Using Virtual Reality to Assess Associations Between Paranoid Ideation and Components of Social Performance: A Pilot Validation Study

Abstract

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Subjective experience of paranoid ideation in a virtual reality social environment: A mixed methods cross‐sectional study

“…Participants were a subsample selected from a large population sample based on their scores on paranoia. The original study is described fully in previous research (Riches, Garety, et al, ). Participants scored high (≥85th percentile) in trait paranoia, as measured by Green et al () Paranoid Thought Scales (GPTS) in the large population study ( N = 609).…”

“…Participants wore the Oculus Rift Developer v2 head‐mounted display and headphones. They entered an immersive virtual bar‐room environment, populated by male and female avatars of various ages and ethnicities (Riches, Elghany, Garety, Rus‐Calafell, & Valmaggia, ; Riches, Garety, et al, ). Participants spent ~5 min in the virtual bar‐room and were instructed to move through the virtual environment following marks on the ground.…”

“…Before VR, researchers asked participants to pay attention to avatars and to respond if avatars spoke. Apparatus and task are described fully in previous research (Riches, Garety, et al, ).…”

“…Participants were paid £10 for their involvement in the VR study. Given that all 36 participants were previously involved in a larger study with 609 participants (Riches, Garety, et al, ) they were allocated a participant number between 1 and 609 to preserve their anonymity, and this participant number was retained for the present study.…”

“…Technology‐based methods are increasingly being used to assess paranoia (Nittel et al, ). Virtual reality (VR) can provide real‐time assessment of paranoid ideation and its correlates in social performance, including interpersonal processes and behaviours (Fornells‐Ambrojo et al, ; Riches, Garety, et al, ) and can supplement existing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions for people with psychosis in highly innovative ways (Freeman et al, ; Rus‐Calafell, Garety, Sason, Craig, & Valmaggia, ). Research suggests that CBT techniques that target safety behaviours and social cognitive appraisals to reduce paranoid ideation can be effectively and helpfully implemented using VR (Pot‐Kolder et al, ; Pot‐Kolder, Veling, Counotte, & van der Gaag, ), providing therapeutic options that would otherwise not necessarily be possible in the clinic.…”