Exploring the Impact of Sensory Conflict on State Mindfulness in VR Meditation Training
Shuting Chang, Tianren Luo, Pengxiang Wang, Boyang Sun, Xiehaoxuan Tang, Gaozhang Chen, Boyu Gao, Qi Wang, Teng Han, Yachun Fan, Feng Tian
International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 13, 2026 DOI: 10.1145/3772318.3791394 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subject experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Sensory conflict weakens state mindfulness, and increases in vestibulo-ocular reflex activity and instability in visual attention may explain this association. Interoceptive awareness and motion sickness sensitivity significantly moderated these effects. |
Abstract
VR mindfulness meditation has been widely used for stress reduction and psychological rehabilitation owing to its immersion and controllability. However, the common static-body with visual-movement paradigm often disrupts the natural coordination between vision, vestibular sense, and proprioception, inducing sensory conflicts that hinder the stable onset and maintenance of state mindfulness. Despite its relevance, this issue has long been overlooked in both research and practice. To address this gap, we developed a VR meditation system supporting dynamic breathing feedback and eye-tracking, and conducted a three-factor within-subject experiment in a fixed-route navigation scenario. By manipulating visual reference, body posture, and locomotion intention, we induced different types and levels of sensory conflict. Multimodal analyses of questionnaires, eye-movement behaviors, and individual-difference measures suggested that sensory conflict weakens state mindfulness, and that increases in vestibulo-ocular reflex activity and instability in visual attention may help explain this association. Cluster analysis further showed that interoceptive awareness and motion sickness sensitivity significantly moderated these effects.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 27
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- The toronto mindfulness scale: Development and validation Journal of Clinical Psychology 2006
- Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
- Mindfulness meditation increases default mode, salience, and central executive network connectivity Scientific Reports August 2, 2022
and 22 more in the library