Im Psychologischen Forschungskolloquium werden laufende Forschungsarbeiten vorgestellt und diskutiert. Zusätzlich zu Wissenschaftler*innen der Universität Augsburg berichten auch Forscher*innen aus anderen Forschungseinrichtungen über ihre Arbeit.

Virtual reality (VR) has become popular in mental health research. Several studies have explored the use of VR in the context of biofeedback (BF) protocols. BF is about learning to influence one’s bodily state through trial-and-error and operant conditioning through making one’s body signals (e.g., electrodermal activity, breathing, heart beat) more easily perceptible. I present three studies in which VR-based BF protocols were developed and evaluated as to whether they fostered wellbeing. Study 1 used electrodermal activity BF in a VR nature environment. Study 2 applied respiratory BF in a stylized VR environment. Study 3 used heart rate BF in a naturalistic beach VR. Across the three studies, BF delivered in VR was equally or more effective in promoting health and wellbeing as compared to controls.