Psychopathology and virtual reality

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming an important tool in the research on many and various fields. Today, the progresses in the development of this technology are going even faster than we expected, and therefore it is being necessary to think over its potential uses and abuses. This paper focuses in the analysis of some of the applications and implications of VR on Psychopathology. Although we are plenty aware of the broad range capable of being covered, we have focused on: a) VR as a “realistic” lab setting where problematic behaviours, affects, thoughts, etc. could be studied; b) VR as a model to deal with certain core questions which have always been of interest for psychopathologists; and c) VR as experiences open to be labelled as psychopathological. We believe that VR has the potential of becoming the tool that will enable Psychopathology to challenge and to modify theoretical assumptions already established, as well as to help us to find new answers to old questions. VR could also make new questions rise on the psychological and psychopathological horizons, questions not only related to theoretical or empirical issues, but also to moral ones. This line of research has just started.