Spiders, pumpkins and witches… it’s THAT time of the year, and the Science Basement is here to get you through this dark scary night.
Are you scared? Well that’s just fine (got the quote?), ’cause turns out that scientists can treat your phobias in many creative ways: spiders, the eiffel tower and… your smartphone!
Are you curious? Well that’s just fine! 😉
Anja Zimmer studied clinical psychology and neuroscience and is currently doing a PhD at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Her research is about the development and use of virtual and augmented reality smartphone apps for the treatment of specific phobias through exposure trainings. Her main project is about the gamified augmented reality app Phobys to reduce fear of spiders, which has been tested on its effectiveness in a clinical trial and it available on all app stores.
Twitter @anja_m_zimmer
PLEASE NOTE:
This is NOT a sponsored episode.
No member of the Science Basement Podcast received any compensation for the advertisement of the Phobys app.
Phobys app
www.phobys.com/
Clinical trial Phobys app
Zimmer, Anja, et al. “Effectiveness of a smartphone-based, augmented reality exposure app to reduce fear of spiders in real-life: A randomized controlled trial.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 82 (2021): 102442.
References “Haunted house”:
www.iflscience.com/health-and-medi…cFZZ1Y1jdo4Vaeo
Wilmer, W. H. “Effects of carbon monoxid upon the eye.” American Journal of Ophthalmology 4.2 (1921): 73-90.
Your hosts this week are Giuliano Didio & Cecilia Cannarozzo.
Editing by Cecilia Cannarozzo & Giuliano Didio.
Episode cover by Rhiannon Newman & Giuliano Didio.
TSB Podcast logo by Tomás Garnier Artiñano.
Jingle by Havelocke. thisishavelocke.bandcamp.com
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Listen to our episode #3.10 here!