Schwebel David C, Gaines Joanna, Severson Joan
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Accid Anal Prev. 2008 Jul;40(4):1394-400. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2008.03.005. Epub 2008 Apr 4.
In recent years, virtual reality has emerged as an innovative tool for health-related education and training. Among the many benefits of virtual reality is the opportunity for novice users to engage unsupervised in a safe environment when the real environment might be dangerous. Virtual environments are only useful for health-related research, however, if behavior in the virtual world validly matches behavior in the real world. This study was designed to test the validity of an immersive, interactive virtual pedestrian environment. A sample of 102 children and 74 adults was recruited to complete simulated road-crossings in both the virtual environment and the identical real environment. In both the child and adult samples, construct validity was demonstrated via significant correlations between behavior in the virtual and real worlds. Results also indicate construct validity through developmental differences in behavior; convergent validity by showing correlations between parent-reported child temperament and behavior in the virtual world; internal reliability of various measures of pedestrian safety in the virtual world; and face validity, as measured by users' self-reported perception of realism in the virtual world. We discuss issues of generalizability to other virtual environments, and the implications for application of virtual reality to understanding and preventing pediatric pedestrian injuries.
近年来，虚拟现实已成为一种用于健康相关教育和培训的创新工具。虚拟现实的诸多益处之一是，当现实环境可能存在危险时，新手用户有机会在无人监督的情况下在安全环境中进行体验。然而，只有当虚拟世界中的行为与现实世界中的行为有效匹配时，虚拟环境才对健康相关研究有用。本研究旨在测试沉浸式交互式虚拟行人环境的有效性。招募了102名儿童和74名成人作为样本，让他们在虚拟环境和相同的现实环境中完成模拟过马路任务。在儿童和成人样本中，通过虚拟世界和现实世界中的行为之间的显著相关性证明了结构效度。结果还通过行为的发展差异表明了结构效度；通过显示家长报告的儿童气质与虚拟世界中的行为之间的相关性证明了收敛效度；虚拟世界中行人安全的各种测量方法的内部可靠性；以及通过用户对虚拟世界中真实感的自我报告感知来衡量表面效度。我们讨论了推广到其他虚拟环境的问题，以及虚拟现实在理解和预防儿童行人伤害方面的应用意义。
