SCHIZO freeman et al. (2003) Flashcards
(22 cards)
virtual reality
modern virtual reality (VR) experiences are delivered via headpieces which project individual digital images, separately to each eye
images update at a rate of 60 fps
dynamic, immersive, 3d virtual scene
slightest head movement updates the scene
illusion of being physically present in the digital environment
quality of illusion relies to the extent to which body movement and sensory info of the software
some vr experiences more believable than others
context
‘technological revolution in mental health care’
VR will have major role to play in helping people interact effectively in everyday life
in VR situation ps know VR not real
reactions still similar to real world encounters
prompted psychologists to design immersive yet highly controlled environments that can be used for both research and therapy
prev studies have shown that avatars can trigger emotional reactions in people w anxiety disorders
eg…slater et al 1999
freeman questioning not j how people feel but also how they interpret avatars behaviours
deepening understanding of cognitive and emotional processes that underpin psychotic symptoms like delusions is central to developing effective treatment
aims and hypothesis
examined whether neutral non-threatening avatars could provoke persecutory thoughts in people with no previous clinical diagnoses
and whether this was more common in people with higher levels of paranoia and emotional distress
methodology
correlational study based on quantitative data gathered via questionnaires
qualitative data collected in semi-structured interview
later scored to provide more data
sample
12 male 12 female paid volunteers
mean age 26
recruited from University College London UK
mentally well
21 were students
3 administrative staff
procedure step 1
ps trained how to use VR equipment
including lightweight headgear to track head position and orientation
and a handheld joystick to allow ps to move in VR space
procedure step 2
1/2 the ps completed brief symptom inventory (BSI)
53 item questionnaire to assess mood, anxiety, and psychotic symptoms in the last 7 days
and two 20 item self reports
spielberger state anxiety questionnaire
paranoia scale (fenigstein and vanable 1992)
measures ideas to persecution and reference
procedure step 3
all ps completed VR task
explore VR library
5 avatars in 2 small grps
3 and pair
smiling looking over talking to eachother
ps asked to explore room
form an impression of what they think of the ppl and what they think abt the ps
procedure step 4
5 mins later all ps exited room and completed the questionnaire
1/2 for 2nd time 1/2 for first
and did 15 item VR-paranoia questionnaire
measured persecutory thoughts, ideas of reference, and pos beliefs of avatars
new questionnaire designed bc lack of pre existing test of situation specific paranoia
procedure step 5
finally ps interviewed about experiences, including feelings of distress
procedure step 6
clinical psychologist watched the videotaped interviewed
rated out of 6 for indication of persecutory ideation
tendency to assume others talking about them
or out to hurt them
results
mean paranoia score 31.8
minimum is 20 max is 100
no significant diff between male and female
low compared to mean of 47.2 in fenigstein and vanable 1992
most people POS beliefs about avatars
some NEG
persecutory thoughts (1-5 of VRP ques) were positively correlated with ideals of reference (6-10)
neg correlated w pos beliefs
pos correlation between persecutory thoughts in the ques and the interviews
VR persecutory ideation positively correlated w paranoia, interpersonal sensitivity and anxiety
measured using BSI brief symptom inventory
conclusions
emotional processes linked to anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity contribute directly to the development of persecutory ideation
highlighting that VR holds great promise not only as a tool for enhancing theoretic understanding
but also as a way of helping individuals to evaluate and reduce persecutory ideation and delusions
strengths
validity
idiographic vs nomothetic
ethics
application to everyday life
individual vs situational
weaknesses
lack ecological validity
sampling bias>lacks generalisability
validity of results STRENGTH
1/2 the ps answered BSI, paranoia, and anxiety ques before and after in VR
other group only after VR
done to see if completing ques primed ps to experience persecutory thoughts while in room
was not the case
thoughts triggered by avatars not the overall procedure
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC-BOTH:
quantitative data collected using a VR paranoia questionnaire
which was designed for this study to measure situation specific persecutory ideation
new psych test collected self reported data on 4pt scales
can be analysed using stats to draw generalisable conclusions to wider target population
nomothetic approach ^^^^^^^^
but also ideographic bc qualitative data w ps explaining experiences in own words in semi-structured interviews
using both approaches and types of data increases the validity of findings regarding frequency of persecutory ideation in general population
ethics STRENGTH
checked to see if time spent in room caused distress
using interview
found ts was not the case
anxiety scores similar b4 and after VR task
experience didn’t leave them w any psychological harm
all ps gave consent to take part
but not told that study about persecutory thoughts
NOT FULLY INFORMED CONSENT
BUT stress free nature of VR environment
so justified due to the potential benefits to society
application to everyday life STRENGTH
Helps understand cognitive and emotional processes behind psychosis.
VR can model how people interpret others’ intentions, aiding schizophrenia research and therapy.
Effective only if VR has strong ecological validity with realistic avatars.
individual vs situational BOTH
role of both in development of persecutory ideation
range of questions used to measure trait anxiety, paranoia and other clinical symptoms
relate individual explanations
some ppl more vulnerable to developing psychotic symptoms due to the way they typically process info from social and physical world
but the researchers also point to the potential for VR research to reveal environmental situational factors associated w persecutory thoughts
noting that experimental manipulation of aspects of VR ENVIRONMENT COULD HELP TO IDENTIFY FACTORS WHICH make such thoughts more or less likely
lack of ecological validity WEAKNESS
ps reported low levels of presence in virtual library
feeling of ‘being there’
measured on 6pt scale and used in prev VR studies
avg presence rating 2.3/6
high score = high presence
ps not immersed fully in experience
due to short duration in room of 5mins
and passive nature of task
SAMPLING BIAS/LACKS GENERALISABILITY weakness
all ps from london uni
recruited via ads
all free from prior clinical diagnosis
young mean age 26
ps relatively intelligent
interested in psych and VR
may not generalise to ppl outside this population
