When looking at an immersive 360° hypervideo is close to direct experience: a pilot study on stress-related psychophysiological activation in simulations with paramedics

Emergency contexts are emotionally demanding, particularly for trainees. This pilot
study compared the psychophysiological activation of 23 paramedic students during
two simulations: a direct simulation, in which they performed a simulated road
rescue in the real world, and an indirect simulation, in which they observed this
scenario through an immersive 360° hypervideo. The aim was to evaluate whether
an immersive 360° hypervideo elicits a psychophysiological activation comparable to
that experienced during a real-world simulation. A multi-method approach, involving
salivary cortisol and self-reported data, was used to map the participants’ affective
dimension during both simulations. Using a Bayesian approach, we demonstrated
that the two conditions elicited comparable psychophysiological responses in terms
of cortisol levels and self-reported measures of arousal and stress. Notably, both
simulations are characterized by the same stress-related decreasing pattern over
time: the participants exhibited higher levels of activation before the simulation,
indicative of anticipatory stress, which progressively decreased, potentially reflecting
well-managed emotions. These findings highlight an important potential of 360°
hypervideos for enhancing training opportunities and are promising for considering
the use of this technology in educational programs focused on high-emotionalimpact
scenarios.