of them can carry over to the real world. ah! ( laughter ) that's unbelievable bailenson says research is beginning to show that virtual reality-- v.r.-- can have a deep and long lasting effect on behavior -beyond saving for retirement. >> so now i'm underwater and i'm looking around and seeing all the beautiful fish. >> reporter: in experiments, swimming with the fishes-- in water that turns from fair to foul-- makes people think twice about using plastic bags, which might otherwise wind up in the great garbage patch that's polluting the pacific ocean. and how about sawing down a virtual tree? on average, each american requires two virgin trees for a lifetime of pampering with that squeezably soft, nonrecycled toilet paper. the feeling of felling a giant tree, however, can suffice to make some switch, maybe even permanently, to the recycled stuff. >> i get calls from people months, months after experiencing what you just experience