Can a virtual environment enhance understanding of hoarding deficits? A pilot investigation

Can a virtual environment enhance understanding of hoarding deficits? A pilot investigation

Blog Article

This pilot study tested the utility of a virtual environment for assessing cognitive deficits characteristic of hoarding.A sample representing a broad spectrum of hoarding traits (N = 20) was assessed Dab Tools using self-report measures of information processing skills and emotional experience, and placed in a virtually simulated house that contained cluttered spaces and clean spaces.Information-processing significantly differed between high-hoarding and low-hoarding groups, with the high-hoarding group showing increased proneness to emotional attachment and information processing difficulties in the cluttered environment.

The high-hoarding group also showed differences in behaviour and appraisal of the simulated Cushion environment.The findings suggested that virtual reality is accessible to participants and elicits real-time emotions and behavioural parameters which can assist our understanding of hoarding behaviour.Virtual reality may contribute to hoarding therapy in future, as it allows participants to visualise a different perspective of their condition and could contribute to their knowledge about the severity of their behaviour.