Virtual therapy for a real fear
ARACHNOPHOBES who want to overcome their fear may have to actually touch a spider -- or at least a lifelike model.
Researchers from the University of Washington have found that people who panic at the sight of a spider could more closely approach a real tarantula without falling apart after undergoing therapy that combined virtual reality with the touch of a furry, palm-sized toy model.
In the study, 36 undergraduates with significant fear of spiders were divided into three groups. The first group got “mixed reality therapy.” Under a therapist’s guidance, they touched a fake tarantula while wearing a virtual reality helmet and glove that provided an illusion of reaching out and grasping a real tarantula. A second group used only the virtual reality helmet and glove during therapy. The third group got no therapy.
The two therapy groups went through three virtual, spider-filled sessions as a therapist provided reassurance and helped them deal with their anxiety. The no-therapy group navigated alone through a virtual, spider-free world.
Afterward, those whose experience included touch had significantly less overall anxiety and could get within six inches of a live tarantula in a terrarium; a few of them even could lift the lid. They had started out being able to get within only 5 1/2 feet, on average, of a real tarantula. Members of the other virtual reality group, who previously couldn’t tolerate being any closer than five feet from a tarantula, were able to approach as close as 2 1/2 feet. Those who got no therapy remained anxiety-ridden.
“Physically touching the fake spider makes the virtual spider seem much more real to the patient. Both touch and sight are now telling them that the spider is there,” said lead author Hunter Hoffman, a research scientist with the University of Washington’s Human Interface Technology Lab. The realism at first sends anxiety levels soaring, but then helps it drop.
The study was published Nov. 1 in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.
