Results In Vivo vs VR

Overview

In study two we evaluated the effectiveness of low-budget virtual reality exposure versus exposure in vivo in a between group design in 29 patients suffering from acrophobia. A follow-up study after 6 months was done as well.

In this study (Emmelkamp, Hulsbosch, Krijn, de Vries, Schuemie & van der Mast, in preparation) acrophobic patients were treated with either (1) gradual exposure in vivo or (2) gradual VRE. 33 patients were randomly assigned to one of those two conditions. The treatment took place in three sessions of one hour, held weekly. Before and after treatment anxiety was measured by using the fear questionnaire, an attitude towards height questionnaire and a behavioral avoidance test. 29 patients were treated and had filled in a six-month follow-up: 13 with exposure in vivo and 16 with VRE.

According to this study there were no differences between the effectiveness of gradual exposure in vivo and VRE. Both conditions improved significantly and didn’t differ in their degree of improvement. The decline in fear of heights was sustained at six months follow-up. It seems that VRE has the same effectiveness as exposure in vivo, even when measured on a behavioral avoidance test.

Here are some more images of the real en virtual environments used in the experiment:

http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/malliv.jpg http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/mallvr.jpg

Real and virtual mall (Panorama of the VE)

http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/fireiv.jpg http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/firevr.jpg

Real and virtual firestairs (Panorama of the VE)

http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/roofiv.jpg http://graphics.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/roofvr.jpg

Real and virtual rooftop (Panorama of the VE)

Also, a task analysis of the therapy-process was made based on video-recordings of the sessions. On our publications page there are two papers on this subject:

• Virtual Reality Treatment versus exposure in vivo: A Comparative Evaluation in Acrophobia

P.M.G.Emmelkamp, M. Krijn, L. Hulsbosch, S. de Vries, M.J. Schuemie & C.A.P.G. van der Mast Behaviour Research & Therapy, May 2002, Vol 40(5), pp.25-32

• Design of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Systems - Task Analysis

M.J.Schuemie in:CHI 2000 Extended Abstracts, ACM press, 2000, pp. 345-346