The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy on Public Speaking Anxiety in University Dormitory Students

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

• Abolfazl Khoshnama ¹
• Ahmad Borjali ²
• Noorali Farrokhi ³

¹ ُStudent\Allame Tabatabai University,Tehran, Iran

² Associate Professor \Allame Tabatabai University,Tehran, Iran

³ Associate Professor Allame Tabatabai University,Tehran, Iran

10.22067/tpccp.2021.36377.0

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) on reducing public speaking anxiety in dormitory students.
Method: The research methodology was a semi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group. The research statistical population consisted of all dormitory students of Allameh Tabataba'i University in the academic year of 2017-2018. Of these, using purposive sampling technique, thirty students who met the research criteria and experienced high levels of public speaking anxiety were selected and randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group (15 individuals) and the control group (15 individuals). The experimental group received eight sessions of VRET while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using Public Speaking Anxiety Scale (PSAS: Bartholomay & Houlihan, 2016) in two stages of pretest and post-test. The data were then analyzed using ANCOVA statistical method.
Findings: The results showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p<0.001) indicating that VRET is beneficial for reducing public speaking anxiety of dormitory students.

Keywords

• virtual reality
• exposure therapy
• public speaking anxiety
• student. Dormitory

20.1001.1.22516352.1400.11.1.1.9

---

References

Afsharian, N., & Eebrahimighavam, S. (2016). The Study of Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy in Reducing the Driving Phobia: A Case Study. Journal of Psychological Studies, 12(1), 65-84. (In Persian)

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).

Anderson, P. L., Edwards, S. M., & Goodnight, J. R. (2017). Virtual reality and exposure group therapy for social anxiety disorder: Results from a 4–6 year follow-up. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41(2), 230-236.

Bar-Zvi, M. (2011). Virtual reality exposure versus cognitive restructuring for treatment of public speaking anxiety: A pilot study. Israel Journal of Psychiatry, 48(2), 91-97.

Bartholomay, E. M., & Houlihan, D. D. (2016). Public Speaking Anxiety Scale: Preliminary psychometric data and scale validation. Personality and Individual Differences, 94, 211-215.

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.

Craske, M. G. (1999). Anxiety disorders: psychological approaches to theory and treatment. Westview Press.

Craske, M. G., Kircanski, K., Zelikowsky, M., Mystkowski, J., Chowdhury, N., & Baker, A. (2008). Optimizing inhibitory learning during exposure therapy. Behaviour research and therapy, 46(1), 5-27.

Daly, J. A., & McCroskey, J. C. (1975). Occupational desirability and choice as a function of communication apprehension. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22(4), 309-313.

Danesh, E. (1998). Investigating the Causes and Consequences of Speech Anxiety in University Students and the Effect of Self-Teaching Method on Its Reduction. Teacher of Humanities, 8(7), 11-23. (In Persian)

Falcione, R. L., McCroskey, J. C., & Daly, J. A. (1977). Job satisfaction as a function of employees' communication apprehension, self-esteem, and perceptions of their immediate supervisors. Annals of the International Communication Association, 1(1), 363-375.

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior research methods, 39(2), 175-191.

Garcia-Palacios, A., Botella, C., Hoffman, H., & Fabregat, S. (2007). Comparing acceptance and refusal rates of virtual reality exposure vs. in vivo exposure by patients with specific phobias. Cyberpsychology & behavior, 10(5), 722-724.

Gregg, L., & Tarrier, N. (2007). Virtual reality in mental health. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 42(5), 343-354.

Harris, S. R., Kemmerling, R. L., & North, M. M. (2002). Brief virtual reality therapy for public speaking anxiety. Cyberpsychology & behavior, 5(6), 543-550.

Hofmann, S. G., & Otto, M. W. (2017). Cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder: Evidence-based and disorder-specific treatment techniques. Routledge.

Hurt, H. T., Joseph, K., & Cook, C. D. (1977). Scales for the measurement of innovativeness. Human Communication Research, 4(1), 58-65.

Kothgassner, O. D., Felnhofer, A., Beutl, L., Hlavacs, H., Lehenbauer, M., & Stetina, B. (2012). A virtual training tool for giving talks. International Conference on Entertainment Computing,

Krijn, M., Emmelkamp, P. M., Olafsson, R. P., & Biemond, R. (2004). Virtual reality exposure therapy of anxiety disorders: A review. Clinical psychology review, 24(3), 259-281.

Magee, L., Erwin, B. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2009). Psychological treatment of social anxiety disorder and specific phobia. Oxford handbook of anxiety and related disorders, 334-349.

Mannuzza, S., Schneier, F. R., Chapman, T. F., Liebowitz, M. R., Klein, D. F., & Fyer, A. J. (1995). Generalized social phobia: Reliability and validity. Archives of general psychiatry, 52(3), 230-237.

McCroskey, J. C. (1977). Oral communication apprehension: A summary of recent theory and research. Human Communication Research, 4(1), 78-96.

McCroskey, J. C., & Andersen, J. F. (1976). The relationship between communication apprehension and academic achievement among college students. Human Communication Research, 3(1), 73-81.

McCroskey, J. C., Daly, J. A., & Sorensen, G. (1976). Personality correlates of communication apprehension: A research note. Human Communication Research, 2(4), 376-380.

Owens, M. E., & Beidel, D. C. (2015). Can virtual reality effectively elicit distress associated with social anxiety disorder? Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37(2), 296-305.

Paul Gilbert, F. (2004). Evolutionary theory and cognitive therapy. Springer Publishing Company.

Peterman, J. S., Read, K. L., Wei, C., & Kendall, P. C. (2015). The art of exposure: Putting science into practice. Cognitive and behavioral practice, 22(3), 379-392.

Scott, M. D., Wheeless, L. R., Yates, M. P., & Randolph, F. L. (1977). The effects of communication apprehension and test anxiety on three indicants of achievement in an alternative system of instruction: A follow-up study. Annals of the International Communication Association, 1(1), 543-554.

Tarrier, N., Pilgrim, H., Sommerfield, C., Faragher, B., Reynolds, M., Graham, E., & Barrowclough, C. (1999). A randomized trial of cognitive therapy and imaginal exposure in the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 67(1), 13-18.

Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (2005). Conceptual Foundations of Evolutionary Psychology. In D. M. Buss (Ed.), The handbook of evolutionary psychology (pp. 5–67). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wiederhold, B. K., & Wiederhold, M. D. (2005). Virtual reality therapy for anxiety disorders: Advances in evaluation and treatment. American Psychological Association.