title: Controlling a stream of paranoia evoking events in a virtual reality environment.
abstract: Although virtual reality exposure has been reported as a method to induce paranoid thought, little is known about mechanisms to control specific virtual stressors. This paper reports on a study that examines the effect of controlling the stream of potential paranoia evoking events in a virtual restaurant world. A 2-by-2 experiment with a non-clinical group (n = 24) was conducted with as two within-subject factors: (1) the cycle time (short/long) for when the computer considers activation of a paranoia evoking event and (2) the probability that a paranoia-evoking event (low/high) would be triggered at the completion of a cycle. The results showed a significant main effect for the probability factor and two-way interaction effect with the cycle time factor on the number of paranoid comments participants made and their self-reported anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Reza Giga
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Isnanda
authors.affiliation: Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem-Paul
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Brinkman
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Veling
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Gaag
authors.affiliation: Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neerincx
mesh_terms: D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012147:Restaurants; D000076142:Virtual Reality