Treating Height Phobias using a Smartphone Virtual Reality System
Keywords:
Height exposure, Virtual reality, Smartphone application, Virtual reality glasses, Remote controllerAbstract
Behavioral therapy is one common approach to treating phobias. It works by forcing the patient to confront the environment or situation they fear most. Meanwhile, there is a means of creating virtual environments in three dimensions: virtual reality. It therefore follows that in order to create a secure situation where patients can be exposed to their fears, virtual reality might have a crucial role to play. This study therefore offers a system of virtual reality which makes use of a smartphone application to address the fear of heights. The system itself comprises both hardware and software and due to its simplicity is suitable for use in the home. In this study, the effects of user involvement on both realism and the fear of heights was examined with the assistance of 30 sample participants. T-testing of paired samples revealed that the participants’ influence upon building height was significant, as was the participants’ influence upon both realism and their fear of heights upon sound activation.
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