| dc.description.abstract | Social Anxiety Disorder(SAD) is a mental disorder rapidly growing in prevalence. At the time
of writing this paper, slightly more than 1 in 20 people is afflicted with SAD. SADs most often
start to occur in a person’s childhood, at which it is almost most effective to be treated. To make
sure that it can be treated and identified a lot of research is done into SADs. However, performing
research in the real world is difficult as it needs a lot of actors and risks the participants experiencing
negative emotions. To solve these problems Virtual Reality (VR) is used to experiment in. Most
VRenvironments are created by independent companies for a high price and can rarely be adapted
to a researcher’s own needs. This study has created and evaluated the usability and effectiveness
of a Virtual Reality (VR) tool designed to assist researchers with no need for IT skills in setting up
experiments for individuals with SAD. The research involved a thematic analysis of user feedback
collected during the setup and execution of VR-based experiments. Key findings highlight that
while the tool’s interface is generally intuitive, issues related to user experience, such as unclear UI
elements and limited control over experimental settings, were identified. Participants appreciated
the ease of configuration but expressed a desire for more detailed options, particularly concerning
the customization of Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) and the overall experimental environment.
The immersive qualities of the VR scenarios were praised, though certain aspects, such as the
lack of environmental details and inconsistencies in NPC behaviour, detracted from the overall
experience. Additionally, the data analysis component was found to be accessible but could benefit
from more comprehensive outputs and clearer documentation. The study concludes that while the
VR tool has significant potential for SAD research, further refinement is needed to address the
identified usability and functionality issues. Future work should focus on enhancing the tool’s
features, improving the clarity of its interface, and ensuring the reliability of the VR environment
to better support researchers in conducting meaningful experiments. | |
