Authors:
Katherine Chin
;
Marissa Thompson
and
Mounia Ziat
Affiliation:
Information Design and Corporate Communication, Bentley University, 175 Forest Street, Waltham, U.S.A.
Keyword(s):
Trypanophobia, Mid-air Haptics, Virtual Reality, Emotional Regulation, Distraction Therapy, Fear Reduction, Pain Reduction.
Abstract:
The objective of this study is to determine if using a multimodal experience, haptics and audio in a virtual environment, can change the emotional responses related to injections. Participants were poked with a blunt end needle in three conditions, where they were asked to look away from the needle, look at the needle directly, or interact haptically with bubbles in a virtual environment. Participants were asked to rate the arousal (calm-fear), valence (happy-unhappy), and pressure felt (no pressure-high pressure) for each trial. Our results showed that participants preferred the haptics-VR condition as indicated by their comments and significant valence scores. They described the simulation as relaxing, fun, and pleasant. The results support the idea that multisensory simulation can be effective in increasing participants’ happiness through distraction in stressful or fearful situations.