Virtual reality (VR) technologies allow for controlled simulations of affectively engaging background narratives. These virtual environments offer promise for enhancing emotionally relevant experiences and social interactions. Within this context, VR can allow instructors, therapists, neuropsychologists, and service providers to offer safe, repeatable, and diversifiable interventions that can benefit assessments and learning in both typically developing children and children with disabilities. Research has also pointed to VR's capacity to reduce children's experience of aversive stimuli and reduce anxiety levels. Although there are a number of purported advantages of VR technologies, challenges have emerged. One challenge for this field of study is the lack of consensus on how to do trials. A related issue is the need for establishing the psychometric properties of VR assessments and interventions. This review investigates the advantages and challenges inherent in the application of VR technologies to pediatric assessments and interventions.

Abstract. The paper examines in the laboratory how risk-taking situations are affected by the conditions of observing other's choices (observer) and being observed by others (source). By extending Yechiam et al.'s (2008) experimental design to the domain of gains we find that observers are more probable than sources to choose risky alternatives producing rare gains than equiprobable gains. The impact of social exposure is also analyzed and interpreted in the context of personality traits to assess how heterogeneity influences risky decisions.JEL Classification: C91, D01, D81.

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