Testing the efficacy of a virtual reality-based simulation in enhancing users’ knowledge, attitudes, and empathy relating to psychosis

Objective: The current study examined the efficacy of a virtual reality (VR) education system that simulates the experience of the positive symptomology associated with schizophrenic spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Method: The sample comprised of 50 participants from the general public and various psychology undergraduate programs. Participants completed pre-test measures exploring knowledge of diagnosis, attitudes, and empathetic understanding, before being exposed to an immersive VR simulation of a psychotic episode. Participants then completed the original measures with the addition of a user-experience scale, which explored sub-factors understood to share a relationship with VR effectiveness (i.e., fidelity, immersion, presence, and user buy-in). Results: Participants’ scores were significantly enhanced at post-test across each outcome measure, with significant correlations found between a number of the gain and user-experience scores. Conclusions: The findings suggest that VR-based simulations of psychopathology may offer a promising platform for delivering a constructionist approach to psychology education.