Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:12:56.014Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Personal and psychophysiological characteristics of the witness experience of cyberaggression in virtual reality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

G. Soldatova ,
S. Chigarkova ,
E. Nikonova  and
D. Vinitskiy
G. Soldatova
Affiliation:
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty Of Psychology, Moscow, Russian Federation
S. Chigarkova*
Affiliation:
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty Of Psychology, Moscow, Russian Federation
E. Nikonova
Affiliation:
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty Of Psychology, Moscow, Russian Federation
D. Vinitskiy
Affiliation:
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty Of Psychology, Moscow, Russian Federation
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

The integration of virtual reality into everyday life is changing sociocultural practices, including those related to cyberaggression, which causes negative consequences for mental health and well-being. Particular attention needs to be paid to the poorly researched but widespread roles of bystanders and defenders in cyberaggression (Machackova, 2020; Polanco-Levican, Salvo-Garrido, 2021).

Objectives

The aim is to study the behavioral witness strategies in cyberaggression in VR and their relation to personal and psychophysiological characteristics.

Methods

50 adolescents aged 14-18 years old (50% female) witnessed cyberaggression in an experimental situation in the virtual space of VR-chat. Participants also filled Ten-Item Personality Inventory (Gosling et al., 2003; Egorova, Parshikova, 2016), I7-Impulsiveness (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1985; Kornilova, Dolnikova, 2011), Prosocial Behaviour (Furmanov, Kuhtova, 1998). To determine the functional state Heart rate variability (UPTF 1/30 Psychophysiologist, Mediсom) was measured before and after the experiment.

Results

Behavioral strategies in VR-aggression were divided into uninvolved bystanders (58%) and defenders (42%). All participants experienced stress and functional state decline when faced with cyberaggression, but the defenders were more affected (U=207, p<0.043). Defenders were more likely to have higher social responsibility (U=207, p<0.056) and lower neuroticism (U=208, p<0.054). There were no significant differences in impulsiveness.

Conclusions

Cyberaggression in a virtual environment is stressful, especially for active defenders, who are more included in the situation compared to passive bystanders. The prosocial role of a defender rather than a passive bystander may be related to such characteristics as social responsibility and emotional stability, but not to impulsiveness. The research was supported by RSF (project No. 18-18-00365)

Disclosure

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project # 18-18-00365.

Keywords

neuroticismheart rate variabilityvirtual realitycyberaggression
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S223
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.