Objective: The current study examined the efficacy of a virtual reality (VR) education system that simulates the experience of the positive symptomology associated with schizophrenic spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Method: The sample comprised of 50 participants from the general public and various psychology undergraduate programs. Participants completed pre-test measures exploring knowledge of diagnosis, attitudes, and empathetic understanding, before being exposed to an immersive VR simulation of a psychotic episode. Participants then completed the original measures with the addition of a user-experience scale, which explored sub-factors understood to share a relationship with VR effectiveness (i.e., fidelity, immersion, presence, and user buy-in). Results: Participants' scores were significantly enhanced at post-test across each outcome measure, with significant correlations found between a number of the gain and user-experience scores. Conclusions: The findings suggest that VRbased simulations of psychopathology may offer a promising platform for delivering a constructionist approach to psychology education.

Within the sport of rugby league, there exists a perceived shortage of talent in playmaking positions. In Australia, an academy dedicated to the development of playmaking skills has recently been established. Although the precise skills targeted by the academy for development are yet to be determined, decision making is presumed to be integral. The current research used the naturalistic decision-making paradigm to inform training initiatives by investigating the decision processes engaged by rugby league playmakers. The research explored whether players of varying ability could be differentiated in relation to a key decision process, cue use. Rugby league playmakers were interviewed using a novel variation of cognitive task analysis, which used both retrospective (i.e., recalled game) and prospective (i.e., unfamiliar rugby league scenario) means. The sample comprised 10 participants: six professional and four semiprofessional rugby league players. From a content analysis, a concept map, cognitive demands tables, and a critical cue inventory were produced. Results indicated that professional players demonstrated greater cue discrimination, assigned different meaning to the cues, and processed cues in a different manner compared with their semiprofessional counterparts. The results offer insights for future training applications in the domain and raise important questions regarding the utility of critical cue inventories in training.

Cues have been identified as important precursors to successful diagnoses among expert practitioners. However, current approaches to the identification of expert cues typically rely on subjective methods, making the validity of cues difficult to establish. The present research examined the utility of a Paired-Concept Association Task (P-CAT) as a basis for discriminating expert and novice cue activation in the context of offender profiling. Three studies are reported: 1A employed a cognitive interview for the acquisition of cue-based concepts used by experts and novices; 1B presented pairs of concepts as part of the P-CAT, which recorded response latency; and, 1C employed a survey to further gauge participants' perceptions of the concepts. The results revealed differences between experts and novices in the cue-based associations activated, and in the response latencies associated with the P-CAT, across expertise. The P-CAT accurately discriminated expert from novice cue activation and consequently offers a new method for objectively validating expert cue use.

This exploratory experiment tested the effect of two virtual reality (VR) relaxation interventions on measures of physiological arousal and affect, compared to a control. Forty-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, all using the Oculus Rift. Participants wore a heart rate (HR) monitor and completed pre- and post-test surveys, including the positive and negative affect schedule, Likert-type and open feedback questions. Mixed repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant reductions in HR and affect over time across all conditions, with a significant interaction identified for the breathing condition’s effect on negative affect. Participants were able to identify feeling relaxation, as well as influencing factors. Further, the majority expected, and supported, the introduction of VR interventions in their workplace and/or college, with privacy being a common concern. These results demonstrate the potential of VR augmented relaxation interventions with recommendations for further study provided. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS VR can potentially provide wellbeing interventions with a uniquely immersive quality Results suggest interactive and immersive VR experiences may facilitate relaxation and reduce stress Participants believe there may be substantial benefits to having VR wellbeing interventions at work and college.