title: Cognitive mechanisms underlying virtual reality exposure.
abstract: Many studies have assessed virtual reality exposures efficacy, but very few examined its treatment processes. The addition of objective measures of arousal and information processing mechanisms would be a valuable contribution in order to provide a more complete and detailed picture. The goal of this study was to better document the cognitive mechanisms associated with therapeutic change after an in virtuo exposure treatment. Twenty-eight adults suffering from arachnophobia were assessed and received an exposure-based treatment using virtual reality. General outcome and specific processes measures included a battery of standardized questionnaires, a pictorial emotional Stroop task, a Behavioral Avoidance Test, and a measure of participants' cardiac response while they looked at a live tarantula. The analyses showed that changes in perceived self-efficacy and dysfunctional beliefs were the best predictors of change in general outcome and cardiac response; change in dysfunctional beliefs were the best predictor of change in behavioral avoidance. These innovative results provide a very detailed and organized picture of the complex cognitive mechanisms involved in therapeutic change following in virtuo exposure for arachnophobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Côté
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouchard
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D003071:Cognition; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013112:Spiders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult