STUDI EKSPERIMEN DESENSITISASI SISTEMATIK DENGAN MEDIA VIRTUAL REALITY UNTUK MENURUNKAN KECEMASAN BERKOMUNIKASI

In the era of technological innovation, virtual reality (VR) is emerging as a promising tool in helping individuals overcome anxiety. One of the anxiety that is often experienced is communication apprehension, which is often a challeng e for someone. To overcome this obstacle, systematic desensitization techniques emerged as part of behavior modification to reduce anxiety so that combining advanced VR technology with systematic desensitization can create stimulation that supports a person in overcoming fear in communicating. The aim of this research is to find out whether systematic desensitization techniques are effective in reducing communication apprehension with Virtual Reality (VR). This research uses quantitative methods with a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design. The research subjects were 12 new students who had speaking anxiety who were taken using a purposive sampling method and divided into 6 students in the experimental group and 6 students in the control group. The measuring tool in this study used the PRCA-24 and self-report. Using data analysis techniques, the Wilxocon paired sample t-test and the Mann-Whitney independent sample t-test showed that there were significant differences in the experimental group and the control group (p = 0.037<0.05). This shows that systematic desensitization techniques through virtual reality can reduce communication apprehension.