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-emotional-impact scenarios.