Attachment-Related Interpersonal Distance Behavior In “Real Life” and Virtual Reality

This experimental study had a within-subject design, measuring IPD, physiological arousal and self-reported tension in two environments (Real-world and VR), using a real and virtualized distance-closeness paradigm consisting out of two situations: being approached by another person, and approaching the other person. A sample of 153 Dutch university students completed questionnaires at home measuring attachment style (ASQ) and autonomy-connectedness (ACS-30).

Later, they visited the lab to participate in the distance-closeness paradigm both in real life and VR in a randomized order where their IPD behavior, physiological arousal (heartrate variability) and self-reported tension were measured. The study revealed that higher attachment avoidance is associated with a preference for a larger distance to others, but, contrary to the expectations, only when approached by others. Higher attachment avoidance was also associated with higher physiological arousal, which was not reflected in the self-reported tension as was expected.

Contrary to what was expected, no association was found between attachment anxiety and IPD. Lastly, lower levels of self-awareness and capacity to manage new situations (both indicating lower autonomy-connectedness) were associated with higher self-reported tension. Investigated associations were similar between the real-world and VR condition, even though differences at the mean level for IPD between environments were found.

The results are partially in agreement with expectations. Having control over IPD behavior is associated with smaller IPD for individuals higher in attachment avoidance, which might be important in different social situations and psychotherapy settings. The absence of an association for attachment anxiety and IPD needs a further investigation into whether the attachment system is sufficiently activated, because other motivators might be in play for these individuals.

The current study aimed to take a first step to investigate the feasibility for the use of VR for studying human behavior, comparing behavior on the associations level.