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Mindfulness Meditators Are Less Affected By Virtual Reality (sciencedirect.com)

Posted by yaelk on from the mindfulness dept.

vrml writes: People often enroll in mindfulness meditation courses to pursue better health, but can such practices have unintended consequences on how they are engaged by emerging technologies such as virtual reality (VR)? That's what comes out from a new study published by the Computers in Human Behavior. A group of people with no experience in meditation tried scary VR experiences with an head-mounted display, while researchers measured their emotional reactions through physiological parameters such as heart activity and facial muscles activity. Then, half the participants followed a typical 8-week mindfulness course, while the other half did not (control group). At the end of the 8 weeks, they tried VR again. Participants who had practiced mindfulness during the 8 weeks were much less affected by VR: the scary VR experiences were not able to increase their heart rate as 8 weeks earlier, facial muscles activity was reduced, and their subjective perception of VR was consistent with this lack of engagement. On the contrary, the control group did not show such changes, and was still affected by VR. The paper interprets this emotional deactivation of meditators in terms of self-regulation of attention and detachment that can be gained through mindfulness, and can persist also when people (as these participants trying VR) are not meditating.

4 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Kind of missing the bigger picture by Shoten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Mindfulness meditators are less rattled by actual reality as well. That's kind of the whole point of it. Things that are scary or stressful don't knock them off balance as much. The VR angle should not be a surprise.

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    1. Re:Kind of missing the bigger picture by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you learn the same thing, without meditation.

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    2. Re:Kind of missing the bigger picture by sacdelta · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The VR angle is most likely an attempt to just make the study appear more modern and relevant.

      To properly test the VR aspect, they should repeat the study with non-VR stimulus to see if there is a significant difference in improvement.

      Otherwise it is just a study in meditation effect on stress response with the VR just tacked on so that tech news will carry it.

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  2. Re:So, another benefit of mindfulness... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's the biggest problem with Randi-style bullshit skepticism (as indicated by your use of the term 'woo woo'). They rely completely on intuition and gut-feelings to decide if something is or is not credible, rather than reason and evidence. So strong is the impulse, they'll even deny evidence that contradicts their preconceptions even exists.

    Fortunately, you weren't completely duped by their irrational brand of popular rationality. Its too bad so many others will remain deluded because of that clown.