Virtual reality can be used for educational purposes, particularly in demanding professions such as firefighting. Such virtual training may be useful for preparing trainees for distress, fear, or frustration experienced during real rescue operations. Evoking cognitive schemas, especially of other people, during training appears to be crucial as well, as the greatest stressors in the firefighting profession are social. Based on interviews with firefighters, two types of people (children and young women) were chosen as stimuli in the research design. In an experimental study with three iterations, the stimuli designed to evoke the schema of a significant other were implemented in a virtual reality simulator to evoke a cognitive schema in firefighters through emotions (positive and negative) and several dimensions of stress. The first iteration of the study did not yield expected results, as the stimulus (a child’s toy) was not as suggestive and vivid as it was expected. In the second attempt, the stimulus was improved and evoked feelings of challenge, harm, and loss in the participants. In the third iteration, the stimulus was changed once more (to a white dress) and this time it evoked negative emotions of fear, anger, guilt, and sadness. However, after correcting for multiple comparisons, only results regarding emotional response remained statistically significant. The results are discussed in light of cognitive schemas’ activation, and perspectives for further research in this scope are proposed. Due to research outcomes, the issues of manipulation checks in experimental psychology and limitations of the VR technology are taken into consideration.

虚拟现实可以用于教育目的，尤其是在诸如消防等要求严格的职业中。这种虚拟培训对于使受训人员准备好在实际救援行动中遇到的困扰，恐惧或挫败感可能是有用的。在训练过程中，尤其是其他人，唤起认知模式似乎也至关重要，因为消防行业中最大的压力源是社交。根据对消防员的采访，在研究设计中选择了两种人（儿童和年轻妇女）作为刺激。在一项经过三次迭代的实验研究中，旨在唤起重要他人的图式的刺激已在虚拟现实模拟器中实施，以通过情感（正负）和压力的多个维度唤起消防员的认知图式。该研究的第一次迭代没有产生预期的结果，因为刺激（儿童玩具）没有预期的暗示性和生动性。在第二次尝试中，刺激得到了改善，并在参与者中引起了挑战，伤害和损失的感觉。在第三次迭代中，刺激再次进行了更改（变为白色连衣裙），这一次唤起了恐惧，愤怒，内，和悲伤的负面情绪。但是，在校正了多个比较之后，只有关于情绪反应的结果仍具有统计学意义。根据认知模式的激活来讨论结果，并提出了在该范围内进一步研究的观点。由于研究成果，考虑了实验心理学中的操纵检查问题以及VR技术的局限性。