Virtual Reality Could Spark Real-Life Progress for People with Hoarding Disorder

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By Linsey Maughan
Chasson Hoarding Research 1280x850

Associate Professor of Psychology Greg Chasson has published his research findings from a 2018 and 2019 pilot test in which he used virtual reality interior design software as a motivational tool for individuals with hoarding disorder to encourage them to de-clutter their homes. Chasson鈥檚 new publication titled appears in the April 2020 issue of the .

The study found a number of participants expressing greater motivation to address to their hoarding disorder following the VR experience. Forty-eight percent reported that the VR experience was helpful, and 45 percent reported that it would motivate them to work to pursue treatment for their hoarding behavior.

鈥淭his is critical because hoarding is a very difficult problem to treat, because many individuals don鈥檛 have motivation to change,鈥 Chasson says. 鈥淎lthough it鈥檚 not entirely clear how VR might help to nudge people toward change of hoarding behavior, I think it might be due to the motivational power of imagery.鈥

Chasson runs the Repetitive Experiences and Behavior Lab in the Department of Psychology. Recognizing that individuals with hoarding disorder are often reluctant to change their habits, Chasson and his research team utilized low-cost interior design software to create layouts of study participants鈥 homes and what they might look like without clutter. The researchers then used VR headsets to provide the participants with an immersive experience while navigating their own transformed homes.

鈥淔rom pre- to post-immersion, there was roughly an 18 percent increase in confidence that treatment could work, and about an 8 percent increase in motivation to change scores from pre- to post-immersion,鈥 Chasson says. 鈥淎lthough these effects seem modest in size, in reality, it鈥檚 important because participants were immersed in the VR experience for only five minutes and only a single time. We anticipate that repeated immersion and for longer periods of time might show an increased impact.鈥

Chasson and his team plan to follow up this study with a randomized control trial into either the same VR experience used previously, or an educational VR experience that teaches people about hoarding.

鈥淭he educational VR experience will serve as a comparison condition to determine if the VR experience of seeing one鈥檚 home without clutter is uniquely related to motivation changes,鈥 Chasson says. 鈥淯ltimately, if the research continues to be encouraging, I鈥檇 like to seek out some grant funding for a study that combines this VR component with an existing treatment for hoarding, like cognitive-behavioral therapy. I believe that immersing in this VR experience could help individuals with hoarding [disorder] increase their engagement in cognitive-behavioral therapy.鈥