Modes of immersion and stress induced by commercial (off-the-shelf) 3D games

Developing a stress-management training (SMT) system and protocol for soldiers can help them cope better with stress experienced in theatre operations. Using 3D horror games in virtual reality (VR) can present an attractive simulation method for soldiers. This study was conducted to find out whether it is possible to stress soldiers moderately using VR and which technology is more efficient to do so. A total of 47 soldiers returning from Afghanistan played two 3D first-person shooter (FPS)/horror games (Killing Floor and Left 4 Dead) on three different types of immersive technologies (a 22-inch stereoscopic monitor, a 73-inch stereoscopic TV and a CAVE™). As a control and reference comparison of induced stress, participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a standardized stress-inducing procedure. Results were supporting of our work, devising an effective low-cost and high-buy-in approach to assist in teaching and practicing stress-management skills. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed statistically significant increases in the soldiers’ respiration rates and heart rates while playing the 3D games and during the TSSTs. No significant interactions were found. Increases in physiological arousal among the soldiers were significant when comparing the baseline to the immersion and to the TSST, but not when comparing both stressors. Immersion in 3D games is proposed as a practical and cost-effective option to create a context that allows practicing SMT.

[1]  Robert S. Kennedy,et al.  Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. , 1993 .

[2]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[3]  Brian McDonald,et al.  Intelligent Biofeedback using an Immersive Competitive Environment , 2001 .

[4]  David Freeman,et al.  Creating emotion in games: the craft and art of Emotioneering#8482; , 2003, CIE.

[5]  Susan Persky,et al.  Consequences of Playing Violent Video Games in Immersive Virtual Environments , 2006 .

[6]  R. Rajae-Joordens.  Measuring Experiences in Gaming and TV Applications , 2008 .

[7]  K. Kallinen,et al.  Phasic Emotional Reactions to Video Game Events: A Psychophysiological Investigation , 2006 .

[8]  Jonathan Frome,et al.  Eight Ways Videogames Generate Emotion , 2007, DiGRA Conference.

[9]  B. Kudielka,et al.  Ten Years of Research with the Trier Social Stress Test--Revisited. , 2007 .

[10]  Alexander Toet,et al.  Is a Dark Virtual Environment Scary? , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[11]  Richard S. Hallam,et al.  An experimental analysis of fearlessness and courage. , 1983, British journal of psychology.

[12]  C. Kirschbaum,et al.  The 'Trier Social Stress Test'--a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. , 1993, Neuropsychobiology.

[13]  Ratna Sharma,et al.  Assessment of computer game as a psychological stressor. , 2006, Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology.

[14]  Ulrike Ehlert,et al.  The level of physical activity affects adrenal and cardiovascular reactivity to psychosocial stress , 2009, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[15]  Piotr Winkielman,et al.  Social neuroscience : integrating biological and psychological explanations of social behavior , 2007 .

[16]  F. Esteves,et al.  Are the effects of Unreal violent video games pronounced when playing with a virtual reality system? , 2008, Aggressive behavior.

[17]  N. Ravaja,et al.  Psychophysiology of digital game playing: The relationship of self-reported emotions with phasic physiological responses , 2008 .

[18]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Effects of a supportive or an unsupportive audience on biological and psychological responses to stress. , 2010, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[19]  Corey J. Bohil,et al.  Effects of Representational Realism in 3D Violent Games , 2008 .

[20]  Daniela M. Romano,et al.  A Flexible Bio-Affective Gaming Interface , 2010 .

[21]  Dirk H. Hellhammer,et al.  Attenuation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis responsivity to the Trier Social Stress Test by the benzodiazepine alprazolam , 2006, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[22]  H. Prendinger,et al.  Emotion Recognition from Electromyography and Skin Conductance , 2005 .

[23]  S. Lea.  Elements of a two-process theory of learning, J.A. Gray. Academic Press, London and New York (1975), x, + 423. Price £6·60/$16.50 , 1976 .

[24]  James D. Ivory,et al.  The Effects of Technological Advancement and Violent Content in Video Games on Players’ Feelings of Presence, Involvement, Physiological Arousal, and Aggression , 2007 .

[25]  Torbjörn Falkmer,et al.  Physiological responses to low-force work and psychosocial stress in women with chronic trapezius myalgia , 2009, BMC musculoskeletal disorders.

[26]  Ron Tamborini,et al.  What Do We Really Know About First-Person-Shooter Games? An Event-Related, High-Resolution Content Analysis , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[27]  Albert A. Rizzo,et al.  Assessment of Psychophysiological Differences of West Point Cadets and Civilian Controls Immersed within a Virtual Environment , 2009, HCI.

[28]  Carolina Cruz-Neira,et al.  Surround-Screen Projection-Based Virtual Reality: The Design and Implementation of the CAVE , 2023 .

[29]  Michael J. Singer,et al.  Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Presence Questionnaire , 1998, Presence.

[30]  Ulrike Ehlert,et al.  Trained men show lower cortisol, heart rate and psychological responses to psychosocial stress compared with untrained men , 2007, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[31]  Jussi Holopainen,et al.  Spatial Presence and Emotional Responses to Success in a Video Game: A Psychophysiological Study , 2004 .

[32]  Lennart E. Nacke,et al.  Flow and immersion in first-person shooters: measuring the player's gameplay experience , 2008, Future Play.

[33]  D. Thalmann,et al.  Using physiological measures for emotional assessment: A computer-aided tool for cognitive and behavioural therapy , 2004 .

[34]  M. Ballard,et al.  Mortal Kombat (tm): The Effects of Violent Videogame Play on Males' Hostility and Cardiovascular Responding , 1996 .

[35]  C. Anderson.  An update on the effects of playing violent video games. , 2004, Journal of adolescence.

[36]  Christopher P. Barlett,et al.  Longer you play, the more hostile you feel: examination of first person shooter video games and aggression during video game play. , 2007, Aggressive Behavior.

[37]  Gert Pfurtscheller,et al.  Heart-Rate Variability and Event-Related ECG in Virtual Environments , 2004 .

[38]  M. First,et al.  Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders , 1997 .

[39]  R. Bernhaupt,et al.  Characterising and measuring user experiences in digital games , 2007 .