This year, the Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences (BAPS) conference is hosted at Ghent University. As a major interdisciplinary platform for psychology, the EMULAB team is stepping out of the lab to present four research papers.

Tina Coenen will present how different message frames in mHealth apps influence help-seeking intentions for depression. She will zoom into how, while empathetic and gain-framed communication is most effective, providing explicit choices may unexpectedly discourage users from seeking help.

Amandine Verstegen will show initial insights into her investigation of whether integrating real-time biofeedback into VR relaxation interventions helps anxiety reduction in emerging adults. By visualizing physiological signals like heart rate within an immersive environment, Amandine’s study seeks to identify the specific value of real-time feedback for stress self-regulation.

Renke Keppens will explore how multimodal data, including hand kinematics and in-ear EEG, can identify individual cognitive workload "phenotypes" during complex LEGO assembly tasks. Her research aims to inform the development of adaptive training systems that respond to a learner's mental and motor demands in real time.

If you want to read more about this research, stay tuned and check out our blog posts after the event.