Virtual support by “human” avatars buffers stress response

A standardised experiment was conducted to study the effect of social support prior to an acute stressor. In the experiment, 56 study volunteers were given support – either face-to-face or by a virtual character, delivered via virtual reality glasses – before having to perform demanding tasks under time pressure in front of a large jury.

It was suggested to one group of volunteers that this avatar was controlled by a real person, while the other group believed that it was computer controlled. A further control group received no support at all prior to the stress test. Following the stress test, an additional social behaviour experiment investigated possible changes in prosocial behaviour – for example by systematic observation of helpfulness and social bonding.

研究人员在压力测试过程中通过增加心率来确定志愿者的心理压力。主要发现如下：真实的人或虚拟人在先前支持之后的心率增加得多明显，志愿者被认为由真实的人（所谓的头像）控制而不是支持的团体通过计算机字符或根本没有。此外，研究人员发现，应压力测试陪审团的评估引发了直接或数字的测试组中的耻辱和沉思。同样，有人发现，这些人更快地提供帮助，并展出了更高水平的社会粘合。“结果也是数字时代人类触摸的请求。此外，社会支持是对压力相关疾病的重要预防因素，“Kothgassner说，提供了一个简短的摘要。“在我们的研究中，社会支持对面对面或通过化身的影响有效，实际上是可比的。这个主题只需要相信阿凡达的人。这也开辟了新的观点和可能性，特别是关于数字社交网络或在线游戏，这些游戏节省了很多社会资源，也可以具有预防效果。 To this extent, digital interactions should be given more credit as protective factors and not just be seen as a risk.”

“Our results have far-reaching implications for the use of virtual reality in medical research and also in the context of therapeutic applications,” adds Felnhofer. The findings could already be used in the prevention of psychiatric illnesses such as depression but also in the treatment of such disorders via telemedicine or other virtual therapy programs.