SCHIZOPHRENIA: FREEMAN ET AL. Flashcards
Describe the context of the study
- According to Daniel Freeman, he approached a ‘technological revolution in mental health’
- when entering these virtual situations, people are aware that the avatars are not real but they react in a way that is very similar to real-world encounters.
- Previous studies have shown that avatars can trigger emotional reactions in people with anxiety disorders e.g Slater et al
Define Persecutory ideation
- This refers to the false belief that people are out to harm you despite there being no evidence/ proof of that being true.
What was the aim in Freeman
- He wanted to examine whether neutral, non-threatening avatars could provoke persecutory thoughts in people with no previous clinical diagnoses and whether this was more common in people with higher levels of paranoia and emotional distress.
Describe the sample
- 24 in total (12 male and 12 female)
- mean age was 26
- All recruited from University College London
- 21 were staff
- 3 were admin staff
What type of study was this
This was a correlational study
What did the participants do at the beginning of the study
- Participants were trained in how to use VR equipment
- This included lightweight headgear to trach head position
- They also handled joystick which allowed the participant to move around the virtual space.
List the quantitative measures they took (questionnaires)
- Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)
- The Spielberger State Anxiety Questionnaire
- The Paranoia Scale
- The VR Paranoia questionnaire
Describe the BSI
- 53 item questionnaire
- assess:
> Mood
> Anxiety
> psychotic symptoms - in the last 7 days
Describe the Spielberger State Anxiety Questionnaire and the Paranoia Scale
- Both are 20-items
- they both measure ideas of persecution and reference
Describe the VR-Paranoia questionnaire
- This was created as there was no pre-existing test of situation specific paranoia
- 15-item questionnaire
- measures:
- persecutory thoughts
- ideas of reference
- positive beliefs about the avatars
EXAMPLES:
They were hostile towards me
They had bad intentions towards me
They were laughing at me
Describe what took place during the virtual task
- They explored a virtual library
- There were 5 avatars that sat in 2 small groups
- The avatars were; occasionally smilling, looking over and talking to one another
Particiapnts were told: - to explore the room
- try to form somme impresson of what they think about the people in the room
- What the avatars think of them
How were particpants split for the questionnaires
The first half completed the questionnaires before the virtual task while the second half completed them after the virtual task. The first half completed them for the second time
ALL participants completed the VR-paranoia
Describe the qualitative measure in the study
- At the end of the study, all participants were interviewed through a semi-structured
- They were interviewed about their experiences and feelings of distress
- Later, a clinical psychologist watched the videotaped interviews and rated them out of 6 for indications of persecutory ideation
State 3 results from the study
- The mean paranoia score was 31.8 with no significant difference between male and female
- There was a positive correlation between persecutory thoughts in the questionnaire and the interviews
- There was a positive correlation between VR persecutory ideation and interpersonal sensitivity (BSI)
State what they concluded
- Emotions linked to anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity contribute directly to the development of persecutory ideation. VR is a great tool that can help us understand and help inidividuals reduce persecutory ideation
State the methodological strength
- A strength is that half the participants answered the BSI, paranoia and anxiety questionnaires before and after their time in the virtual room. This was done to see whether completing the questionnaire prompted them to experience persecutory thoughts. This was not the case suggesting that the thoughts were triggered by the avatars alone.
- Anxiety scores were very similar before and after the VR task showing that there was no long lasting psychological harm
- All gave their consent however it was not fully informed. This was justified due to the potenital benefits to society
State 2 methodological weaknesses
- Participants felt that they did not feel present in the virtual library. This was measured through a 6-point scale and the higher the score, the more present they felt. The score was 2/6. This lowers ecological validity and also may be due to a shorter duration in the room.
- There was sampling bias. All were drawn from a London university. They were relatively young (mean age=26) and so low generalizability
Idiographic v nomothetic
Nomothetic:
- Quantitative data was collected using the VR paranoia self report. It had a 4-point scale which allowed for statistical analysis in order to draw conclusions and can therefore generalize to the target population
Idiographic:
- Qualitative data through the interviews
Application to everyday life
- A strength is that the study can underpin the development of psychotic symptoms
- We can esplore how people interpret mental states in others using VR setting
- VR therapies can help people focus on developing new ways of interacting in the real world
Individual v Situational
Individual:
- The questionnaires measured related to individual explanations i.e the Spielberger state anxiety questionnaire saw that certain people are more vulnerable to developing psychotic symptoms
Situational:
- VR research can also reveal environmental factors are associated with persecutory thoughts. Virtual environments could help identify factors which make such thoughts more or less likely.
