Adaptive Depth Calibration Training Reduces Spatial Anxiety and Enhances Spatial Task Performance

Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to assess and investigate anxiety in simulated environments, and to measure changes in spatial anxiety, maze navigation time, and depth judgment accuracy in pre-, post-, and retention conditions. Methods: This study implemented a quantitative experimental approach using a within-subject design to investigate the effects of adaptive depth calibration training on spatial performance and anxiety. Participants completed a series of spatial cognitive tasks across all three conditions, such as measuring anxiety scores, navigation time, and depth judgment accuracy. This quantitative design enabled an exact comparison of individual progress over time and provided objective evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness, without relying on qualitative feedback. Findings: There is a statistically significant increase in scores in the post-adaptive depth calibration training compared to pre-training. The results indicated that spatial anxiety decreased from 50.0 (11.2) to 40.1 (8.5) immediately after the training and remained at 43.1 (9.1) in the retention period. Secondly, the average maze completion time improved from 65.4 (13.0) seconds to 47.5 (10.5) seconds, and remained at 51.0 (11.5) seconds after two weeks. Depth judgment accuracy was increased from 62.5% (9.0%) to 78.6% (8.0%) with a mean of 76.7% (8.5%) at retention. This suggests that the adaptive training had a specific impact, increasing spatial ability and confidence in the participants. Novelty: Unlike prior studies on VR training that typically reported on speed improvements alone, this study jointly improved accuracy (+26.9%), navigation time (-25.6%), and spatial anxiety (-21% immediate; -13% at retention) on non-adaptive, gold-standard tests, emphasising a multi-metric, durable benefit that recent studies rarely show together. Keywords: Spatial Training, Depth Perception, Spatial Cognitive Anxiety, Cognitive Performance Enhancement