Investigating the Efficacy of Virtual Reality Forest Meditation as an Intervention for Test Anxiety among College Students
Yali Chen, Ruiyan Zhu, Weiping Xiong
International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Medical Sciences October 20, 2023 DOI: 10.1145/3644116.3644208 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | College students with moderate or higher levels of test anxiety |
| Interventions | Virtual reality forest meditation pranayama guidance |
| Measures | TAS scores, brainwave energy |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Virtual reality forest meditation reduced test anxiety in college students. Meditation state and pranayama guidance significantly influenced effectiveness, with wandering meditation more effective than sitting meditation and pranayama guidance more successful than no guidance; forest style had no significant impact. The authors conclude that guided wandering meditation combined with pranayama in a virtual reality forest environment best alleviates test anxiety. |
Abstract
The primary objective of this study is to verify the effectiveness of virtual reality forest meditation as an intervention for test anxiety among college students and to investigate the impact of three factors: namely forest style, meditation state, and pranayama guidance, on the intervention effect. A total of thirty participants exhibiting moderate or higher levels of test anxiety were subjected to an induction of test anxiety followed by a virtual reality forest meditation intervention comprising various combinations of the aforementioned three factors. Participants' levels of test anxiety were measured by the TAS scores and the quantification of brainwave energy. The results of the paired sample T-test demonstrate that virtual reality forest meditation constitutes an efficacious intervention for test anxiety among college students. The results of a three-factor analysis of variance revealed that both meditation state and pranayama guidance significantly influenced the effectiveness of virtual reality forest meditation intervention, while forest style did not demonstrate a significant impact. Specifically, wandering meditation was found to be more effective than sitting meditation, and interventions with pranayama guidance were more successful than those without pranayama guidance. Therefore, it can be concluded that guided wandering meditation combined with pranayama in a virtual reality forest environment offers superior alleviation of test anxiety among college students.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Veterans with chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder seeking treatment at a VA... | 2013 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual comparison group | n = 37 |
| Being present in the face of existential threat: The role of trait mindfulness in reducing defensive responses to mortality salience. | 2010 | Experimental study | |
| Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience | 2013 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 15 |
| Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience Community adults | 2009 | Quasi-experimental and longitudinal | n = 69 |
| Prospective examination of synthetic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine inhalation: effects on salivary IL-6, cortisol levels, affect, and non-judgment Volunteers | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental study | n = 11 |