Oswald D. Kothgassner

Beyond the fascination of online-games: Probing addictive behavior and depression in the world of online-gaming

This study examined problematic gaming behavior and depressive tendencies among people who play different types of online-games. Other game-related variables were investigated to determine if other differences between three game types could be established. Participants in the current research (n=468) can be classified into three independent groups. Subjected users either solely played massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) or they preferred online-ego-shooters (OES) or real-time-strategy games (RTS). Results indicate that MMORPG users show more often problematic gaming behavior, depressive tendencies and lower self-esteem compared to users playing other online-games. MMORPG users reported to playing significantly more often in order to escape from real-life problems, which might be a valuable coping strategy but might also lead to problematic gaming behavior.

Is virtual reality emotionally arousing? Investigating five emotion inducing virtual park scenarios

Following the idea of using virtual environments (VEs) as mood induction procedures (MIPs), this study set out to examine whether five different virtual park scenarios would each elicit a specific affective state (i.e., joy, sadness, boredom, anger and anxiety). Within this main objective, a subset of two additional goals was identified: first, to analyze whether the sense of presence would differ across emotionally charged VEs, and second, to examine the link between a more objective measure of affective arousal, electrodermal activity (EDA), and presence. Following a between-subject design, 120 students were randomly assigned to one of the five VEs. Results show that almost all of the five virtual park scenarios were able to elicit the intended emotion. Additionally, presence levels were the same across all VEs suggesting that presence did not confound the emotional reaction to the VEs. Furthermore, EDA seems to be a poor indicator of presence as it is not significantly correlated with self-reported presence. The implications of these findings for both future research and practice are addressed in a comprehensive discussion. Four virtual park scenarios elicited the intended emotional states.Presence levels were the same across different virtual environments.Skin conductance level seems to be a poor indicator of presence.

Physical and social presence in collaborative virtual environments: Exploring age and gender differences with respect to empathy

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) hold the immense potential of enhancing social inclusion and social support not only in younger but especially also in older people. However, there is still considerably little knowledge about the experiences of elderly when using CVEs. Additionally, there is reason to assume that men and women regardless of their age might also differ in their perceptions of CVEs, with this difference very likely being mediated by empathic abilities. Consequently, the main objective of the current study was to evaluate gender specific experiences of social and physical presence in a group of older (N=62) and younger adults (N=62) with respect to possible mediating influences of empathy. Results indicate no differences in physical and social presence between the two age groups, yet they support past findings that men experience more spatial presence, involvement and a higher sense of being there than women. Also, the empathy scale Fantasy considerably mediated gender differences in spatial presence, thus strengthening the theoretical assumption of a relationship between presence and empathy. Implications and future directions of these findings are discussed in detail.

A virtual training tool for giving talks

In this paper we present two studies concerning the application of a virtual environment for public speaking anxiety. We have created a program simulating a virtual lecture room, which can be filled with a large number of listeners behaving in different ways. The purpose of the scene is to train people who are anxious to give talks in front of a large audience. We present the results of two studies, showing the impact of this kind of virtual exposure. Results indicate that people do experience such a situation as realistic, as well as report social insecurity and show heightened psychophysiological arousal (HR). Furthermore, we show that especially curious people, and people with high social insecurity rate the system as useful.

An online self-administered social skills training for young adults: Results from a pilot study

Up to 95% of teens and young adults in western societies are online, and research shows striking evidence that users suffering from social fears use the Internet more frequently. Social phobia (SP) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, characterized by early onset and more frequent histories of childhood and adolescent shyness. SP is often untreated because adolescent sufferers hesitate to talk to teachers or attend any face-to-face treatment. Furthermore, teachers and caregivers, responsible for educating these young adults, often lack the clinical-psychological knowledge to help. Therefore, we developed an online training for providing educative knowledge about social skills, social fears and body relaxation methods (including evidence-based cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) elements combined with elements from social skills trainings (SST)). Until now, no such online tool was readily available for teachers and caregivers in Europes German-speaking areas. In addition, the transformation of a well-evaluated (offline) SST with CBT elements into an attractive online form rendered a definite challenge. To assist teachers and caregivers, we developed an online-based self-administered SST with CBT elements especially for adolescents and young adults. The novelty of the project was its development in close cooperation with target groups to ensure usability and acceptance. This multi-stage program for the prevention of social fears and social phobia includes the promotion of social skills moreover cognitive restructuring. Fourteen text- and comic-based sessions (one session per week, each session takes 30-40 min) provide knowledge about social fears and social skills. The effectiveness was evaluated using pre- and post-tests with 61 training participants and 47 control group students. Preliminary results showed promising and significant effects in the intervention group: a decrease of social fears as well as an increase of social skills. These findings suggest that our self-administered online training is effective preventing social fears, and may be considered as an educative tool for teachers and caregivers (providing evidence-based information about social fears, social skills and body relaxation methods).

Debunking Differences between Younger and Older Adults Using a Collaborative Virtual Environment

Collaborative virtual environments allow younger and older people to interact over long distances and stay in contact with their families and friends. Thus, these virtual environments are considered to be both, a crucial factor for active and healthy ageing and a great chance for future developments that may enhance and alter communication for specific age groups. Yet, to date there is a lack of studies examining differences between younger and older adults with special regards to technology usage factors, presence related factors as well as anxiety measures and psychophysiological arousal during social interactions in a collaborative virtual environment. Consequently, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the above mentioned factors in a group of 20 younger and 20 older adults using a slightly stressful collaborative virtual environment. The corresponding results indicate that virtual environments could indeed be beneficial tools for the communication of both, younger and older adults. Yet, older adults reported significantly lower levels of social presence during the interaction and were less able to handle the system than younger adults. Interestingly however, both groups did not differ in their technology related anxiety or regarding physiological measures of stress during the experience of the virtual environment.

Why Does It Always Rain on Me? Influence of Gender and Environmental Factors on Usability, Technology Related Anxiety and Immersion in Virtual Environments

Collaborative virtual environments and technical possibilities in general are still a growing and more and more important influence on everyday life. According to corresponding studies it seems that context conditions as well as individual factors such as gender play an important role in the experience of virtual environments (i.e. immersion and technology-related anxiety) and in the rating of the used technology (i.e. its perceived usefulness). Thus, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the above mentioned factors in a group of 14 women and 14 men using two different emotionally charged collaborative virtual environments. The corresponding results indicate that there are in fact gender differences: Women reported higher levels of technology-related anxiety and immersion. In general, participants in the rainy condition rated the usefulness of the virtual environment higher. Also, women in the rainy condition rated the perceived usefulness higher than women in the cheerful condition whereas in the group of men it was vice versa.