pith. sign in

arxiv: 1906.08682 · v1 · pith:T7OABJTSnew · submitted 2019-06-20 · 💻 cs.HC

Experiencing Extreme Height for The First Time: The Influence of Height, Self-Judgment of Fear and a Moving Structural Beam on the Heart Rate and Postural Sway During the Quiet Stance

Mahmoud Habibnezhad , Jay Puckett , Mohammad Sadra Fardhosseini , Houtan Jebelli , Terry Stentz , Lucky Agung Pratama This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-25 19:22 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 💻 cs.HC
keywords virtual realitypostural swayheart rateconstruction safetyheight exposurefearcenter of pressureironworkers
0
0 comments X

The pith

In VR simulations of construction work, height increases postural sway while self-judged fear decreases center of pressure excursion and moving beams raise heart rates.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper investigates the effects of height, self-judged fear, and a moving structural beam on heart rate and postural sway in a virtual reality environment designed to mimic steel erection tasks. Twelve university students stood quietly while their responses were measured under varying conditions of virtual height and beam movement. The central findings are that height increases postural sway, fear reduces the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure, and heart rates rise with the approaching beam. These results are intended to support the development of training for novice ironworkers facing extreme heights for the first time.

Core claim

The authors establish that height increases postural sway, self-judged fear significantly decreases the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure both in the presence and absence of height, and heart rates significantly increase when participants are confronted by a moving beam in the virtual environment, even when informed that the beam will not hit them.

What carries the argument

Virtual reality setup simulating extreme height and an approaching structural beam, with dependent measures of heart rate and postural sway quantified by center of pressure during quiet stance.

If this is right

  • Training for ironworkers could use VR to expose novices to height and beam movement to build familiarity.
  • Self-judged fear appears to promote more stable posture, suggesting fear awareness might aid balance.
  • Heart rate elevation from moving beams indicates a stress response that safety protocols should address.
  • The findings apply to quiet stance conditions in simulated first-time exposure scenarios.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Generalizing from students to actual construction workers assumes similar responses despite differences in experience and stakes.
  • VR may underestimate or overestimate real-world effects since no physical risk is present.
  • Individual differences in acrophobia could be leveraged for personalized training if measured more explicitly.

Load-bearing premise

The assumption that university student responses in virtual reality mirror the reactions of novice ironworkers during actual first-time exposure to extreme height and moving beams.

What would settle it

Measuring postural sway and heart rate in a group of real novice ironworkers on actual elevated structures with moving beams and finding no increase in sway with height or no heart rate increase with beams would falsify the claims.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 1906.08682 by Houtan Jebelli, Jay Puckett, Lucky Agung Pratama, Mahmoud Habibnezhad, Mohammad Sadra Fardhosseini, Terry Stentz.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: All the virtual scenarios in the experiments. [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_1.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Falling from elevated surfaces is the main cause of death and injury at construction sites. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports, an average of nearly three workers per day suffer fatal injuries from falling. Studies show that postural instability is the foremost cause of this disproportional falling rate. To study what affects the postural stability of construction workers, we conducted a series of experiments in the virtual reality (VR). Twelve healthy adults, all students at the University of Nebraska were recruited for this study. During each trial, participants heart rates and postural sways were measured as the dependent factors. The independent factors included a moving structural beam (MB) coming directly at the participants, the presence of VR, height, the participants self-judgment of fear, and their level of acrophobia. The former was designed in an attempt to simulate some part of the steel erection procedure, which is one of the key tasks of ironworkers. The results of this study indicate that height increase the postural sway. Self-judged fear significantly was found to decrease postural sway, more specifically the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure (TE), both in the presence and absence of height. Also, participants heart rates significantly increase once they are confronted by a moving beam in the virtual environment (VE), even though they are informed that the beam will not hit them. The findings of this study can be useful for training novice ironworkers that will be subjected to height and steel erection for the first time.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

3 major / 3 minor

Summary. This manuscript reports a VR experiment with 12 university students measuring heart rate and postural sway (center of pressure) under factors including height, self-judged fear, acrophobia level, and a moving structural beam simulating steel erection. The central claims are that height increases postural sway, self-judged fear significantly decreases normalized total excursion (TE) of the CoP both with and without height, and heart rate significantly increases when confronted by the moving beam even when participants are told it will not hit them. The work is motivated by reducing fatal falls among novice ironworkers at construction sites.

Significance. If the effects were supported by transparent statistical reporting and the VR paradigm shown to have ecological validity for the target population, the results could inform the design of VR-based safety training for construction workers by highlighting how fear and virtual threats modulate balance and cardiac responses. The observation that self-judged fear may reduce sway is counter to some expectations and could be of interest in HCI and human factors. However, the current lack of any statistical details, small sample, and absence of validation against real elevated work substantially limit the potential contribution.

major comments (3)
  1. Abstract: The manuscript states that 'height increase the postural sway', 'Self-judged fear significantly was found to decrease postural sway, more specifically the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure (TE)', and 'participants heart rates significantly increase' but supplies no p-values, test statistics, degrees of freedom, effect sizes, error bars, or even descriptive statistics. These unreported details are load-bearing because the entire set of central empirical claims rests on the assertion of 'significant' effects.
  2. Methods/Participants: Only n=12 university students are used with no reported sample-size justification, power analysis, exclusion criteria, or details on how the multiple independent factors (moving beam, height, fear judgment, acrophobia) were counterbalanced or analyzed. With this small N and several factors, the reliability of any significance claims cannot be assessed.
  3. Introduction and Discussion: The study is explicitly motivated by BLS data on construction-site falls and steel-erection tasks for novice ironworkers, yet the participant pool is limited to University of Nebraska students and no evidence, comparison data, or discussion is provided on whether VR height or beam responses in this sample correspond to real first-time elevated exposure in the target population.
minor comments (3)
  1. Abstract: Grammatical and phrasing issues include 'height increase the postural sway' (should be 'increases') and 'Self-judged fear significantly was found to decrease' (awkward word order).
  2. Abstract: The acronym TE is introduced in the sentence about normalized total excursion without prior definition or expansion on first use.
  3. General: The manuscript would benefit from figures displaying means, error bars, or individual data points for the dependent measures (heart rate, CoP excursion) to allow visual assessment of the reported effects.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

3 responses · 1 unresolved

We thank the referee for their thorough review and constructive comments. We address each of the major comments below and indicate how we plan to revise the manuscript.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: Abstract: The manuscript states that 'height increase the postural sway', 'Self-judged fear significantly was found to decrease postural sway, more specifically the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure (TE)', and 'participants heart rates significantly increase' but supplies no p-values, test statistics, degrees of freedom, effect sizes, error bars, or even descriptive statistics. These unreported details are load-bearing because the entire set of central empirical claims rests on the assertion of 'significant' effects.

    Authors: We agree with this observation. The original manuscript omitted detailed statistical reporting in the abstract and results. In the revised manuscript, we will add the missing p-values, test statistics, degrees of freedom, effect sizes (such as Cohen's d or eta-squared), error bars on figures, and descriptive statistics to support all claims of significance. This will strengthen the transparency of the empirical findings. revision: yes

  2. Referee: Methods/Participants: Only n=12 university students are used with no reported sample-size justification, power analysis, exclusion criteria, or details on how the multiple independent factors (moving beam, height, fear judgment, acrophobia) were counterbalanced or analyzed. With this small N and several factors, the reliability of any significance claims cannot be assessed.

    Authors: The sample size was limited by the availability of participants and the exploratory nature of the VR study. We will add a justification based on similar studies in the literature and note the absence of a priori power analysis as a limitation. Exclusion criteria will be detailed (e.g., no history of vestibular disorders). We will clarify that a within-subjects design was used with counterbalancing of conditions where possible, and specify the statistical models employed (e.g., repeated-measures ANOVA). While we cannot increase the sample size without new data collection, these additions will improve assessability. revision: partial

  3. Referee: Introduction and Discussion: The study is explicitly motivated by BLS data on construction-site falls and steel-erection tasks for novice ironworkers, yet the participant pool is limited to University of Nebraska students and no evidence, comparison data, or discussion is provided on whether VR height or beam responses in this sample correspond to real first-time elevated exposure in the target population.

    Authors: We recognize that the sample is university students and not the target population of novice ironworkers. The study was designed as an initial investigation to test the VR setup. In the revised introduction and discussion, we will more explicitly discuss this limitation, the potential differences, and call for future validation studies with construction workers. No direct comparison data exists in the current work, but we will frame the results as preliminary evidence for the paradigm. revision: yes

standing simulated objections not resolved
  • The absence of direct validation or comparison data against real-world elevated work in the target population of ironworkers, which would require additional empirical studies.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: purely empirical VR experiment with direct statistical measurements

full rationale

The paper conducts an experiment with 12 participants, measuring heart rate and postural sway (normalized TE of CoP) as dependent variables under independent factors including height, moving beam, self-judged fear, and acrophobia. All reported results (height increases sway; fear decreases normalized TE; HR rises with moving beam) are statistical findings from collected data. No equations, derivations, fitted parameters renamed as predictions, or load-bearing self-citations appear in the provided text. The study is self-contained against external benchmarks as a straightforward empirical report.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 0 axioms · 0 invented entities

Empirical human-subjects study; no mathematical model, free parameters, axioms, or invented entities are present.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5850 in / 1053 out tokens · 36645 ms · 2026-05-25T19:22:05.420095+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

34 extracted references · 34 canonical work pages

  1. [1]

    https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/FWU00X4XXX XX8EN00 (accessed January 10, 2019)

    Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, (2018). https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/FWU00X4XXX XX8EN00 (accessed January 10, 2019)

    work page 2018

  2. [2]

    www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm (accessed July 9, 2018)

    NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2017, (2018). www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm (accessed July 9, 2018)

    work page 2017

  3. [3]

    Fardhosseini, B

    M.S. Fardhosseini, B. Esmaeili, The Impact of the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana on Construction Safety, in: Constr. Res. Congr. 2016, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, 2016: pp. 2972 –2983. doi:10.1061/9780784479827.296

    work page doi:10.1061/9780784479827.296 2016

  4. [4]

    Abdelhamid, J

    T. Abdelhamid, J. Everett, Identify Root Causes of Construction Accidents, J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 126 (2000 ) 52 –60. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2000)126:1(52)

    work page doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2000)126:1(52 2000

  5. [5]

    Habibnezhad, S

    H. Mahmoud, F. Sadra, V.A. Moghaddam, E. Behzad, D.M. D., The Relationship between Construction Workers’ Risk Perception and Eye Movement in Hazard Identification, in: Constr. Res. Congr. 2016, 2017. doi:doi:10.1061/9780784479827.297

    work page doi:10.1061/9780784479827.297 2016

  6. [6]

    Boheir, S

    S. Boheir, S. Hasanzadeh, B. Esmaeili, M.D. Dodd, S. Fardhosseini, MEASURING CONSTRUCTION WORKERS’ ATTENTION USING EYETRACKING TECHNOLOGY, in: 5th Int. Constr. Spec. Conf., Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28851 6371 (accessed March 21, 2019)

    work page 2015

  7. [7]

    Habibnezhad, B

    M. Habibnezhad, B. Esmaeili, The Influence of Individual Cultural Values on Construction Workers’ Risk Perception, in: 52nd ASC Annual International Conference Proceedings, 2016. http://ascpro0.ascweb.org/archives/cd/2016/pap er/CPRT211002016.pdf (accessed October 30, 2017)

    work page 2016

  8. [8]

    Hsiao, P

    H. Hsiao, P. Simeonov, Preventing falls from roofs: a critical review, Ergonomics. 44 (2001) 537–561. doi:10.1080/00140130110034480

    work page doi:10.1080/00140130110034480 2001

  9. [9]

    Boffino, C.S

    C.C. Boffino, C.S. Cardoso de Sa, C. Gorenstein, R.G. Brown, L.F.H. Basile, R.T. Ramos, Fear of heights: Cognitive performance and postural control, Eur. Arch. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 259 (2009) 114 –119. doi:10.1007/s00406 -008- 0843-6

    work page doi:10.1007/s00406 2009

  10. [10]

    Regenbrecht, T.W

    H.T. Regenbrecht, T.W. Schubert, F. Friedmann, T.W. Schubert Ifrank Friedmann, Measuring the Sense of Presence and its Relations to Fear of Heights in Virtual Environments, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact. 10 (1998) 233 –249. doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc1003_2

    work page doi:10.1207/s15327590ijhc1003_2 1998

  11. [11]

    Pavlidis, J

    I. Pavlidis, J. a Lev ine, P. Baukol, Ioannis Pavlidis Honeywell Laboratories Minneapolis , MN ioannis . pavlidis @ i ), honeywell . com James Levine Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. (2002) 315–318

    work page 2002

  12. [12]

    Vreeburg, F.G

    S.A. Vreeburg, F.G. Zitman, J. Van Pelt, R.H. Derijk, J.C.M. Verhagen, R. Van Dyck, W.J.G. Hoogendijk, J.H. Smit, B.W.J.H. Penninx, Salivary cortisol levels in persons with and 36th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2019) without different anxiety disorders, Psychosom. Med. 72 (2010) 340 –347. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e...

    work page doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181d2f0c8 2019

  13. [13]

    Schmitz, L

    C. Schmitz, L. Drake, M. Laake, P. Yin, R. Pradarelli, Physiological Response to Fear in Expected and Unexpected Situations on Heart Rate, Respiration Rate and Horizontal Eye Movements, J. Adv. Student Sci. 1 (2012). http://jass.neuro.wisc.edu/2012/01/Lab 602 Group 10 Final Submis sion.pdf (accessed December 31, 2018)

    work page 2012

  14. [14]

    Gaerlan, The role of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems in postural balance, 2010

    M.G. Gaerlan, The role of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems in postural balance, 2010. http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertat ions (accessed December 31, 2018)

    work page 2010

  15. [15]

    Friedrich, H.J

    M. Friedrich, H.J. Grein, C. Wicher, J. Schuetze, A. Mueller, A. Lauenroth, K. Hottenrott, R. Schwesig, Influence of pathologic and simulated visual dysfunctions on the postural system, Exp. Brain Res. 186 (2008) 305 –314. doi:10.1007/s00221-007-1233-4

    work page doi:10.1007/s00221-007-1233-4 2008

  16. [16]

    Nashner, C.L

    L.M. Nashner, C.L. Sh upert, F.B. Horak, F.O. Black, Organization of posture controls: An analysis of sensory and mechanical constraints, Prog. Brain Res. 80 (1989) 411 –418. doi:10.1016/S0079-6123(08)62237-2

    work page doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(08)62237-2 1989

  17. [17]

    Schmid, A

    M. Schmid, A. Nardone, A.M. De Nunzio, M. Schmid, M. Schieppati, Equilibrium during static and dynamic tasks in blind subjects: No evidence of cross -modal plasticity, Brain. 130 (2007) 2097–2107. doi:10.1093/brain/awm157

    work page doi:10.1093/brain/awm157 2007

  18. [18]

    Huppert, E

    D. Huppert, E. Grill, T. Brandt, Down on heights? One in three has visual height intolerance, J. Neurol. 260 (2013) 597 –604. doi:10.1007/s00415-012-6685-1

    work page doi:10.1007/s00415-012-6685-1 2013

  19. [19]

    Ayoubi, C.P

    F. Ayoubi, C.P. Launay, A. Kabeshova, B. Fantino, C. Annweiler, O. Beauchet, The influence of fear of falling on gait variability: results from a large elderly population -based cross-sectional study., J. Neuroeng. Rehabil. 11 (2014) 128. doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-128

    work page doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-128 2014

  20. [20]

    Chamberlin, B.D

    M.E. Chamberlin, B.D. Fulwider, S.L. Sanders, J.M. Medeiros, Does Fear of Falling Influence Spatial and Temporal Gait Parameters in Elderly Persons Beyond Changes Associat ed With Normal Aging?, 2005. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/85214868.pdf (accessed December 30, 2018)

    work page arXiv 2005

  21. [21]

    Coelho, C.D

    C.M. Coelho, C.D. Balaban, Visuo -vestibular contributions to anxiety and fear, Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 48 (2015) 148 –159. doi:10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2014.10.023

    work page doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.023 2015

  22. [22]

    Simeonov, H

    P.I. Simeonov, H. Hsiao, B.W. DotsonM, D.E. Ammons, HEIGHT IN REAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, Hum. Factors J. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. 6 (2005) 430 –438. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1518/00 18720054679506 (accessed December 31, 2018)

    work page doi:10.1518/00 2005

  23. [23]

    Brandt, F

    T. Brandt, F. Arnold, W. Bles, T.S. Kapteyn, The mechanism of physiological height vertigo. I. Theoretical approach and psychophysics., Acta Otolaryngol. 89 (1980) 513–23

    work page 1980

  24. [24]

    Davis, A.D

    J.R. Davis, A.D. Campbell, A.L. Adkin, M.G. Carpenter, The relationship between fear of falling and human postural control, Gait Posture. 29 (2009) 275 –279. doi:10.1016/J.GAITPOST.2008.09.006

    work page doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2008.09.006 2009

  25. [25]

    Gordon, Dental fear and anxiety as a barrier to accessing oral health care among patients with special health ca re needs, Spec

    S.M. Gordon, Dental fear and anxiety as a barrier to accessing oral health care among patients with special health ca re needs, Spec. Care Dent. 18 (1998) 88 –92. doi:10.1111/j.1754 - 4505.1998.tb00910.x

    work page doi:10.1111/j.1754 1998

  26. [26]

    Coelho, G

    C.M. Coelho, G. Wallis, Deconstructing acrophobia: physiological and psychological precursors to developing a fear of heights, Depress. Anxiety. 27 (2010) 864 –870. doi:10.1002/da.20698

    work page doi:10.1002/da.20698 2010

  27. [27]

    Geer, The Development Of A Scale To Measure Fear, Behav

    J.H. Geer, The Development Of A Scale To Measure Fear, Behav. Res. Ther. 3 (1965) 45–53

    work page 1965

  28. [28]

    https://unity3d.com/ (accessed July 29, 2017)

    Unity - Game Engine, (2017). https://unity3d.com/ (accessed July 29, 2017)

    work page 2017

  29. [29]

    Cohen, Comparison of self -report and overt-behavioral procedures for assessing acrophobia, Behav

    D.C. Cohen, Comparison of self -report and overt-behavioral procedures for assessing acrophobia, Behav. Ther. 8 (1977) 17 –23. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(77)80116-0

    work page doi:10.1016/s0005-7894(77)80116-0 1977

  30. [30]

    Anderson, D.A

    T.W. Anderson, D.A. Darling, Asymptotic Theory of Certain "Goodness of Fit" Criteria Based on Stochastic Processes, Ann. Math. Stat. 23 (1 952) 193 –212. doi:10.1214/aoms/1177729437

    work page doi:10.1214/aoms/1177729437

  31. [31]

    Horlings, M.G

    C.G.C. Horlings, M.G. Carpenter, U.M. Küng, F. Honegger, B. Wiederhold, J.H.J. Allum, U.M. Küng, F. Honegger, B. Wiederhold, J.H.J. Allum, Influence of virtual reality on postural stability during movements of quiet stance, Neurosci. Lett. 451 (2009) 227 –31. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.12.057

    work page doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.12.057 2009

  32. [32]

    Streepey, R

    J.W. Streepey, R. V. Kenyon, E.A. Keshner, Field of view and base of support width influence postural responses to visual stimuli during quiet stance, Gait Posture. 2 5 (2007) 49 –55. 36th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2019) doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2005.12.013

    work page doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2005.12.013 2007

  33. [33]

    Cleworth, B.C

    T.W. Cleworth, B.C. Horslen, M.G. Carpenter, Influence of real and virtual heights on standing balance, Gait Posture. 36 (2012) 172 –176. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.02.010

    work page doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.02.010 2012

  34. [34]

    Adkin, J.S

    A.L. Adkin, J.S. Fran k, M.G. Carpenter, G.W. Peysar, Fear of falling modifies anticipatory postural control, Exp. Brain Res. 143 (2002) 160–170. doi:10.1007/s00221-001-0974-8

    work page doi:10.1007/s00221-001-0974-8 2002