Many people either have an aversion or are actually afraid of spiders. This is actually understandable considering that some eight-legged arthropods can also bite fatally. Few people recognize the difference between poisonous and harmless spiders. Thisoverwhelming psychological state, known as arachnophobia or spider phobia, can be a real challenge for the estimated five percent of people affected by it. Now a research team from the University of Basel has found a potential antidote to this through a mobile application.
How virtual reality could combat the fear of spiders
The scientists have developed a program for smartphones that uses augmented reality (AR) to help people with spider phobias overcome their suffering. However, the app is designed for those who suffer from a mild, clinically insignificant fear of spiders. Most of the time it involves teenagers or young women. The new application, called Phobys, displays a 3D spider model on the real images the user sees via their smartphone as a form of exposure therapy. This is a cognitive behavioral treatment that works against discomfort through gradual introduction of the feared item. The published study results suggest that the test subjects were significantly less afraid of spiders than those in the control group. Using AR, the app projects the image of a spider onto anything viewed through the smartphone's camera. This allows the person with arachnophobia to gradually face their fear in a safe and controlled manner.
According to the study authors, it is easier for people with arachnophobia to face a virtual spider than a real one. The researchers tested the app in a two-week clinical study on 66 study participants. Some of them used the application in six half-hour training sessions, while the control group did not. At the end of the experiment, the researchers asked all subjects to look at a live spider in a transparent box to see how they reacted. The resultsthis studyshow that repeated use of stand-alone, smartphone-based, gamified AR exposure at home was effective in reducing phobic fear of spiders. Phobys can be downloaded from the iPhone and Android app stores. Priced at $5 to unlock, the app offers ten levels of therapy to overcome anxiety.
