Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Jun 2014
Virtual reality for the induction of positive emotions in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a pilot study over acceptability, satisfaction, and the effect of virtual reality on mood.
One of the most important aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is its impact on quality of life, increasing negative emotions and dysfunctional coping strategies. One of these strategies is to avoid activities, especially meaningful activities, which reduces positive reinforcement. Commencing significant daily activities could enable chronic patients to experience a more fulfilling life. ⋯ The VR environment was especially designed for chronic pain patients. Results showed significant increases in general mood state, positive emotions, motivation, and self-efficacy. These preliminary findings show the potential of VR as an adjunct to the psychological treatment of such an important health problem as chronic pain.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Apr 2014
The quality of mental health information commonly searched for on the Internet.
Previous research has reviewed the quality of online information related to specific mental disorders. Yet, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the overall quality of mental health information searched for online. This study examined the first 20 search results of two popular search engines-Google and Bing-for 11 common mental health terms. ⋯ The presence of the HONCode badge and noncommercial status was found to have a small correlation with Web site quality, and Web sites displaying the HONCode badge and commercial sites had lower readability scores. Popular search engines appear to offer generally reliable results pointing to mostly good or better quality mental health Web sites. However, additional work is needed to make these sites more readable.
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Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw · Mar 2014
Virtual reality experiments linking social environment and psychosis: a pilot study.
Initial studies with healthy subjects and individuals with high risk for psychosis have suggested that virtual reality (VR) environments may be used to investigate social and psychological mechanisms of psychosis. One small study reported that VR can safely be used in individuals with current persecutory delusions. The present pilot study investigated the feasibility and potential negative side effects of exposure to different virtual social risk environments in patients with first episode psychosis and in healthy controls. ⋯ In FEP, but not in HC, galvanic skin response was significantly stronger in virtual environments with avatars of other ethnicity than in the own ethnicity condition. These results suggest that VR is an acceptable and sufficiently realistic method to use in patients with first episode psychosis. VR research may help to increase our understanding of the social and psychological mechanisms of psychosis and to develop new treatment applications.