The use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Imagery have been utilized in psychological practices and treatment. VR has recently been the focus of research with treatments for post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and phobias, among other social and behavioral issues. VR allows the researcher to create realistic controlled environments in which they are able to manipulate the experiment. Imagery permits the individual to imagine and recall scenarios from their past in order to create a more personal environment. This experiment aimed to expand upon VR practices and treatment in regards to alcohol research. In this experiment, 70 participants, 39 females and 31 males, were exposed to two VR alcohol and two Imagery alcohol cue environments. Subject craving and psychophysiological measures were taken across all four scenes and all baselines. Overall, craving measures demonstrated that female nondrinkers developed higher cravings during Imagery. Conversely, male social drinkers demonstrated higher cravings during VR. This study supports the use of VR environments in the study of alcohol cue reactivity.

Expectancy theory is based on the subjective probability (expectancy) and projected value (valence). Based on this notion, an individual chooses his or her behaviors based on the interaction between the valences perceived to be associated with the outcomes, and the appraisal of the probability of that behavior resulting in those outcomes. Expectancies have been found to be predictive of many outcomes, such as treatment outcomes, behavioral change, and training reactions. The goal of the present study is to empirically investigate this issue within the mental health field. While virtual reality appears to be a promising preventative technique for posttraumatic stress disorder, the literature has not yet accounted for expectations and their influence on reactions. More specifically, it is unknown how expectancies influence reactions. Therefore, this study examines videogame self-efficacy as a mechanism through which expectations influence reactions. In the present study 60 participants completed an expectancy scale, VGSE scale, played a serious game designed to prepare soldiers for the psychological challenges associated with deployment, and completed a reactions survey. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine if videogame self-efficacy is a mechanism through which expectations predict reactions. Analyses revealed that videogame self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between expectancies and reactions.

The dismounted infantry system is a man wearable system with intelligent tutoring tool used to assess training. The tasks used to assess training for the intelligent tutoring were: (1) move as a member of a fireteam, (2) enter and clear a room, and (3) report battlefield information. The soldier wearing the simulation system acts as a member of a fireteam to conduct a virtual mission. The soldier's teammates are computer generated entities to conduct the mission. Soldiers were surveyed on the tasks assessed as well as the features of the system. Soldiers were also surveyed on tasks they felt needed to be added to the tutoring functions of the system. The intelligent tutor system and training in virtual reality was generally accepted by the participants. The general consensus was the technology needed additional refinement to provide a better training environment. Most felt that working with Semi-Automated Forces (SAF) entities made the scenario more difficult to execute. The parameters established for successful completion of the movement and reporting tasks were too strict and hindered the experience for the participant. Locomotion is another aspect that deserves further research. Moving the locomotion controls to the feet would free the soldier from having to accomplish multiple tasks with only two hands. Future research should concentrate on locomotion methods and controls, as well as only using human participants for all unit members.

One of the oft cited reasons for virtual environments is that they provide experiences with places one would never be able to visit and to perform tasks that would otherwise be dangerous, or inaccessible. The ability to become transported to another environment, such that you think you are "there," is known as presence. Existing presence literature focuses largely on the sensory aspects of virtual environment experiences. However, there is more to experience than what is sensed. This dissertation investigates the theoretical components of holistic experiences in virtual environments. In order to explore the relationship between experiential design and presence, a new evaluation tool was needed. This ultimately led to the development of the Virtual Experience Test. To validate the Virtual Experience Test, an experiment was designed that utilized subjective evaluations regarding game-play in the commercial game Mirror's Edge. Measures of experiential design, flow, and presence were taken and the relationships between the measures analyzed. The results of this research showed that environments utilizing holistic designs result in significantly higher presence. Furthermore, this study produced a validated measure of holistic experience that designers could use to evaluate their virtual environments.

Risk is endogenous when an individual is able to undertake mitigation or self protection actions that reduce the risk that he faces. Most risky environments studied in economics involve endogenous risk. This dissertation studies the conceptual and behavioral implications of introducing endogeneity in the controlled environment of the laboratory. The dissertation consists of three different experiments designed to examine how endogeneity affects risk attitudes and risk perceptions in simple experimental set ups. All three experiments employ a virtual reality scenario where the subject is able to form his own beliefs, based on naturalistic cues provided by the virtual reality experience. In the first experiment, a 'short run' individual experiment, subjects experience several forest fires that allow them to form beliefs about the probability of a house in the simulated forest being destroyed by fire. The evidence suggests that endogenous risk settings do cause subjects to employ different subjective beliefs than they use in an exogenous risk setting, although risk attitudes appear stable across these settings. Typically, the risk of natural disaster in any area is very small, and an adverse event like a forest fire occurs only once in a couple of decades. This has implications for self-protection expenditure where risk is endogenous. A 'long run' individual experiment with several rounds of decision making allows the estimation of subjective beliefs about the risk of the property burning when a fire may occur. This design allows for the study of the effect of an actual experience of forest fire on a subject's beliefs. Several mitigation options are collective in nature and require group contributions for the self-protection action to be provided. In an extension of the long run design, we study the effect of an actual experience of fire on beliefs when the risk is faced by a group rather than an individual. This framework also allows us to compare behavior in a public goods game involving risk, with the standard public goods game.

Computer simulations have developed as communication tools in interior design. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two types of computer simulation: passive walk-through animation of an interior design on the PC monitor and immersive walk- through of the same interior design in the CAVETM. This effectiveness was decided in terms of communicating basic visual information, such as visual forms, spatial relationships, colors, and textures. Sixty voluntary subjects chosen from faculty, staff, and graduate students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University were tested experimentally and interviewed. The interior design of the Visualization and Animation Laboratory in the Advanced Communications and Information Center, which is under construction on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, was simulated by the two types of computer simulation and shown to the participants. This study found that the simulation in the CAVETM was more effective than that on the PC in terms of communicating information about visual forms and spatial relationships in interior design. However, the PC was more effective in communicating information about colors. In terms of textures, no difference was shown. The simulation in the CAVETM appears to have more of a three-dimensional perception and makes people feel as if they were actually present in the space. Both technologies can have a role for general introduction to interior spaces. However, people gain more information in the CAVETM simulation. / Ph. D.

With The Fabulist, I hope to provide many of the pleasures of popular narrative�"addictive plot, compelling characters, immersive setting�"while also conducting an earnest interrogation of the value of fantasy in all its forms, as well as the moral vacuity of the lonely fiefdom the protagonist constructs for himself out of pop cultural detritus and his various nostalgic and artistic whims. The book straddles two major settings and timelines: the suburban creep of Pooter Valentine�[BULLET]s hometown, a world where strip malls and big box stores and fast food chains are being augmented in quiet magical realist fashion by something more sinister; and an ambiguously virtual game-world of Pooter�[BULLET]s design, an RPG and DND-indebted land of endless quests and haunting vistas which may not have an exit. While the novel is grounded in the subjectivity of Pooter�[BULLET]s anhedonia and egotism, it also aims to puncture his interiority by also becoming a story about his parents and the real people who begin to intrude (to Pooter�[BULLET]s surprise and chagrin) upon the video-game world he is allegedly the master of. Ultimately, it intends to tell a story both of the everyday ways in which we escape (and in so doing, undermine) our reality, and of a grandly supernatural departure; of escapism as an act of abandonment, but also (at its best) a catalyst for new communities and connections. This novel draft aspires to all these goals, and may perhaps achieve some of them one day. / MFA

With the increase in popularity of virtual reality (VR) systems, haptic devices have been garnering interest as means of augmenting users' immersion and experiences in VR. Unfortunately, most commercial gloves available on the market are targeted towards enterprise and research, and are too expensive to be accessible to the average consumer for entertainment. Some efforts have been made by gaming and do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiasts to develop cheap, accessible haptic gloves, but due to cost limitations, the designs are often simple and only provide feedback at the fingertips. Considering the many types of grasps used by humans to interact with objects, it is evident that haptic gloves must offer feedback to many regions of the hand, such as the palm and lengths of the fingers to provide more realistic feedback. This thesis discusses a novel, affordable design that provides haptic feedback to the intermediate and proximal phalanges of the fingers (index, middle, ring and pinkie) using a ratchet and pawl actuation mechanism. / Master of Science / Haptics, or simulation of the sense of touch, is already implemented in consumer devices such as smartphones and gaming controllers to augment users' immersive experiences. With the growing popularity of virtual reality, further advancements are being made, particularly in wearable haptic gloves, so users may physically feel the interactions with objects in virtual reality through their hands. Unfortunately, these products are currently inaccessible to the average consumer due to unaffordable pricing. To combat this issue, there have been efforts to develop cheap haptic gloves, but existing designs only provide feedback at the fingertips. Fingertip-only feedback can feel unnatural to users since other areas of the hand are typically also involved when grasping objects. To address the issue presented by low-cost fingertip haptic gloves, this thesis proposes a design which expands feedback to other areas of the hand while maintaining affordability and accessibility to average consumers.

Chronic pain remains a prevalent problem across the United States. Chronic pain does not seem to have a function and relief of this symptom remains elusive for many sufferers. Virtual reality has been used as an adjunct therapy to decrease acute pain with promising results, but there is little research on whether virtual reality could be used as a successful intervention for those with chronic pain. Virtual reality has few side effects, so it warrants consideration for the treatment of chronic pain. There is growing evidence that there is potential for virtual reality to produce desired results with patients having chronic pain, but without more research this intervention cannot be confidently recommended (Garrett, Taverner, & McDade 2017). This thesis reviewed published research on the use of virtual reality in those with chronic pain. A total of seven studies that addressed virtual reality and chronic pain were analyzed and integrated into this literature review. All studies used virtual reality as a distraction to improve chronic pain. Three studies included patients with chronic back pain, one study included patients with chronic neck pain, and the remaining three studies addressed other types of chronic pain including chronic postoperative breast cancer pain, chronic neuropathic pain, and chronic generalized pain. All studies reviewed reported improvement of chronic pain symptoms. This literature review provides evidence to support the use of virtual reality for those with chronic pain. More rigorous research with larger sample sizes is needed to increase the generalizability of results to help people suffering with chronic pain from a variety of causes. This literature review used the search terms "chronic pain" and "virtual reality" and the following databases: EBSCOhost, Medline, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premiere, and Applied Science & Technology Source.

Virtual reality (VR) has modernized the way that training has been done across multiple domains. Combining the benefits of using VR with the ability to measure workload levels from eye tracking data is a promising area of opportunity for all disciplines and jobs that require hands-on training. With VR becoming of increasing interest for optimizing training simulations and protocols for work around the world, this study aims to determine differential workload levels in virtual reality by using objective performance data in a simulation and subjectively assessing workload through the NASA-TLX survey. For this study, a 3x1 repeated measures ANOVA was conducted with one control, primary task only, and two experimental conditions, dual tasking with secondary auditory and visual tasks. 49 particpants were recruited from the local UCF area to study how varying task objectives impacted performance on target identifications, eye fixation counts, and their NASA-TLX survey scores. By doing so, we were able to compare primary task performances that were done concurrently with secondary tasks and measured task interference as a result of workload. Overall, we found that if a secondary task pulls from the same sensory modality (e.g.. visual, auditory) as the primary task, then primary task performance is not significantly impacted. This finding can help future training programs be designed in such a way so that the user is not overburdened and can adequately complete the required tasks. Another key takeaway from the study was that fixation counts may not be a reliable measure of workload as in the dual visual condition, the fixation counts were at the highest but that was not reflected in the workload assessment for the NASA TLX score.