The impact of emotional arousal on learning in virtual environments
Loading...
Authors
Ulate, Stephen O.
Subjects
Advisors
Shilling, Russell D.
Darken, Rudolph P.
Date of Issue
2002-09
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Research on animals has shown that injections of adrenalin paired with a learning experience improved memory retention. Adrenalin is a key hormone in emotional arousal and fight or flight responses. It stands to reason that emotional arousal (in moderation) may also have a positive impact on human learning. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the impact of emotional arousal on learning in virtual environments. An experiment was conducted to observe learning differences in a low-arousal condition and a high-arousal condition. A first-person shooter videogame (America's Army: Operations) was used as the virtual environment. In the low-arousal condition, participants wandered peacefully through a scenario memorizing objects they encountered. High-arousal participants wandered through the same environment, but were required to fight through the scenario while under attack. Results indicated that individuals in the high-arousal condition performed better on recall tasks immediately following the exposure and also 24 hours later.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
xiv, 88 p. : ill. (some col.) ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.