Compassionate Embodied Virtual Experience Increases the Adherence to Meditation Practice
Ausias Cebolla Marti, Rosa M Baños, Jaime Navarrete
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 41 |
| Population | Health professionals or healthcare students |
| Intervention | audio-guided meditation |
| Duration | Two weeks of meditation practice at home |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Participants who practiced compassion meditation with an embodied virtual reality system meditated for double the amount of time at home compared with those who used audio-guided meditation alone. The authors report no significant difference in the overall quality of at-home meditation between the two conditions, and conclude that embodied-VR systems are useful for increasing adherence to meditation practice. |
Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR) could be useful to overcome imagery and somatosensory difficulties of compassion-based meditations given that it helps generate empathy by facilitating the possibility of putting oneself into the mind of others. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an embodied-VR system in generating a compassionate response and increasing the quality and adherence to meditation practice. Health professionals or healthcare students (n = 41) were randomly assigned to a regular audio guided meditation or to a meditation supported by an embodied- VR system, “The machine to be another”. In both conditions, there was an initial in-person session and two weeks of meditation practice at home. An implicit measure was used to measure prosocial behavior, and self-report questionnaires were administered to assess compassion related constructs, quality of meditation, and frequency of meditation. Results revealed that participants from the embodied-VR condition meditated for double the amount of time at home than participants who only listened to the usual guided meditation. However, there were no significant differences in the overall quality of at-home meditation. In conclusion, this study confirms that embodied-VR systems are useful for increasing adherence to meditation practice.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- In search of durable positive psychology interventions: Predictors and consequences of long-term positive behavior change The Journal of Positive Psychology September 1, 2010
- A new micro-intervention to increase the enjoyment and continued practice of meditation. Emotion October 15, 2019
- Cultivating compassion 2014
- Putting Oneself in the Body of Others: A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of an Embodied Virtual Reality System to Generate Self-Compassion. Frontiers in Psychology 2019
- Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice Trends in Cognitive Sciences July 28, 2015