Can virtual environments help elicit fearful feelings so they can be treated? This article shows how therapists and computer experts used them to do just that. We describe a pilot study that used virtual reality graded exposure techniques to treat acrophobia-the fear of heights. We specifically address two issues: the extent to which we were able to make subjects feel that they were actually present in height situations, and the efficacy of the treatment conducted using virtual height situations. >
['Larry F. Hodges', 'Rob Kooper', 'Thomas C. Meyer', 'Barbara O. Rothbaum', 'Dan Opdyke', 'J.J. de Graaff', 'James S. Williford', 'Max M. North']
Virtual environments for treating the fear of heights