On-Your Marks, Ready? Exploring the User Experience of a VR Application for Runners with Cognitive-Behavioral Influences

Fernando Pedro Cardenas Hernandez, Fernando Pedro Cardenas Hernandez, Jan Schneider, Daniele Di Mitri, Hendrik Drachsler, Hendrik Drachsler

2025

Abstract

Athletes need to train both physical and mental abilities to enhance performance. While technologies such as sensors and actuators have mainly focused on physical training, few solutions support mental training. Virtual reality (VR) technology and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) open new possibilities for developing applications targeting this type of training for athletes. We conducted a formative study to investigate the user experience of integrating CBT techniques into VR technology, focusing on two essential mental factors of running: strategy and motivation. To address these factors, we developed a CBT-influenced VR application. We tested the user experience of our VR application with 25 runners. The results revealed that runners had a positive and valuable experience with the VR application and its associated CBT elements. The perceived importance of race strategy was a key predictor of user experience assessments. This study suggests that VR solutions influenced by CBT are a plausible approach to developing suitable mental training tools in sports.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Cardenas Hernandez F., Schneider J., Di Mitri D. and Drachsler H. (2025). On-Your Marks, Ready? Exploring the User Experience of a VR Application for Runners with Cognitive-Behavioral Influences. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 331-341. DOI: 10.5220/0013271300003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu25,
author={Fernando Cardenas Hernandez and Jan Schneider and Daniele Di Mitri and Hendrik Drachsler},
title={On-Your Marks, Ready? Exploring the User Experience of a VR Application for Runners with Cognitive-Behavioral Influences},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU},
year={2025},
pages={331-341},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013271300003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU
TI - On-Your Marks, Ready? Exploring the User Experience of a VR Application for Runners with Cognitive-Behavioral Influences
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Cardenas Hernandez F.
AU - Schneider J.
AU - Di Mitri D.
AU - Drachsler H.
PY - 2025
SP - 331
EP - 341
DO - 10.5220/0013271300003932
PB - SciTePress