scholarly journals Fear and loathing in VR: the emotional and physiological effects of immersive games

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen S. Lemmens ◽  
Monika Simon ◽  
Sindy R. Sumter

AbstractCompared to traditional screen-based media, virtual reality (VR) generally leads to stronger feelings of presence. The current study aimed to investigate whether playing games in VR resulted in a stronger sense of presence than playing on a TV, and whether these feelings of presence affected players’ emotional and physiological responses to the games. Two experiments were conducted among 128 students, comparing the effects of playing either a survival horror game (N = 59) or a first-person shooter (N = 69) on a TV or in VR on physiological and subjective fear, hostility and enjoyment. Results showed that playing games in VR resulted in a stronger sense of presence, lower heart rate variability and a stronger subjective sense of fear. The feeling of presence thereby mediated the effects of VR on fear. The effects of playing a first-person shooter in VR on hostility were mixed, and gaming in VR was not more enjoyable than on TV. Regardless of the type of game or display medium, hostility increased significantly post-play. This study provides evidence that commercial VR games can affect feelings of presence and the physiological and emotional state of players.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasily Pyatin ◽  
Arseny Videnin ◽  
Olga Maslova ◽  
Sergei Chaplygin ◽  
Sergey Rovnov

ABSTRACTA modern person constantly changes the environment of his mental activity, moving real into an immersive environment, for example, from the surrounding reality to the information environment of a smartphone and back. This kind of transition is needed to satisfy many of the cognitive and emotional needs of people. The transition from a real physical environment to virtual reality (VR) with the help of a special headset, for example, the Oculus Rift or HTC vive, occurs less often, causing less frequent emotional state. If at the same time the emotional state of a person is investigated, then, as a rule, the manifestation of heart rate variability (HRV) is used as an indicator. However, there are relatively few studies in the literature on physiological responses using HRV during the perception of VR content. The results of such studies are extrapolated to data evoked in HRV manifestations by stimuli of real and virtual environments. We studied HRV in 55 participants while they were in the flow of VR content of different dynamics. The results were analyzed by statistically testing the hypothesis of the effect of VR immersion and the effect of transitions between realities on HRV manifestations, as well as the effect of VR flow dynamics on HRV. The results showed that the perception of the VR flow and the content transitions made in it determine the change in HRV in the form of such parameters as LF and the Baevsky Index, which can be considered as markers of immersion in VR. An increase in emotional arousal with sequential participation in virtual games in one virtual stream determines the manifestations of HRV - HR, Moda and PAR.The results contribute to understanding the possibilities of using VR technology to recognize emotions during the transition between the natural environment and VR, as well as to determine the level of emotional arousal when immersed in the changing flow of virtual content. These studies are important for the study of the psychology of emotions in the VR flow paradigm.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn K. Orman

This study is an examination of the effect of computer-generated virtual reality graded exposure on the physiological and psychological responses of performing musicians. Eight university saxophone majors, five men and three women, participated in twelve 15- to 20-minute weekly practice sessions during which they were immersed in one of four different virtual environments designed to elicit various anxiety levels. Baseline heart rates and subjective measurements were taken prior to immersion and continued throughout the exposure period. In addition, heart rate and subjective measurements were recorded for three live performances given by each subject before beginning the virtual reality exposure and after completion of the sixth and the twelfth exposure sessions. Findings indicated that the virtual environments did elicit a sense of presence and may have provided the means for desensitization. Heart-rate readings and psychological indications of anxiety did not always correspond.


2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (10) ◽  
pp. S271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Ridout ◽  
Christopher Spofford ◽  
Mascha van ׳t Wout ◽  
William Unger ◽  
Noah Philip ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Chuck Huff ◽  
Deborah G. Johnson ◽  
Keith W. Miller

In traditional communities, some actions are widely regarded as bad and unethical. But in online “communities,” the virtual analog of those actions may not be regarded with the same clarity. Since “virtual” behaviors are distinct from ordinary acts, they require further analysis to determine whether they are right or wrong. In this chapter we consider an incident on the Internet that illustrates this confusion. The incident centered on a virtual act of sexual violence. This “rape in cyberspace,” reported by Julian Dibbell in 1993, has generated questions about the significance of behaviors in virtual reality environments. We use the case to explore the moral nature of actions in virtual environments, emphasizing the themes of harm and responsibility. We then offer some tentative lessons to be learned and, finally, apply the lessons to virtual sex and to first-person shooter computer games.


Author(s):  
Sun K. Yoo ◽  
ChungKi Lee ◽  
GunKi Lee ◽  
ByungChae Lee ◽  
KeeSam Jeong ◽  
...  

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Rosselot ◽  
Tiago Mendonça ◽  
Igor González ◽  
Tamara Tadich

Non-invasive measures are preferred when assessing animal welfare. Differences in behavioral and physiological responses toward a stressor could be the result of the selection of horses for specific uses. Behavioral and physiological responses of working and Chilean rodeo horses subjected to a handling test were assessed. Five behaviors, number of attempts, and the time to cross a bridge were video recorded and analyzed with the Observer XT software. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), to assess the physiological response to the novel stimulus, were registered with a Polar Equine V800 heart rate monitor system during rest and the bridge test. Heart rate variability data were obtained with the Kubios software. Differences between working and Chilean rodeo horses were assessed, and within-group differences between rest and the test were also analyzed. Chilean rodeo horses presented more proactive behaviors and required significantly more attempts to cross the bridge than working horses. Physiologically, Chilean rodeo horses presented lower variability of the heart rate than working horses.


2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (14) ◽  
pp. 2975-2984 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Zimmermann-Viehoff ◽  
L. K. Kuehl ◽  
H. Danker-Hopfe ◽  
M. A. Whooley ◽  
C. Otte

BackgroundAntidepressants reduce depressive symptoms in patients with coronary heart disease, but they may be associated with increased mortality. This study aimed to examine whether the use of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) is associated with mortality in patients with coronary heart disease, and to determine whether this association is mediated by autonomic function.MethodA total of 956 patients with coronary heart disease were followed for a mean duration of 7.2 years. Autonomic function was assessed as heart rate variability, and plasma and 24-h urinary norepinephrine.ResultsOf 956 patients, 44 (4.6%) used TCA, 89 (9.3%) used SSRI, and 823 (86.1%) did not use antidepressants. At baseline, TCA users exhibited lower heart rate variability and higher norepinephrine levels compared with SSRI users and antidepressant non-users. At the end of the observational period, 52.3% of the TCA users had died compared with 38.2% in the SSRI group and 37.3% in the control group. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for TCA use compared with non-use was 1.74 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–2.69, p = 0.01]. Further adjustment for measures of autonomic function reduced the association between TCA use and mortality (HR = 1.27, 95% CI 0.67–2.43, p = 0.47). SSRI use was not associated with mortality (HR = 1.15, 95% CI 0.81–1.64, p = 0.44).ConclusionsThe use of TCA was associated with increased mortality. This association was at least partially mediated by differences in autonomic function. Our findings suggest that TCA should be avoided in patients with coronary heart disease.


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