Psychological Correlates of Acceleration Stress for Thrill Seekers

INTRODUCTION: Recent development in technology and the release of powerful techniques among them virtual reality can help investigate various aspects of life. With 3D virtual reality technology, the effects of acceleration stress on heart rate (HR) and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) can be predicted. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlations among acceleration stress, HR and SpO2.
METHODS: HR and SpO2 were recorded from 20 healthy subjects (10 males and 10 females) during relaxation and positive and negative acceleration stress. They were university and secondary school students with the mean age (21.71± 2.54 yrs.) for university and (12.2± 1.1 yrs.) for secondary students.
RESULTS: It was found that, both HR and SpO2 are changed with acceleration stress, but that the change was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Females have higher HR and lower SpO2 than males, and children have higher HR and lower SpO2 than adults.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that acceleration stress, at least within the range studied in the present study, could produce effects on the HR and SpO2. Future studies could aim to better categorize stress levels in virtual reality for thrill Seekers based on more psychological variables.