scholarly journals Social Presence as a Moderator of the Effect of Agent Behavior on Emotional Experience in Social Interactions in Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Pfaller ◽  
Leon O. H. Kroczek ◽  
Bastian Lange ◽  
Raymund Fülöp ◽  
Mathias Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Virtual Agents ◽  
Agent Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Exposure therapy involves exposure to feared stimuli and is considered to be the gold-standard treatment for anxiety disorders. While its application in Virtual Reality (VR) has been very successful for phobic disorders, the effects of exposure to virtual social stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder are heterogeneous. This difference has been linked to demands on realism and presence, particularly social presence, as a pre-requisite in evoking emotional experiences in virtual social interactions. So far, however, the influence of social presence on emotional experience in social interactions with virtual agents remains unknown.Objective: We investigated the relationship between realism and social presence and the moderating effect of social presence on the relationship between agent behavior and experienced emotions in virtual social interaction.Methods: Healthy participants (N = 51) faced virtual agents showing supportive and dismissive behaviors in two virtual environments (short interactions and oral presentations). At first, participants performed five blocks of short one-on-one interactions with virtual agents (two male and two female agents per block). Secondly, participants gave five presentations in front of an audience of 16 agents. In each scenario, agent behavior was a within subjects factor, resulting in one block of neutral, two blocks of negative, and two blocks of positive agent behavior. Ratings of agent behavior (valence and realism), experience (valence and arousal), and presence (physical and social) were collected after every block. Moderator effects were investigated using mixed linear models with random intercepts. Correlations were analyzed via repeated measures correlations.Results: Ratings of valence of agent behaviors showed reliable relationships with experienced valence and less reliable relationships with experienced arousal. These relationships were moderated by social presence in the presentation scenario. Results for the interaction scenario were weaker but potentially promising for experimental studies. Variations in social presence and realism over time were correlated but social presence proved a more reliable moderator.Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the role of social presence for emotional experience in response to specific agent behaviors in virtual social interactions. While these findings should be replicated with experimental designs and in clinical samples, variability in social presence might account for heterogeneity in efficacy of virtual exposure to treat social anxiety disorder.

scholarly journals Appropriate Number of Treatment Sessions in Virtual Reality-Based Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 915
Author(s):  
Hyu Seok Jeong ◽  
Jee Hyun Lee ◽  
Hesun Erin Kim ◽  
Jae-Jin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Early Termination ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Extension Group

Virtual reality (VR) was introduced to maximize the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) by efficiently performing exposure therapy. The purpose of this study was to find out whether VR-based individual CBT with relatively few treatment sessions is effective in improving social anxiety disorder (SAD). This therapy was applied to 115 patients with SAD who were retrospectively classified into 43 patients who completed the nine or 10 sessions normally (normal termination group), 52 patients who finished the sessions early (early termination group), and 20 patients who had extended the sessions (session extension group). The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE) scores tended to decrease in all groups as the session progressed, and the slope of decrease was the steepest in the early termination group and the least steep in the session extension group. Severity of social anxiety in the last session and symptom reduction rate showed no significant group difference. Our findings suggest that short-term VR-based individual CBT of nine to 10 sessions may be effective. When the therapeutic effect is insufficient during this period, the additional benefit may be minimal if the session is simply extended. The improvement in the early termination group suggests that even shorter sessions of five or six can also be effective.

Feasibility of Virtual Reality Environments for Adolescent Social Anxiety Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 825-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle E. Parrish ◽  
Holly K. Oxhandler ◽  
Jacuelynn F. Duron ◽  
Paul Swank ◽  
Patrick Bordnick
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder

scholarly journals Personalized Models of Internalizing Symptoms for Women with Social Anxiety Disorder and Depression

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Piccirillo ◽  
Thomas Rodebaugh
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Internalizing Symptoms ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Depressive Episodes

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) constitutes an important risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD) and women are at greater risk for both disorders and their comorbidity. Despite much research examining risk factors for MDD specifically, there is limited research evaluating how individuals with SAD transition into depressive episodes. Clinical and theoretical evidence suggests that each individual may exhibit a unique personalized pattern of risk factors. These idiographic patterns may contradict group-level findings. In this study, women (N = 35) with SAD and a current or past major depressive episode completed ecological sampling of their mood and emotional experience five times a day for a month via a smartphone application. These data were analyzed using idiographic analyses to construct individual-level models of each woman’s mood. A multilevel model was constructed to determine risk factors for group-level intra-daily sadness (i.e., depressed mood). Some group-level relationships were consistent with previous research; however, most women’s models demonstrated few, and differing, risk factors for intra-daily sadness. We also examined the spread of individual-level estimates taken from group and idiographic models to determine the extent to which multilevel models can estimate individual-level effects. Implications for integrating results from idiographic methodology into existing theoretical models of psychopathology and clinical practice are discussed.

Using Virtual Reality in the Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder: Technological Proposal

2021 ◽  
pp. 369-374
Author(s):  
Carlos Ramos-Galarza ◽  
Pamela Acosta-Rodas ◽  
Jaime Moscoso-Salazar ◽  
Omar Condor-Herrera ◽  
Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder

scholarly journals Extended-release methylphenidate monotherapy in patients with comorbid social anxiety disorder and adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: retrospective case series

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Koyuncu ◽  
Fahri Çelebi ◽  
Erhan Ertekin ◽  
Burcu Ece Kök ◽  
Raşit Tükel
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Adult Adhd ◽  
Extended Release ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a subject which has recently become a topic of interest for research. Methods: In this study, 20 patients with comorbid SAD and adult ADHD who were treated with extended-release methylphenidate monotherapy were evaluated retrospectively. Results: Clinical response for both ADHD and SAD symptoms was observed in 17 of 20 patients. Overall, one patient did not respond to treatment and two patients dropped out of treatment at the beginning due to adverse effects. Conclusion: Extended-release methylphenidate improved both SAD and ADHD symptoms and was generally well tolerated. Further studies are required to investigate the relationship between SAD and ADHD.

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