Publication: A design framework for designing a virtual environment for stress therapy : Malaysian context
Date
2025-03-05
Authors
Farhah Amaliya Zaharuddin
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Abstract
The application of virtual reality in the field of psychology has been found to help its users improve their mental health conditions. Recently, the application of virtual reality has been expanded as an alternative tool for psychological stress therapies. Most of the available literature on virtual reality for stress therapy focuses on evaluating the system's effectiveness, with less discussion available on the design of virtual environments that facilitate stress reduction. Based on the review conducted, it was recommended to identify unique requirements that foster the therapeutic characteristics of a therapy condition when designing technological applications for human psychology and cognitive behaviour. The recommendation highlights the importance of identifying unique requirements for the purpose of designing effective virtual environments intended for stress therapy. Presently, the identification of the unique requirements remains outstanding, as the frameworks and guidelines available were discussed separately from two different perspectives: human psychology and information technology. Therefore, to address the gap, this study has proposed a framework for designing a virtual environment for stress therapy. The framework
listed the design elements from both the perspectives of human psychology and information technology. The framework was developed and validated iteratively
through a series of five studies: two on requirements and three on evaluation. These studies received participation from users and experts within the relevant domains. The data collection process encompassed five methods, including (i) a questionnaire, (ii) an interview, (iii) a presentation, (iv) a prototype demonstration, and (v) an experiment. Subsequently, the collected data were analysed through five methods of analysis, namely: (i) thematic analysis; (ii) content analysis; (iii) cross-case analysis; (iv) descriptive statistics; and (v) inferential statistics. The result of the study was a final framework for designing virtual environments for stress therapy, encompassing five factors and 14 design elements. Through the analysis conducted, the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed design principles were evident in their capacity to mitigate stress when integrated into virtual environments. As such, the proposed framework exhibits potential as a guideline for designing an effective virtual environment specifically intended for stress therapy. In addition, the framework also represents a significant contribution to the current evolving field of advanced technology for human well-being, which holds the potential to benefit human health
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2023