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Fear and Loating in Virtual Reality. Experiences of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for fear of spiders : A Thematic Analysis

Andersson, Jacob LU (2022) PSPR14 20212
Department of Psychology
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of participants with fear of spiders who underwent Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for fear of spiders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted one week after VRET with nine participants. The collected material was analyzed using thematic analysis which led to the identification of three main themes and five subthemes. The themes were: Fear and Loathing in Virtual Reality, Task Progression and Presence. The subthemes for the first theme were: Expecting
the treatment, fear, ambivalence and determination and Processing the session, continued fears, increased autonomy. The subthemes for the second theme were Looking for trouble and The man behind the curtain and the subtheme for... (More)
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of participants with fear of spiders who underwent Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for fear of spiders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted one week after VRET with nine participants. The collected material was analyzed using thematic analysis which led to the identification of three main themes and five subthemes. The themes were: Fear and Loathing in Virtual Reality, Task Progression and Presence. The subthemes for the first theme were: Expecting
the treatment, fear, ambivalence and determination and Processing the session, continued fears, increased autonomy. The subthemes for the second theme were Looking for trouble and The man behind the curtain and the subtheme for the last theme was What caused the illusion of reality to break; by intent or otherwise. All the themes related to different aspects of participants’ experience of being in the virtual environment. In general, the participants reported experiencing strong feelings of presence in the virtual environment and described strong fear reactions to the virtual spider. This fear was described as decreasing during exposure, in line with conventional exposure therapy. There were several aspects of the VRET which, according to the participants, encouraged them to progress through treatment. Level of distress was reported to decrease when the sense of presence was disturbed, which often led to feelings of disappointment as it was seen as a roadblock to therapeutic change in phobic fear. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka upplevelsen hos deltagare med
spindelrädsla som deltagit i Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) för spindelrädsla. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes vid uppföljning en vecka efter behandling med nio deltagare. Det samlade materialet analyserades med tematisk analys vilket ledde till tre huvudteman och fem underteman. De tre huvudtemana var Rädsla och avsky i Virtual Reality (Fear and Loathing in Virtual Reality), Uppgiftsförlopp (Task Progression) och Närvaro(Presence). De två undertemana till första temat var: Förväntningar om terapin, rädsla, ambivalens och beslutsamhet (Expecting the treatment, fear, ambivalence and determination) och Bearbetande av sessionen, fortsatta rädslor,... (More)
Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka upplevelsen hos deltagare med
spindelrädsla som deltagit i Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) för spindelrädsla. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes vid uppföljning en vecka efter behandling med nio deltagare. Det samlade materialet analyserades med tematisk analys vilket ledde till tre huvudteman och fem underteman. De tre huvudtemana var Rädsla och avsky i Virtual Reality (Fear and Loathing in Virtual Reality), Uppgiftsförlopp (Task Progression) och Närvaro(Presence). De två undertemana till första temat var: Förväntningar om terapin, rädsla, ambivalens och beslutsamhet (Expecting the treatment, fear, ambivalence and determination) och Bearbetande av sessionen, fortsatta rädslor, ökad autonomi (Processing the session, continued fears, increased autonomy). Underteman till det andra temat var: På jakt efter
problem (Looking for trouble) och Mannen bakom skynket (The man behind the curtain). Subtema till det sista temat var: Vad fick illusionen av verklighet att brytas; avsiktligen eller ej (What caused the illusion of reality to break; by intent or otherwise). Generellt beskrev deltagarna en stark känsla av inlevelse i den virtuella miljön och en stark rädsloaktivering av den virtuella spindeln. Rädslan minskade därefter i enlighet med konventionell exponeringsterapi. Det fanns flera aspekter av VRET som deltagarna lyfte fram som hjälpte dem att avancera i den gradvis ökande virtuella exponeringen. Deras obehagsnivå uppgavs minska när inlevelsen stördes, detta ledde till en känsla av besvikelse för flera av deltagarna eftersom det ansågs störa uppfyllandet av terapimål. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Andersson, Jacob LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSPR14 20212
year
type
M3 - Professional qualifications ( - 4 Years)
subject
keywords
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, Qualitative research, Thematic Analysis, arachnophobia, Sense of presence, kvalitativ design, tematisk analys, spindelfobi
language
English
id
9074267
date added to LUP
2022-02-01 14:34:53
date last changed
2022-02-01 14:51:39
@misc{9074267,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of participants with fear of spiders who underwent Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for fear of spiders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted one week after VRET with nine participants. The collected material was analyzed using thematic analysis which led to the identification of three main themes and five subthemes. The themes were: Fear and Loathing in Virtual Reality, Task Progression and Presence. The subthemes for the first theme were: Expecting 
the treatment, fear, ambivalence and determination and Processing the session, continued fears, increased autonomy. The subthemes for the second theme were Looking for trouble and The man behind the curtain and the subtheme for the last theme was What caused the illusion of reality to break; by intent or otherwise. All the themes related to different aspects of participants’ experience of being in the virtual environment. In general, the participants reported experiencing strong feelings of presence in the virtual environment and described strong fear reactions to the virtual spider. This fear was described as decreasing during exposure, in line with conventional exposure therapy. There were several aspects of the VRET which, according to the participants, encouraged them to progress through treatment. Level of distress was reported to decrease when the sense of presence was disturbed, which often led to feelings of disappointment as it was seen as a roadblock to therapeutic change in phobic fear.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Jacob}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Fear and Loating in Virtual Reality. Experiences of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for fear of spiders : A Thematic Analysis}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}