The use of virtual reality technology (virtual reality, VR) to induce stress has gradually become a common form of stress induction. The use of VR to induce stress involves two main components: the construction of stress-inducing materials and the validation of these materials for their effectiveness. Existing inducing materials vary widely but exhibit common characteristics in form. In this paper, virtual reality-based stress induction is categorized into VR classical paradigm, exposure-based stress inducing form and interaction-based stress inducing form based on the characteristics

of the inducing materials. The effectiveness validation of stress-inducing materials can be evaluated from two aspects: subjective experience and physiological indicators. Commonly used methods for subjective experience assessment include scale measurement and subjective stress level report. Physiological indicators mainly include cortisol, alpha-amylase, heart rate variability, and electrodermal activity.