Reducing the Noise of Reality

Michela, Abele; Rooij, Marieke M. J. W. van; Klumpers, Floris; Peer, Jacobien M. van; Roelofs, Karin; Granic, Isabela

doi:10.1080/1047840x.2019.1693872

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Indeed, little is known about the effectiveness of physiological control in the variety of phases through which police action evolves. While a fully realistic VR setup would contain too much variability and dimensions to measure performance reliably (Brehmer, 1992;Michela et al, 2019), testing well-known scientific measurements of decision-making in dynamical interactions could prove invaluable to relate performance and physiological control, but also to further investigate the external validity of those paradigms (Flake et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VR is a useful tool to create controlledyet representativeenvironments, allowing to elicit high levels of arousal and engagement (Miller et al, 2019;Parsons, 2015).. However, re-creating a highly realistic virtual police environment in VR can also have negative consequences on subjects' experiences due to slight mism atches with reality (Wilson & Soranzo, 2015) and the challenges in recreating genuine verbal and tactile interactions (Michela et al, 2019). To remedy this, the use of game mechanics inspired by commercial videogames offers the possibility to re-create a genuine feeling of threat and immersion, moderate enough for learning to take place while at the same time boosting engagement (Allcoat et al, 2015;Cummings & Bailenson, 2016;Lin, 2017;Schoneveld et al, 2019;Slater, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To remedy this, the use of game mechanics inspired by commercial videogames offers the possibility to re-create a genuine feeling of threat and immersion, moderate enough for learning to take place while at the same time boosting engagement (Allcoat et al, 2015;Cummings & Bailenson, 2016;Lin, 2017;Schoneveld et al, 2019;Slater, 2018). Game mechanics also present another advantage over realistic environments in VR, which is the ease of emotional elicitation and repeatability of the experience (Lobel et al, 2016;Michela et al, 2019;Scholten & Granic, 2019). Evidence-based trainings are however currently scarcely available (Di Nota & Huhta, 2019) and not available at all, to the best of our knowledge, if we look for training that makes use the aforementioned VR and gaming assets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deep-Breathing Biofeedback Trainability in a Virtual-Reality Action Game: A Single-Case Study with Police Trainers

Michela¹,

Peer²,

Brammer³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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It is widely recognized that police performance may be hindered by psychophysiological state changes during acute stress. To address the need for awareness and control of these physiological changes, police academies in many countries have implemented Heart-Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback training. Despite these trainings now being widely delivered in classroom setups, they typically lack the arousing action context needed for successful transfer to the operational field, where officers must apply learned skills, particularly when stress levels rise. The study presented here aimed to address this gap by training physiological control skills in an arousing action context. We developed a Virtual-Reality (VR) breathing-based biofeedback training in which police officers perform deep and slow diaphragmatic breathing in an engaging game-like action context. This VR game consisted of a selective shoot/don’t shoot game designed to assess response inhibition, an impaired capacity in high arousal situations. Biofeedback was provided based on adherence to a slow breathing pace: the slower and deeper the breathing, the less constrained peripheral vision became, facilitating accurate responses to the in-game demands. A total of nine male police trainers completed 10 sessions over a 4-week period as part of a single-case experimental ABAB study-design (i.e., alternating sessions with and without biofeedback). Results showed that eight out of nine participants showed improved breathing control in action, with a positive effect on breathing-induced low frequency HRV, while also improving their in-game behavioral performance. Critically, the breathing-based skill learning transferred to subsequent sessions in which biofeedback was not presented. Importantly, all participants remained highly engaged throughout the training. Altogether, our study showed that our VR environment can be used to train breathing regulation in an arousing action context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deep-Breathing Biofeedback Trainability in a Virtual-Reality Action Game: A Single-Case Study with Police Trainers

Michela¹,

Peer²,

Brammer³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Another problem with the content and design is that a certain number of training activities in current VR intervention are illdevised, including only repeated and tedium practice that is likely to bore ASD children after the initial novelty wears off. One possible solution to this issue is to add recreation value to the VR training systems by borrowing serious game design concepts [148] from the entertainment sector. More enjoyable content and increasingly engaging activities would also attract more participants to the training systems, which can prevent the drawback of inadequate statistical power caused by the small number of participants in most previous feasibility and validity studies [149], helping researchers draw more convincing conclusions on the effectiveness of VR-based intervention systems.…”

Section: Limitations In Technology and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Reality Technology as an Educational and Intervention Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives and Future Directions

Zhang¹,

Ding²,

Zhang³

2022

Preprint

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Virtual reality (VR) technology gains theoretical support from rehabilitation and pedagogical theories and offers a variety of capabilities in educational and interventional contexts with affordable products. VR is attracting increasing attention in the medical and healthcare industry as it provides fully interactive three-dimensional simulations of real-world settings and social situations, which are particularly suitable for cognitive and performance training including social and interaction skills. The worldwide rising trend in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder calls for innovative and efficacious techniques for assessment and treatment. The article offers a summary of current perspectives and evidence-based applications of VR technology as an educational and intervention tool for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, with a primary focus on social communication including social functioning, emotion recognition, and speech and language. Technology- and design-related limitations as well as the disputes over the application of virtual reality to autism research and therapy are discussed and future directions of this emerging field are highlighted with regards to application expansion and improvement, technology enhancement, and the development of brain-based research and theoretical models.

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“…Additionally, the task engages behaviors that are universally relevant to police: The trainee has to rely on good situational awareness, be constantly vigilant to changes in information, and be able to override response biases by flexibly incorporating these changes in their decisions (Di Nota and Huhta, 2019). At the same time, by eliciting police-relevant behavior in an overtly fictional environment, we sidestep the necessity to simulate realistic police incidents and avoid overtraining the officers to idiosyncratic elements of a realistic simulation (Michela et al, 2019).…”

Section: Challenge 3: Biofeedback Representation In the Virtual Envirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breathing Biofeedback for Police Officers in a Stressful Virtual Environment: Challenges and Opportunities

et al. 2021

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As part of the Dutch national science program “Professional Games for Professional Skills” we developed a stress-exposure biofeedback training in virtual reality (VR) for the Dutch police. We aim to reduce the acute negative impact of stress on performance, as well as long-term consequences for mental health by facilitating physiological stress regulation during a demanding decision task. Conventional biofeedback applications mainly train physiological regulation at rest. This might limit the transfer of the regulation skills to stressful situations. In contrast, we provide the user with the opportunity to practice breathing regulation while they carry out a complex task in VR. This setting poses challenges from a technical – (real-time processing of noisy biosignals) as well as from a user-experience perspective (multi-tasking). We illustrate how we approach these challenges in our training and hope to contribute a useful reference for researchers and developers in academia or industry who are interested in using biosignals to control elements in a dynamic virtual environment.

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Reducing the Noise of Reality

Cited by 8 publications

References 43 publications

Deep-Breathing Biofeedback Trainability in a Virtual-Reality Action Game: A Single-Case Study with Police Trainers

Deep-Breathing Biofeedback Trainability in a Virtual-Reality Action Game: A Single-Case Study with Police Trainers

Virtual Reality Technology as an Educational and Intervention Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives and Future Directions

Breathing Biofeedback for Police Officers in a Stressful Virtual Environment: Challenges and Opportunities

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