A Virtual reality (VR) tour of the operating theatre can provide a realistic experience for children. The sample of children was allocated to VR-Documentary Film Group (n = 35), VR-Operating Theater Tour Group (n = 35) and Control Group (n = 35) using randomization and experimental study. The preoperative fear of the children was assessed (Child…

Using spatial mapping processes to discriminate between threat and safety is crucial for survival. Little is known why some fail to discriminate during contextual conditioning. We used a virtual reality (VR) contextual conditioning paradigm to elucidate the effects of state and trait anxiety on contextual threat learning. Participants (n = 70)…

Purpose: This study aims to explore if and to what extent an online avatar-assisted virtual classroom can work to alleviate groups of Japanese university students' anxiety around giving spoken presentations. It also explores how to create a more inclusive language learning environment and encourage interaction between the students in the virtual…

The metaverse which is considered as the digital big bang of humanity and the next evolution of the internet is anticipated to offer a living environment for civilization 5.0 and beyond in various domains including education. Each novice technology that enters our daily lives generates also fear, anxiety, and problems as well as hope, benefit, and…

Background: Needle phobias are common in children and adults worldwide. One effective intervention for this phobia is exposure therapy where a participant is gradually exposed to increasing levels of the fear-evoking stimulus while differential reinforcement is applied. This intervention, however, may be difficult to implement with some medical…

Fear of flying (FF) is an impairing psychological disorder that is extremely common in developed countries. The most effective treatment for this particular type of phobia is exposure therapy. However, there are few studies comparing imaginal exposure (IE) and virtual reality (VR) exposure for the treatment of FF. The present study compared the…

Evidence is growing that two modalities of computer-based exposure therapies--virtual reality and computer-aided psychotherapy--are effective in treating anxiety disorders, including fear of flying. However, they have not yet been directly compared. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of three computer-based exposure treatments for…

A recent fear-potentiated startle study in rodents suggested that extinction was not context dependent when extinction was conducted after a short delay following acquisition, suggesting that extinction can lead to erasure of fear learning in some circumstances. The main objective of this study was to attempt to replicate these findings in humans…

This paper presents a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach to support and promote deeper student learning in a computer architecture course. A PBL approach using a simulator building activity was used to teach part of the course. The remainder of the course was taught using a traditional lecture-tutorial approach. Qualitative data was collected…