DR.
YOUSSEF
SHIBAN
Prof. of Clinical Psychology
PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences
Virtual reality
as a tool for anxiety disorder research
Exposure Therapy Research
Several of our current studies focus on the mechanisms of exposure therapy in VR. VR is a suitable instrument for this research field as it provides the possibility to generate controllable and easily adjustable experimental settings.
VR as a tool to create multiple contexts in exposure therapy research.
In one study we analyzed the effects of multiple context exposure on fear renewal in spider phobia. Renewal of fear is one form of relapse that occurs after successful exposure therapy as a result of an encounter with a feared object in a context different from the exposure context. The results were that virtual spiders elicit self-report and physiological fear response in spider phobic patients and virtual reality exposure (VRE) in multiple contexts reduces renewal of fear.
Social Interactions Research
Another research focus at our department are social interactions, which are often relevant for experiencing stress in private as well as professional contexts. They are also a defining component of several mental disorders and point of intervention in psychotherapy.
VR as a tool to investigate aspects of social interactions.
To shed more light on various aspects of social interactions, we utilize virtual reality paradigms, with the ultimate goal to develop tools to investigate social interactions, which can also be used in mental illness prevention programs and to treat social anxiety.
In one study we investigated social conditioning and extinction in humans using an operant social fear conditioning paradigm in VR. Virtual male agents served as conditioned stimuli (CS). During the acquisition phase, unconditioned stimuli (US): a combination of an air blast and a female scream, were presented when participants reached the virtual male agent. During the extinction and the test phases, no US was delivered. After the acquisition phase the CS+ was rated clearly less pleasant than the CS-. Furthermore, the heart rate remained high for the CS+, while the HR for the CS- was clearly lower after than before the acquisition. Importantly, at the generalization test, higher socially fearful participants rated pleasantness of all agents as low whereas the lower socially fearful participants rated pleasantness as low only for the CS+. These findings suggest that the paradigm is suitable to expand the knowledge about the learning and unlearning of social fears.
Behind the scenes
Here you can see photos from our research projects
Fear conditioning
VR Head mounted display in combination with an airblast
For this study, participants approached a virtual agent and then were met with an air blast and a scream to condition fear. Fear conditioning studies are useful for finding out more about the mechanisms of fear acquisition.
Exposure to virtual stimuli
Virtual Reality spiders for exposure therapy research
In this study, spider phobic patients approached a virtual spider in a virtual environment. Virtual animals are great assets to therapy research as they can be controlled with ease and do not have to be kept in a box.
Multiple contexts
Virtual Reality offers the benefit of a highly controlled environment
In this study, participants approached a negative stimulus in different environments. While a lab is trying to give as much control of the environment as possible, virtual environments can be controlled even better.