Using immersive virtual reality and ecological psychology to probe into child molesters' phenomenology

Abstract

Child molesters (n=13) and sexually non-deviant subjects (n=29) were immersed with virtual characters depicting relevant sexual features while their sexual arousal and gaze behaviour were assessed to characterise their sexual preferences and intentional dynamics. Sexual arousal was measured using circumferential penile plethysmography (PPG). Gaze behaviour dynamics were derived from average gaze radial angular deviation (GRAD) and GRAD coefficient of variation (GRADCV). Results show distinct sexual arousal profiles according to sexual preferences and point towards the existence of specific gaze behaviour dynamics guided by sexual intentions. Theoretical interpretations are based on the ecological psychology of J. J. Gibson, the extended mind theory and the integrated theory of sexual offending. Theoretical underpinnings stemming from these approaches are advocated as being especially well suited to explain how virtual reality can help probing into child molesters' phenomenology as lived from the “first-person” stance.

Keywords:

• Child molestation
• virtual reality
• sexual arousal
• gaze behaviour
• self-regulation
• intentional dynamics
• extended mind theory
• ecological psychology

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Acknowledgements

This research was made possible thanks to the Canadian Institute of Health Research (Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture, the Université du Québec en Outaouais and the Institut Philippe-Pinel de Montréal.

Notes

This article is now subject to a Notice of Redundant Publication, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2015.1048085.