An Exploratory Study on the Effect of Virtual Environments on Cognitive Performances and Psychophysiological Responses

Frigione, Ivana; Massetti, Gemma; Girondini, Matteo; Etzi, Roberta; Scurati, Giulia Wally; Ferrise, Francesco; Chirico, Alice; Gaggioli, Andrea; Gallace, Alberto

doi:10.1089/cyber.2021.0162

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Frontiers in Virtual Reality frontiersin.org and the context of experimental manipulation. In a previous study, our research group (Frigione et al, 2022) demonstrated different meanings of skin conductance activity depending on the context in which the participant was exposed. This is particularly true for VR experiments involving participants in immersive and realistic experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Decoupling the role of verbal and non-verbal audience behavior on public speaking anxiety in virtual reality using behavioral and psychological measures

Girondini,

Frigione,

Marra

et al. 2024

Front. Virtual Real.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Public speaking is a communication ability that is expressed in social contexts. Public speaking anxiety consists of the fear of giving a speech or a presentation and the perception of being badly judged by others. Such feelings can impair the performance and physiological activation of the presenter. In this study, eighty participants, most naive in Virtual Reality experience, underwent one of four virtual reality public speaking scenarios. Four different conditions were tested in a between-group design, where the audience could express positive or negative non-verbal behavior (in terms of body gesture and facial expression), together with positive or adverse questions raised during a question-and-answer session (Q&A). The primary outcomes concerned the virtual audience behavior’s effect on perceived anxiety and physiological arousal. In general, perceived anxiety seemed to be unaffected neither by the verbal nor non-verbal behavior of the audience. Nevertheless, experimental manipulation showed a higher susceptibility to public speaking anxiety in those participants who scored higher on the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) than those with lower Social Interaction Anxiety Scale scores. Specifically, in the case where the verbal attitude was negative, high SIAS trait participants reported a higher level of anxiety. Participants’ physiological arousal was also affected by the proposed scenarios. Participants dealing with an approving audience and encouraging Q&A reported increased skin conductance response. The lack of correlation between reported anxiety and skin conductance response might suggest a physiological engagement in an interactive exchange with the virtual audience rather than a form of discomfort during the task.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Decoupling the role of verbal and non-verbal audience behavior on public speaking anxiety in virtual reality using behavioral and psychological measures

Girondini,

Frigione,

Marra

et al. 2024

Front. Virtual Real.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is important for the present study that virtual environments mimicking natural ones reproduce the beneficial healing effects of physical environments [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Moreover, researchers are starting to use virtual environments to confirm and further investigate the impact that environmental geometry has on the users of architectural spaces [44][45][46][47].…”

Section: Nature Beauty and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension

Gorichanaz,

Lavdas,

Mehaffy

et al. 2023

Virtual Worlds

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is well-recognized that online experience can carry profound impacts on health and well-being, particularly for young people. Research has already documented influences from cyberbullying, heightened feelings of inadequacy, and the relative decline of face-to-face interactions and active lifestyles. Less attention has been given to the health impacts of aesthetic experiences of online users, particularly gamers and other users of immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies. However, a significant body of research has begun to document the surprisingly strong yet previously unrecognized impacts of aesthetic experiences on health and well-being in other arenas of life. Other researchers have used both fixed laboratory and wearable sensors and, to a lesser extent, user surveys to measure indicators of activation level, mood, and stress level, which detect physiological markers for health. In this study, we assessed the evidence that online sensorial experience is no less important than in the physical world, with the capacity for both harmful effects and salutogenic benefits. We explore the implications for online design and propose an outline for further research.

show abstract

“…These features, along with the addition of reaction times measures (i.e., latencies), reduce the chances for ceiling effects, particularly in stroke patients in the chronic phase (one year after stroke onset [39]). For these reasons, computer-and touch-screen-based technologies, as well as the more recent virtual and augmented reality technologies [35,[40][41][42], could be a promising tool for neuropsychological assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of “Neurit.Space”: Three Digital Tests for the Neuropsychological Evaluation of Unilateral Spatial Neglect

Massetti

Albini

Casati

et al. 2023

JCM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Patients suffering from Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) fail to pay attention to, respond to, and report sensory events occurring in the contralesional side of space. The traditional neuropsychological assessment of USN is based on paper-and-pencil tests, whose data recording and scoring may be subjected to human error. The utilization of technological devices can be expected to improve the assessment of USN. Therefore, we built Neurit.Space, a modified digital version of three paper-and-pencil tests, widely used to detect signs of USN, namely: Bells Cancellation, Line Bisection and Five Elements Drawing Test. Administration and data processing is fully automatic. Twelve right brain-damaged patients (six with and six without USN) and 12 age- and education-balanced healthy participants were enrolled in the study. All participants were administered both the computerized and the paper-and-pencil versions of the tests. The results of this preliminary study showed good sensitivity, specificity, and usability of Neurit.Space, suggesting that these digital tests are a promising tool for the evaluation of USN, both in clinical and in research settings.

show abstract

An Exploratory Study on the Effect of Virtual Environments on Cognitive Performances and Psychophysiological Responses

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Decoupling the role of verbal and non-verbal audience behavior on public speaking anxiety in virtual reality using behavioral and psychological measures

Decoupling the role of verbal and non-verbal audience behavior on public speaking anxiety in virtual reality using behavioral and psychological measures

The Impacts of Online Experience on Health and Well-Being: The Overlooked Aesthetic Dimension

Validation of “Neurit.Space”: Three Digital Tests for the Neuropsychological Evaluation of Unilateral Spatial Neglect

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About