Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Jun 2014
Virtual reality as a distraction technique in chronic pain patients.
We explored the use of virtual reality distraction techniques for use as adjunctive therapy to treat chronic pain. Virtual environments were specifically created to provide pleasant and engaging experiences where patients navigated on their own through rich and varied simulated worlds. ⋯ Human factors studies showed that virtual navigation is a safe and effective method for use with chronic pain patients. Chronic pain patients demonstrated significant relief in subjective ratings of pain that corresponded to objective measurements in peripheral, noninvasive physiological measures.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Sep 2013
Discussing Occupy Wall Street on Twitter: longitudinal network analysis of equality, emotion, and stability of public discussion.
To evaluate the quality of public discussion about social movements on Twitter and to understand the structural features and evolution of longitudinal discussion networks, we analyze tweets about the Occupy Wall Street movement posted over the course of 16 days by investigating the relationship between inequality, emotion, and the stability of online discussion. The results reveal that (1) the discussion is highly unequal for both initiating discussions and receiving conversations; (2) the stability of the discussion is much higher for receivers than for initiators; (3) the inequality of online discussions moderates the stability of online discussions; and (4) on an individual level, there is no significant relationship between emotion and political discussion. The implications help evaluate the quality of public discussion, and to understand the relationship between online discussion and social movements.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Jun 2014
Clinical use of virtual reality distraction system to reduce anxiety and pain in dental procedures.
Virtual reality (VR) has been used by clinicians to manage pain in clinical populations. This study examines the use of VR as a form of distraction for dental patients using both subjective and objective measures to determine how a VR system affects patients' reported anxiety level, pain level, and physiological factors. ⋯ Physiological data reported similar trends in decreased anxiety. Overall, the favorable subjective and objective responses suggest that VR distraction systems can reduce discomfort and pain for patients with mild to moderate fear and anxiety.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Sep 2015
The Double Meaning of Online Social Space: Three-Way Interactions Among Social Anxiety, Online Social Behavior, and Offline Social Behavior.
The present study aimed to investigate how online and offline social behavior interact with each other ultimately to affect the well-being of socially anxious adolescents. Based on previous studies, it was assumed that there might be three-way interactive effects among online social behavior, offline social behavior, and social anxiety regarding the relationship with well-being. To measure social anxiety, online and offline social behavior, and mental well-being, self-report questionnaires such as the Korean-Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Korean version of the Relational Maintenance Behavior Questionnaire, and Korean version of Mental Health Continuum Short Form were administered to 656 Korean adolescents. ⋯ In contrast, a higher level of online social behavior predicted greater well-being for individuals with high social anxiety under conditions of more engagement in offline social behavior. Second, online social behavior was not significantly related to well-being in youths with low social anxiety under conditions of both high and low engagement in offline social behavior. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Oct 2010
Virtual-reality distraction and cold-pressor pain tolerance: does avatar point of view matter?
This study tested the effects of distraction using virtual-reality (VR) technology on acute pain tolerance in young adults. Forty-one undergraduate students, aged 18-23 years, used a VR head-mounted display helmet, steering wheel, and foot pedal to play an auto racing video game while undergoing exposure to very cold water (cold pressor set at 1 °C). Two different game views were tested that were hypothesized to affect the degree to which participants felt "present" in the virtual environment: a first-person view, in which the participant saw the virtual environment through the eyes of the game character being manipulated; and a third-person view, in which the participant viewed the game character from a distance. ⋯ Results demonstrated that participants had significantly higher pain tolerance during both VR-distraction conditions relative to baseline (no distraction) trials. Although participants reported a greater sense of presence during the first-person condition than the third-person condition, pain-tolerance scores associated with the two distraction conditions did not differ. The types of VR applications in which presence may be more or less important are discussed.