Experiencing herd immunity in virtual reality increases COVID-19 vaccination intention: Evidence from a large-scale field intervention study.

This study investigates the impact of an immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation of herd immunity on vaccination intentions and its potential underlying mechanisms. In this preregistered field study, N = 654 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three VR conditions: (1) Gamified Herd Immunity; (2) Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy (with additional narrative elements); (3) Control (gamified with no vaccination-related content). In the Gamified Herd Immunity simulation, participants embodied a vulnerable person and navigated a wedding venue trying to avoid getting infected. A total of 455 participants with below maximum intentions to take a novel vaccine and without severe cybersickness were analyzed. The Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy and the Gamified Herd Immunity conditions increased vaccination intentions by 6.68 and 7.06 points on a 0-100 scale, respectively, compared to 1.91 for the Control condition. The Gamified Herd Immunity + Empathy condition enhanced empathy significantly more than the Gamified Herd Immunity condition but did not result in higher vaccination intentions. Experienced presence was related to the change in vaccination intentions. The results suggest that VR vaccination communication can effectively increase vaccination intentions; the effect is not solely due to the technological novelty and does not depend on empathy.

A randomized trial testing the effectiveness of virtual reality as a tool for pro-environmental dietary change.

This study investigates the impact of an efficacy-focused virtual reality (VR) intervention designed according to instructional design principles on eating behavior. In the preregistered intervention study, psychology students were randomly assigned to nine seminar blocks. Employing parallel design, they were allocated to either a VR intervention to experience the environmental impact of food behavior (1) and alter the future by revising food choices (2) or to a passive control condition. The data from 123 participants (78% female, mean age 25.03, SD = 6.4) were analyzed to investigate the effect of the VR intervention on dietary footprint measured from 1 week before to 1 week after the intervention. The VR intervention decreased individual dietary footprints (d = 0.4) significantly more than the control condition. Similarly, the VR condition increased response efficacy and knowledge to a larger extent compared to the control. For knowledge, the effect persisted for 1 week. The VR intervention had no impact on intentions, self-efficacy, or psychological distance. Additional manipulation of normative feedback enhanced self-efficacy; however, manipulation of geographical framing did not influence psychological distance. This research received no financial support from any funding agency and was registered on 15/09/2021 at Open Science Foundation with the number https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/2AXF3 .

Cognitive Remediation in Virtual Environments for Patients with Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder: A Feasibility Study.

Standard approaches to cognitive remediation can suffer from limited skill transferability to patients' life. Complex virtual environments (VEs) enable us to create ecologically valid remediation scenarios while preserving laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, the feasibility and efficacy of these programs in psychiatric patients are still unknown. Our aim was to compare the feasibility and efficacy of a novel rehabilitation program, designed in complex VEs, with standard paper-pencil treatment in patients with schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. We recruited 35 participants to complete a VE rehabilitation program and standard treatment in a crossover pilot study. Twenty-eight participants completed at least one program, 22 were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 6 with major depressive disorder. Participant's performance in the representative VE training task significantly improved in terms of maximum achieved difficulty (p ≤ 0.001), speed (p < 0.001) and efficacy (p ≤ 0.001) but not in item performance measure. Neither the standard treatment nor the VE program led to improvement in standardized cognitive measures. Participants perceived both programs as enjoyable and beneficial. The refusal rate was higher in the VE program (8.6%) than in the standard treatment (0%). But in general, the VE program was well-accepted by the psychiatric patients and it required minimal involvement of the clinician due to automatic difficulty level adjustment and performance recording. However, the VE program did not prove to be effective in improving cognitive performance in the standardized measures.

What is the future for immersive virtual reality in memory rehabilitation? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: A growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches aimed at cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive enhancement pointed towards the application of new technologies. The complex virtual reality (VR) presented using immersive devices has been considered a promising approach. OBJECTIVE: The article provides a systematic review of studies aimed at the efficacy of VR-based rehabilitation. First, we shortly summarize literature relevant to the role of immersion in memory assessment and rehabilitation. METHODS: We searched Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed with the search terms "memory rehabilitation", "virtual reality", "memory deficit". Only original studies investigating the efficacy of complex three-dimensional VR in rehabilitation and reporting specific memory output measures were included. RESULTS: We identified 412 citations, of which 21 met our inclusion criteria. We calculated appropriate effect sizes for 10 studies including control groups and providing descriptive data. The effect sizes range from large to small, or no effect of memory rehabilitation was present, depending on the control condition applied. Summarized studies with missing control groups point out to potential positive effects of VR but do not allow any generalization. CONCLUSIONS: Even though there are some theoretical advantages of immersive VE over non-immersive technology, there is not enough evidence yet to draw any conclusions.

Age-Related Differences With Immersive and Non-immersive Virtual Reality in Memory Assessment.

Memory decline associated with physiological aging and age-related neurological disorders has a direct impact on quality of life for seniors. With demographic aging, the assessment of cognitive functions is gaining importance, as early diagnosis can lead to more effective cognitive interventions. In comparison to classic paper-and-pencil approaches, virtual reality (VR) could offer an ecologically valid environment for assessment and remediation of cognitive deficits. Despite the rapid development and application of new technologies, the results of studies aimed at the role of VR immersion in assessing cognitive performance and the use of VR in aging populations are often ambiguous. VR can be presented in a less immersive form, with a desktop platform, or with more advanced technologies like head-mounted displays (HMDs). Both these VR platforms are associated with certain advantages and disadvantages. In this study, we investigated age-related differences related to the use of desktop and HMD platforms during memory assessment using an intra-subject design. Groups of seniors (N = 36) and young adults (N = 25) completed a virtual Supermarket Shopping task using desktop and HMD platforms in a counterbalanced order. Our results show that the senior performances were superior when using the non-immersive desktop platform. The ability to recall a shopping list in the young adult group remained stable regardless of the platform used. With the HMD platform, the performance of the subjects of both groups seemed to be more influenced by fatigue. The evaluated user experiences did not differ between the two platforms, and only minimal and rare side effects were reported by seniors. This implies that highly immersive technology has good acceptance among aging adults. These findings might have implications for the further use of HMD in cognitive assessment and remediation.