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Attentional Bias Modification in Virtual Reality - A VR-Based Dot-Probe Task With 2D and 3D Stimuli
Lichen Ma1, Anne-Wil Kruijt1, Sofia Nöjd1
1Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Frontiers in Psychology
|December 5, 2019
Summary
Virtual reality attentional bias modification (ABM) did not alter attentional bias in participants. While anxiety symptoms decreased over time, this was not linked to the ABM training itself.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Attentional bias modification (ABM) is a technique used to reduce anxiety by decreasing attention towards threatening stimuli.
- Virtual reality (VR) technology offers immersive environments for psychological interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a VR-based ABM training using 3D stimuli and a dot-probe task.
- To assess the impact of VR-ABM on attentional bias and anxiety symptoms.
Main Methods:
- 100 participants were randomized into four training groups.
- Attentional bias and anxiety symptoms were measured at multiple time points, including pre-training, post-training, and 3-month follow-up.
- A dot-probe task within a VR environment was utilized.
Main Results:
- No significant changes in attentional bias were observed after VR-ABM training, neither within participants nor between groups.
- A significant reduction in anxiety symptoms was found over time, irrespective of the training group.
- Only 9% of participants achieved a 'recovered' status at 3-month follow-up.
Conclusions:
- A single VR-ABM session did not effectively modify attentional bias.
- The observed anxiety reduction was not attributable to the active ABM intervention.
- The majority of participants did not experience clinically significant changes in anxiety.
