New Technologies for Relaxation: The Role of Presence

Daniela VillaniCatholic University of Milan and Istituto Auxologico ItalianoFrancesco RivaCatholic University of MilanGiuseppe RivaCatholic University of Milan and Istituto Auxologico ItalianoIn recent years, several publications have appeared on virtual reality (VR)therapyinthetreatmentofanxietydisorders.However,alimitednumberofthesestudies targeted stress management and relaxation. To evaluate the efÞcacy ofVR as a support tool in the relaxation process, this study compared its efÞcacywith two other media (DVD and audiotape). The goals of the experiment were totest the efÞcacy of each condition in increasing relaxation and reducing anxiety,and whether the sense of presenceNthe feeling of being inside the mediacontentNcorrelated with the efÞcacy of the treatment. Results suggested theimportance of the sense of presence as a mediating variable between the mediaexperience and the efÞcacy of the protocol.

[1]  Lucia Renò,et al.  Presence and Mediated Spaces: A Review , 2005, PsychNology J..

[2]  Jonathan Freeman,et al.  A Cross-Media Presence Questionnaire: The ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory , 2001, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[3]  C. Spielberger,et al.  Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory , 1970 .

[4]  P. Lehrer,et al.  Progressive relaxation and meditation. A study of psychophysiological and therapeutic differences between two techniques. , 1983, Behaviour research and therapy.

[5]  Susan E. Hammer,et al.  The Effects of Guided Imagery Through Music on State and Trait Anxiety , 1996 .

[6]  D. Gill.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology , 1987 .

[7]  David H. Barlow,et al.  Anxiety and its disorders : the nature and treatment of anxiety and panic , 1988 .

[8]  Niels Birbaumer,et al.  Biofeedback and self-regulation , 1979 .

[9]  Giuseppe Riva,et al.  Towards CyberPsychology: Mind, Cognition and Society in the Internet Age. , 2001 .

[10]  P. Lehrer,et al.  Stress management techniques: Are they all equivalent, or do they have specific effects? , 1994, Biofeedback and self-regulation.

[11]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[12]  Guzzetta Ce,et al.  Effects of relaxation and music therapy on patients in a coronary care unit with presumptive acute myocardial infarction. , 1989 .

[13]  L. Zimmerman,et al.  Effects of Music in Patients Who Had Chronic Cancer Pain , 1989, Western journal of nursing research.

[14]  Ezio Sanavio,et al.  Coping strategies : Evidence for cross-cultural differences ? A preliminary study with the Italian version of coping orientations to problems experienced (COPE) , 1997 .

[15]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[16]  J. Freeman,et al.  Relaxation Island: virtual, and really relaxing , 2006 .

[17]  K. Scherer.  Appraisal considered as a process of multilevel sequential checking. , 2001 .

[18]  G. Andrews,et al.  The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Clinician Guides and Patient Manuals , 1995 .

[19]  G. Riva,et al.  Being There: Concepts, Effects and Measurements of User Presence in Synthetic Environments , 2003 .

[20]  W. IJsselsteijn.  Presence in the past : what can we learn from media history? , 2003 .

[21]  G. Riva,et al.  Virtual Environments in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience: Methods and Techniques in Advanced Patient-Therapist Interaction , 1998 .

[22]  D. Klein.  The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Clinician's Guide and Patient Manuals , 1998 .

[23]  Rosa María Baños,et al.  Immersion and Emotion: Their Impact on the Sense of Presence , 2004, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[24]  J. C. Smith,et al.  Progressive muscle relaxation, yoga stretching, and ABC relaxation theory. , 2004, Journal of clinical psychology.

[25]  Giuseppe Riva,et al.  Panic and Agoraphobia in a Virtual World , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[26]  C E Guzzetta,et al.  Effects of relaxation and music therapy on patients in a coronary care unit with presumptive acute myocardial infarction. , 1989, Heart & lung : the journal of critical care.

[27]  K. Scherer,et al.  Psychophysiological responses to appraisal dimensions in a computer game , 2004 .

[28]  S. Robb,et al.  Music assisted progressive muscle relaxation, progressive muscle relaxation, music listening, and silence: a comparison of relaxation techniques. , 2000, Journal of music therapy.

[29]  Ruth M. Rettie,et al.  Presence and Embodiment in Mobile Phone Communication , 2005, PsychNology J..

[30]  Wolfgang Linden,et al.  Stress management: what is it? , 2004, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[31]  B G Berger,et al.  Relation of Low and Moderate Intensity Exercise with Acute Mood Change in College Joggers , 1998, Perceptual and motor skills.

[32]  J. Gross,et al.  Emotion elicitation using films , 1995 .

[33]  Thomas G. Plante,et al.  Does Virtual Reality Enhance the Management of Stress When Paired With Exercise? An Exploratory Study. , 2003 .

[34]  Thomas G. Plante,et al.  Psychological benefits of exercise paired with virtual reality: Outdoor exercise energizes whereas indoor virtual exercise relaxes. , 2006 .

[35]  Rosa María Baños,et al.  The Third Pole of the Sense of Presence: Comparing Virtual and Imagery Spaces , 2005, PsychNology J..

[36]  David Sander,et al.  A systems approach to appraisal mechanisms in emotion , 2005, Neural Networks.

[37]  K. Scherer,et al.  Appraisal processes in emotion: Theory, methods, research. , 2001 .

[38]  E. McAuley,et al.  Manipulating self-efficacy in the exercise environment in women: influences on affective responses. , 1999, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[39]  Brenda K. Wiederhold,et al.  14 Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy vs. Imagery Desensitization Therapy in the Treatment of Flying Phobia , 2001 .

[40]  Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn,et al.  Toward a Core Bibliography of Presence , 2001, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[41]  A. Wells,et al.  Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders: A Practice Manual and Conceptual Guide , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[42]  Francesco Vincelli,et al.  From Imagination to Virtual Reality: The Future of Clinical Psychology , 1999, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[43]  Giuseppe Riva,et al.  Virtual Reality in Psychotherapy: Review , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[44]  Suzanne B. Hanser,et al.  Music Therapy and Stress Reduction Research , 1985 .

[45]  C. Pull.  Current status of virtual reality exposure therapy in anxiety disorders: editorial review. , 2005, Current opinion in psychiatry.

[46]  Brenda K. Wiederhold,et al.  Virtual reality therapy for anxiety disorders: Advances in evaluation and treatment. , 2005 .

[47]  W. Jack Rejeski,et al.  Psychological Benefits of Physical Activity Are Influenced by the Social Environment , 1997 .

[48]  R. McNally.  Anxiety and Its Disorders: The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic, 2nd ed. , 2002 .

[49]  S. Mineka,et al.  A contemporary learning theory perspective on the etiology of anxiety disorders: it's not what you thought it was. , 2006, The American psychologist.