VR in psychology

In addition to its many uses in the exact sciences, Virtual Reality (VR) has many uses in the field of psychology. Offering high levels of repeatability and control, it is an excellent platform for psychological experiments. Also, VR allows for the effective treatment of anxiety disorders such as acrophobia, agoraphobia, fear of flying, eating disorders or social disorders.

 

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Treatment of anxiety disorders

The Reality Cube can be used to treat various anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia, acrophobia (fear of heights), fear of flying or social disorders. Due to the amount of 'presence' in the Reality Cube, the environment becomes very real for the patient, while the simulation allows a slow increase of the fear level. »

Psychological experiments in VR: the Chicken Experiment

Offering high levels of repeatability and control, Virtual Reality is an excellent platform for performing psychological experiments. In the 'Chicken Experiment', subconscious behaviour towards stereotypical (virtual) people is measured.  »

Virtual butterfly garden

How can one design a virtual butterfly garden so people can restore better from mental fatigue? Roos Pals hopes to answer these questions in through further research, using the visualisation facilities of the centre for High Performance Computing and Visualisation. »