Mutual support is an interactional communication process. Taking an interactional approach to support requires group participants be viewed not only as targets and recipients but also as sources and providers of various types of support. An analysis was performed on the interactions of a group listserve and model of online interactional support. The aim was to explore the communication process children follow. The analysis revealed self-disclosure was used in the support group in three distinct ways. Its function for the support recipient is to initiate a transactional relationship with another member for the purpose of attracting social support through the open expression of concerns and frustrations. It is then used by the support provider to demonstrate that coping is possible for the recipient through the reciprocal self-disclosure of similar concerns and situations with which the member has successfully dealt. The third use of self-disclosure was to share reciprocal social companionship relationships.

In the rail industry, drivers must be trained to operate complex heavy machinery while responding appropriately to rapidly unfolding events in environments that are expensive and often dangerous to replicate in the real world. Virtual training environments (VTEs) can deliver stress exposure training to improve the decision-making skills of train drivers. Higher levels of recallable knowledge in the real world have been linked directly to the degree to which trainees have been engrossed in their VTE, an experience often measured through the concept of "presence." This paper reports on the use of presence to guide improvements to a VTE developed to deliver driver training in degraded track conditions. Two surveys were used to collect data on train drivers' introspective feedback on the level of presence created by the virtual rail environment and the simulator's effectiveness in generating immersion across a range of presence causal factors. Results indicate that using presence to investigate VTEs has practical significance. Outcomes provide direct information on where future improvements and modifications to the VTE can be made.

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Acrophobia is a chronic, highly debilitating disorder preventing sufferers from engaging with high places. Its etiology is linked to the development of mobility during infancy. We evaluated the efficacy of various types of movement in the treatment of this disorder within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Four men and four women who were diagnosed with acrophobia were tested in a virtual environment reproducing the balcony of a hotel. Anxiety and behavioral avoidance measures were taken as participants climbed outdoor stairs, moved sideways on balconies, or stood still. This took place in both real and virtual environments as part of a treatment evaluation study. Participants experienced an elevated level of anxiety not only to increases in height but also when required to move laterally at a fixed height. These anxiety levels were significantly higher than those elicited by viewing the fear-invoking scene without movement. We have demonstrated a direct link between any type of movement at a height and the triggering of acrophobia in line with earlier developmental studies. We suggest that recalibration of the action-perception system, aided by VR, can be an important adjunct to standard psychotherapy.

Airline pilots are assumed to be capable of performing their work in both normal and difficult circumstances. However, as aviation safety has improved, pilots have been increasingly implicated in aviation accidents with pilot error being identified as causal more frequently. Flying an aircraft within an airline is a complex task. A significant amount of research has been published over the past 4 decades concerning the mechanisms that underlie the expert performance of complex tasks.Affect has been identified as is a key determinant of performance. Affect has been shown to influence the development of higher-order mental abilities such as situation assessment and decision-making Simulators play an invaluable role in training and assessment. They have been used to train pilots how to control and use their emotions to facilitate optimal performance. In aviation, pilots have long been taught how to stay calm under difficult circumstances and they have been able to do this through the opportunity simulators provide to practice building confidence. The underlying premise is the pilot's confidence can be strengthened through training which provides the opportunity to experience mastery under high stress conditions. Therefore, affective state is a key variable for investigation in the development and evaluation of aviation simulation training. This project used eye tracking and pupilometry to assess pilot's affective state while undertaking normal and difficult tasks in a flight simulator. Fixation duration and saccade rate corresponded reliably to pilot self-reports of affective state, while pupil size and saccade amplitude did not show a strong comparison to changes in affective state. The implications from the data collected are discussed in terms of using eye-tracking technology to objectively measure pilots' affective levels during simulation training.