Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Prior exposure to a sensorimotor game in virtual reality does not enhance stress reactivity toward the OpenTSST VR.

Compared to the in-person Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), virtual reality (VR) variants reduce resource-intensity and improve standardization but induce stress with smaller effect sizes. However, higher cortisol reactivity is given for more immersive TSST-VRs. Immersivity depends on the VR-system, but perceived immersion may be targeted by exposure to, or interaction with the VR. We investigated whether stress reactivity towards the openly accessible OpenTSST VR can be enhanced by prior exposure to a sensorimotor game completed in VR as mediated by increased immersion. Therefore, N  = 58 healthy participants underwent the OpenTSST VR or its inbuilt control condition (placebo TSST-VR, pTSST-VR). Beforehand, participants completed a sensorimotor game either in VR or in real life. Stress was measured by means of self-reports, salivary cortisol concentrations, and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) activity. Perceived immersion was assessed with the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ). The TSST-VR-group showed higher subjective stress than the pTSST-VR-group. Even though area under the curve measures indicated significant differences in cortisol levels between TSST-VR and pTSST-VR, this effect was not replicated in omnibus-analyses. Likewise, sAA was not responsive to stress. Our data suggests the OpenTSST VR does not reliably trigger physiological stress reactivity. Likewise, participants playing the VR-game before exposure to the TSST-VR did not show enhanced stress reactivity. Importantly, playing the VR-game did not lead to increased immersion (indicated by the IPQ), either. The key question resulting from our study is which manipulation may be fruitful to obtain a comparable stress response toward the TSST-VR compared to the in-person TSST.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

Related Resources

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app