scholarly journals Virtual Reality for Aggression Assessment: The Development and Preliminary Results of Two Virtual Reality Tasks to Assess Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Males

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1653
Author(s):  
Jill Lobbestael ◽  
Maaike J. Cima

Validly measuring aggression is challenging because self-reports are plagued with biased answer tendencies and behavioral measures with ethical concerns and low ecological validity. The current study, therefore, introduces a novel virtual reality (VR) aggression assessment tool, differentially assessing reactive and proactive aggression. Two VR tasks were developed, one in an alley environment (N = 24, all male, Mage = 23.88, 83.3% students) and an improved second one in a bar (N = 50, all male, Mage = 22.54, 90% students). In this bar VR task, participants were randomly assigned to either the reactive condition where they were triggered by a cheating and insulting dart-player or to the proactive condition where they could earn extra money by aggressing. Participants’ level of self-reported aggression and psychopathy was assessed, after which they engaged in either the reactive or proactive VR task. Changes in affect and blood pressure were also measured. Aggression in the reactive VR task was evidenced to mostly display convergent validity because it positively correlated with self-reported aggression and total and fearless dominance factor scores of psychopathy, and there was a trend relationship with increased systolic blood pressure. The validity of the proactive aggression variant of our VR bar paradigm received less support, and needs more refinement. It can be concluded that VR is a potentially promising tool to experimentally induce and assess (reactive) aggression, which has the potential to provide aggression researchers and clinicians with a realistic and modifiable aggression assessment environment.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christy Hogan ◽  
Petrea Cornwell ◽  
Jennifer Fleming ◽  
David W. K. Man ◽  
David H. K. Shum

AbstractProspective Memory (PM) is the ability to remember to do something in the future. It is often impaired after stroke and can impact on an individual’s level of independence and daily functioning. PM tasks have been criticized for their lack of ecological validity wherein test results may not be related to actual performance in daily life. With ecological validity in mind, the Virtual Reality Prospective Memory Shopping Task (VRPMST) was designed to assess two types of PM, time- and event-based. This study aimed to examine the ecological and convergent validity of the VRPMST in comparison to an experimental (Lexical Decision PM Task) and clinical measure of PM (Cambridge PM Test). Twelve individuals with stroke and 12 controls were administered three PM measures, three neuropsychological measures, and two user-friendliness questionnaires, one for the experimental PM measure and one for the VRPMST. Individuals with stroke showed impairments in PM compared to controls on all three PM measures, particularly time-based PM. Individuals with stroke were found to monitor time significantly less than controls on both the experimental PM measure and the VRPMST. The VRPMST was found to be sensitive in measuring PM, have better ecological validity when compared to the experimental PM measure, and good convergent validity. The findings of this study have helped to clarify that PM impairment does exist after stroke, possibly due to a problem in strategic monitoring. In addition, we have demonstrated how VR technology can be used to design a measure of cognitive function commonly impaired after stroke.


Author(s):  
Benjamin Schöne ◽  
Joanna Kisker ◽  
Rebecca Sophia Sylvester ◽  
Elise Leila Radtke ◽  
Thomas Gruber

AbstractVirtual reality is a promising tool for experimental psychology, enhancing the ecological validity of psychological science. The advantage of VR is that it enables researchers to study emotional and cognitive processes under realistic conditions while maintaining strict experimental control. To make it easier for scientists to get into the world of VR research and to improve the comparability of scientific results, we have created and validated a standardized set of 3D/360° videos and photos. Study 1 investigated the electrophysiological differences between motivational and emotional reactions exhibited under immersive VR and conventional 2D conditions. The obtained frontal alpha asymmetries show diverge patterns between the two conditions giving rise to further speculations that associated psychological processes exhibit more natural functional properties under immersive conditions. The feeling of being at the center of a realistic VR environment creates a sense of self-relevance. In VR, motivational tendencies and emotional reactions are related to objects or persons within the vicinity of the participant and not to the stimuli presented on a screen. Study 2, investigating the memory performance for VR videos as opposed to a conventional 2D screen presentation, provides evidence that memory formed under immersive conditions created more profound memory traces. This so-called memory superiority effect for the VR conditions might again result from the feeling of being in a scene, thus facilitating the formation of autobiographical memory. The implementation of VR experiments using the database is straightforward as it does neither require much technical equipment nor a high level of VR expertise.


Author(s):  
Greeshma Sharma

In the modern world, Virtual Reality (VR) has been accepted by the researcher as a state-of-the-art neuropsychological assessment tool in clinical research. Owing to the two prominent VR attributes i.e. immersivity and interactivity, VR is being used as an assessment tool as well as a training module. Combining cognitive knowledge with existing VR technology can propel VR to achieve a quantum leap in the rehabilitation sector. In addition, it offers potential radical modifications in the traditional way of neuropsychological assessment in the clinical settings, by improving ecological validity of the existing tests. Subsequently, features of VR facilitate customisation of an individual's treatment plan with the informed gradual progression of the challenge. This chapter explains VR as an innovative platform in the sector of medical & others such as military and sports for assessment as well as for training.


Author(s):  
Panagiotis Kourtesis ◽  
Simona Collina ◽  
Leonidas A.A. Doumas ◽  
Sarah E. MacPherson

Abstract Objective: The assessment of cognitive functions such as prospective memory, episodic memory, attention, and executive functions benefits from an ecologically valid approach to better understand how performance outcomes generalize to everyday life. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is considered capable of simulating real-life situations to enhance ecological validity. The present study attempted to validate the Virtual Reality Everyday Assessment Lab (VR-EAL), an immersive VR neuropsychological battery, against an extensive paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. Methods: Forty-one participants (21 females) were recruited: 18 gamers and 23 non-gamers who attended both an immersive VR and a paper-and-pencil testing session. Bayesian Pearson’s correlation analyses were conducted to assess construct and convergent validity of the VR-EAL. Bayesian t-tests were performed to compare VR and paper-and-pencil testing in terms of administration time, similarity to real-life tasks (i.e., ecological validity), and pleasantness. Results: VR-EAL scores were significantly correlated with their equivalent scores on the paper-and-pencil tests. The participants’ reports indicated that the VR-EAL tasks were significantly more ecologically valid and pleasant than the paper-and-pencil neuropsychological battery. The VR-EAL battery also had a shorter administration time. Conclusion: The VR-EAL appears as an effective neuropsychological tool for the assessment of everyday cognitive functions, which has enhanced ecological validity, a highly pleasant testing experience, and does not induce cybersickness.


2018 ◽  
pp. 528-548
Author(s):  
Greeshma Sharma

In the modern world, Virtual Reality (VR) has been accepted by the researcher as a state-of-the-art neuropsychological assessment tool in clinical research. Owing to the two prominent VR attributes i.e. immersivity and interactivity, VR is being used as an assessment tool as well as a training module. Combining cognitive knowledge with existing VR technology can propel VR to achieve a quantum leap in the rehabilitation sector. In addition, it offers potential radical modifications in the traditional way of neuropsychological assessment in the clinical settings, by improving ecological validity of the existing tests. Subsequently, features of VR facilitate customisation of an individual's treatment plan with the informed gradual progression of the challenge. This chapter explains VR as an innovative platform in the sector of medical & others such as military and sports for assessment as well as for training.


GeroPsych ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Kuemmel (This author contributed eq ◽  
Julia Haberstroh (This author contributed ◽  
Johannes Pantel

Communication and communication behaviors in situational contexts are essential conditions for well-being and quality of life in people with dementia. Measuring methods, however, are limited. The CODEM instrument, a standardized observational communication behavior assessment tool, was developed and evaluated on the basis of the current state of research in dementia care and social-communicative behavior. Initially, interrater reliability was examined by means of videoratings (N = 10 people with dementia). Thereupon, six caregivers in six German nursing homes observed 69 residents suffering from dementia and used CODEM to rate their communication behavior. The interrater reliability of CODEM was excellent (mean κ = .79; intraclass correlation = .91). Statistical analysis indicated that CODEM had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .95). CODEM also showed excellent convergent validity (Pearson’s R = .88) as well as discriminant validity (Pearson’s R = .63). Confirmatory factor analysis verified the two-factor solution of verbal/content aspects and nonverbal/relationship aspects. With regard to the severity of the disease, the content and relational aspects of communication exhibited different trends. CODEM proved to be a reliable, valid, and sensitive assessment tool for examining communication behavior in the field of dementia. CODEM also provides researchers a feasible examination tool for measuring effects of psychosocial intervention studies that strive to improve communication behavior and well-being in dementia.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Perniskie ◽  
Nic Ward ◽  
John Dalrymple-Alford ◽  
Joyce Alberts ◽  
Ashok Jansari ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5956
Author(s):  
Elena Parra ◽  
Irene Alice Chicchi Giglioli ◽  
Jestine Philip ◽  
Lucia Amalia Carrasco-Ribelles ◽  
Javier Marín-Morales ◽  
...  

In this article, we introduce three-dimensional Serious Games (3DSGs) under an evidence-centered design (ECD) framework and use an organizational neuroscience-based eye-tracking measure to capture implicit behavioral signals associated with leadership skills. While ECD is a well-established framework used in the design and development of assessments, it has rarely been utilized in organizational research. The study proposes a novel 3DSG combined with organizational neuroscience methods as a promising tool to assess and recognize leadership-related behavioral patterns that manifest during complex and realistic social situations. We offer a research protocol for assessing task- and relationship-oriented leadership skills that uses ECD, eye-tracking measures, and machine learning. Seamlessly embedding biological measures into 3DSGs enables objective assessment methods that are based on machine learning techniques to achieve high ecological validity. We conclude by describing a future research agenda for the combined use of 3DSGs and organizational neuroscience methods for leadership and human resources.


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