Enhancing virtual reality exposure with olfactory and tactile cues

The fear of flying or Aviophobia can impact an individual's occupational, academic, and social functioning which has implications on their overall quality of life. Many individuals give up important opportunities, such as job promotions or family visits through avoidance of flying. Behavioral therapies such as systematic desensitization and in-vivo exposure have shown to be quite effective for aviophobia. Advances in computer technologies have added the modality of Virtual Reality (VR) to the standard exposure behavior therapy techniques. VR has the advantages of being more convenient than in-vivo exposure and does not require the patient to be skilled at imagery. Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has been shown to be an effective technique for aviophobia by primarily tapping into visual and auditory senses. However, there is little research on how the specific technique of VRET may be enhanced. A small amount of research has focused on tactile augmentation as a possible enhancement to VRET. This entails adding tactile stimuli such as fur to an animal while in a virtual environment. Other sensory modalities, such as olfaction may also enhance the effectiveness of VRET. The current study was proposed to assess the effects of scent emission and tactile stimulation in the form of vibration in terms of physiological arousal, reported fear, reported presence level, and fear related behavior. This study used a two by two (scent present or absent x vibration present or absent) design. Sixty volunteer undergraduate subjects from the Hofstra University research pool were randomly assigned to one of four groups. All subjects were hooked up to the same virtual reality program and were read the same script throughout the experiment which lasted approximately 25 minutes. Physiological measures and subjective distress measures were collected during the exposure. Presence levels were assessed with a questionnaire immediately following the exposure and fear related behavior was coded by trained independent coders from DVDs obtained during the exposures. Overall all groups showed similar patterns of subjective distress to the exposure scenario. Subjects did not differ significantly between groups on any of the individual measures assessed with the exception of electrodermal activity during one data collection point. It was concluded that the overall virtual reality exposure, which included visualizations, auditory stimulation, and an experimenter read script, was sufficient to evoke elevated levels of distress regardless of condition. However, the addition of olfactory and tactile stimulation in the form of scent emission and vibrations did not have a significant impact on the dependent measures. Limitations including independent variable considerations and the potential effects of the instructions and script on the experience are discussed.