Human-Computer Interaction and Presence in Virtual Reality

Acknowledgements
The research as described in this thesis was part of a truly multi-disciplinary project,
involving both human-computer interaction and clinical psychology. I think both disciplines
gained from this cooperation, and I hope it will continue into the distant future.
It has given me much pleasure working together with a wide variety of people, and I would
like to acknowledge them here, although I am bound to forget one or two.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor and co-promotor Charles van der
Mast for his excellent guidance during this research and also for making the research
possible in the first place. If it wasn’t for Charles, the Virtual Reality and Phobias project
would not have existed.
Furthermore I would like to thank Paul Emmelkamp and Merel Krijn of the University of
Amsterdam for their excellent cooperation.
Many thanks to Peter van der Straaten and Bas van Abel, who assisted me in my research.
Also thanks to Lucas van Gerwen, Johan van Luik, Josine Arondeus and Imke Grootenhuis
of the VALK foundation. Thanks to the technical support staff of both departments two and
five of the ITS faculty, to Jan Dietz, Philip Spinhoven, Sietske de Vries, Lex Hulsbosch,
Roeline Biemong, Claudius de Wilde de Ligny, Hanneke Verheul, Marthe van der Pol and
Almuth Wilmsmeyer. To my ‘roommates’ Abraham Guyt and Laura Zondervan for
providing the occasional distraction. To Jan van der Berg for starting my interest in a career
in science, and to my promotor Erik Jansen for his suggestions and comments which have
greatly improved this thesis.
ix