Anhedonia is a psychological condition defined as the reduced capacity to experience pleasure with an increase in emotional numbness. Anhedonia, while not popular by name, is a commonly met symptom associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. This condition is increasingly understood as a deviation in the brain’s reward processing system, particularly in the anticipatory and consummatory phases. Research suggests that emotional numbing and chronic stress occurs when dopamine pathways and motivational drive are disrupted. In this paper, a deep dive is taken into how Virtual Reality immersive programs, used in exposure therapy for treating anxiety disorders, can be adapted and programmed to specific scenarios that may help induce anhedonic states. The paper uses the Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress (UCMS) model in animals to propose that VR scenarios simulating sensory deprivation and emotional desensitization stressors may replicate core features of anhedonia. Virtual platforms can be used to mimic disruptions in the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and reward circuitry. Why is inducing anhedonia worth exploring? Inducing anhedonia in a controlled VR environment can help study whether this temporary psychological state can act as a bridge that can be used to mitigate negative reactions in humans, such as claustrophobia. When a subject experiences a temporal emotional numbing, it gives researchers the ability to reduce the emotionally heightened reactions commonly triggered by confined spaces. Ultimately, this research offers a novel direction in the use of VR: not only as a therapeutic tool but also as a controlled experimental medium to investigate emotional numbing and reward dysfunction.
Mixed reality (MR) integrates virtual content with the physical world, enabling users to place virtual objects in real environments and interact with or observe them. As MR technologies advance, such experiences are becoming increasingly common. However, it remains unclear how the visual and interactive representation of virtual objects influences users, and few studies have examined users’ behavioral responses to virtual objects. We investigated whether representation factors (interactivity, transparency, and size) affect users’ sense of presence and their behaviors toward the object (e.g., avoidance or displacement). Here, interactivity refers to whether users can touch the virtual object. In two experiments (desk-scale and room-scale) conducted, participants performed a reaching task toward a real target located behind a virtual object whose representation factors were manipulated. Presence and behavior were assessed using subjective ratings and objective measures from tracking data and video observations. Perceived presence varied with interactivity, transparency, and size, whereas avoidance and displacement behaviors showed no reliable differences across conditions. Nonetheless, the results suggest that behavioral responses may emerge when interaction demands are stronger or the scale of interaction is larger. Overall, representation affected perceived presence but did not reliably change avoidance or displacement behavior in this task.
The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in education is rapidly increasing due to the immersive and interactive environments it provides that support the nature of engineering learning experiences that can be difficult, hazardous, or resource-intensive. However, this rapid growth of VR-based educational systems has produced a fragmented literature. This paper presents a scoping review of 32 peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2025 that examine the use of VR in engineering education contexts. Using a structured extraction and descriptive synthesis approach, the review analyzes trends across engineering domains, learning objectives, VR modalities, instructional roles, learner populations, and evaluation methods. The results reveal a strong emphasis on procedural learning objectives, including laboratory skill rehearsal, equipment operation, and safety-oriented training. Despite this focus on procedural tasks, evaluation practices are frequently limited to short-term, perception-based measures, highlighting a structural misalignment between learning objectives and assessment methods. Furthermore, VR is most often deployed as a supplementary instructional tool rather than as a fully integrated component of course design.
Immersive VR tools simulate cosmic events interactively to improve understanding of space science, but they often prioritize visuals over learning. MAIVE navigates virtual environments with multiple AI agents and embedded tutors on demand. A central coordinator guides these tutors in explaining concepts, checking assumptions, and providing step-by-step support. By aligning motion data with activity milestones, the system captures signals that show how each user progresses through tasks. Conversation history is preserved by a memory and retrieval tool to support teachers. Separating perception tasks from teaching moves and internal model updates allows adjustments without changing virtual environments. To measure impact, we will compare an adaptive MAIVE condition to a nonadaptive condition using the same material, order, and logging. We will analyze conceptual change, user feedback scores, pause, help, and error logs.
This paper outlines a study exploring the potential of implementing a behavior change intervention via virtual reality (VR) to further sustainability communication. A prototype experience was created and tested utilizing the distinctive possibilities of VR, in the context of doubling as entertainment for cruise guests. Tailoring sustainability information to a specific audience while being entertaining, utilizing the features and understanding the limitations of VR in this context were some of the challenges faced. The methods utilized to overcome these barriers should provide valuable insight on the practical application of VR, and understanding the interplay of sustainability communication and the features of VR has the potential to help create powerful tools for fighting climate change. Participants (n = 70) played through the interactive VR story experience of building a ship, choosing between sustainable and unsustainable options. The survey filled after the experience employed both traditional and tailored information gathering methods. Analysis of this wide range of survey questions revealed avenues for improvement such as tutorializing and limiting VR sickness, while also proving success in creating an interesting VR sustainability story with a user experience evaluated as good. Indicative success as a behavior change intervention was found, with participants reporting increase in key determinants of green purchase behavior. As sustainability behavior change applications have previously largely utilized long-term, non-VR applications, the results of this novel multidisciplinary study should prove meaningful.