Virtual Reality, User Research
studying the effects of VR Environments on users' Mindfulness
This case study examines an exploratory research aimed at exploring how different virtual environments influence the mindfulness experience and suggesting a recommendations for designing or modifying environments to support this practice. This research sought to contribute both to academic discussions and practical applications that will enhance individuals' quality of life through thoughtful designs of virtual environments.
Outcome
Provided recommendations on how to design various virtual environments for meditation
Date
Jan2024 - Dec 2024
Framing Research Objectives
I started looking at previous research about the effectiveness of VR for meditation, the virtual environments (VEs) used in these studies, and the frameworks used to design the environments. A review of 30+ research papers revealed that majority of studies featured VEs that simulated nature including elements like water, vegetation, wind effects, and fire and emphasized. This indicates a gap in the exploration and understanding of other types of VEs for meditation.
Research Objective:
To explore the relationship between mindfulness meditation and different environmental settings in virtual reality.
Prototype Development
I interviewed meditation practitioners to understand the environmental factors affecting mindfulness practice and how to design an ideal meditation space. The questions were based on 3 categories: visuals, sounds, and ambience/lighting within the space.
Based on the interview insights, established frameworks, and design recommendations from previous studies, I designed 3 environments using low-poly elements available on Unity's asset store. These environments were optimized to reduce motion sickness and eye strain through feedback from 3 pilot testing sessions.
Study Design
We decided to conduct a within-subjects study to control for individual differences, and to have direct comparisons between the environments while compensating for a small sample size. Our initial plan was to conduct each task with participants on different days to avoid any carryover and transfer effects. However, considering the time and resource constraints, we decided to ask each participant to conduct all tasks on the same day. To compensate for the potential transfer and learning effects, the participants took a break between the tasks and played cognitive games to increase their stress levels.
I collected qualitative data in the form of feedback. Participants gave feedback on the aspects of the virtual environments that were distracting or helpful (objects, sound, lights, colors), and their state of mind (calm, focused, anxious, stressed) in each environment.
"I used the objects to keep my attention and focus. It was better than the indoor environment, but not as good as the nature-based."
- Participant 2
”The open space was just very good, unlike the previous (indoor) environment, I felt I had a lot more open space. There I was feeling restricted, here it was all open.”
- Participant 7
”I need something to be happening around me. This (abstract) environment was much more interesting to me than the previous one (nature based). That I found very boring, here I could look at multiple moving objects.”
- Participant 4
Quantitative data was collected with state mindfulness scale (SMS) which is a 21-item 5 point likert scale that measures mindfulness in the moment, helping assess the immediate effect of a mindfulness task.
Data Analysis and Recommendations
I used the mindfulness scores from SMS questionnaire to observe the trend in participants' mindfulness levels within the environments. The initial analysis showed that participants experienced higher levels of mindfulness in nature-based environment. However, further analysis reveals that the difference was insignificant. However, due to low statistical power, more research will be needed to verify these results. Hence, these were used as supplementary data to show that all three environments are capable of eliciting similar levels of mindfulness within participants.
The qualitative data was open-coded and organized into themes to understand participants' behaviors, attitudes, and preferences within the three environments.
Overall Recommendations: The qualitative data was open-coded and organized into themes to understand participants' behaviors, attitudes, and preferences within the three environments.
Focal points are necessary
Participants relied on objects, movements, sounds, and colors to stay focused in all three environments. The nature-based environment did not have any intentional focal point, but participants used the background sounds of birds as one.
Open space
It was evident that open space and/or it's perception played a big part in making participants comfortable. In the indoor environment, some participants felt claustrophobic due to close walls and looked outside the window to remain calm.
Environment-based recommendations: The qualitative data was open-coded and organized into themes to understand participants' behaviors, attitudes, and preferences within the three environments.
Indoor Environment
Indoor environment can be used to make users feel calm as it makes them feel safe due to the presence of familiar objects and an enclosed space.
The space within the environment should be bright with good lighting and have a warm feeling.
Some nature-based elements like plants will help enhance the feeling of calmness.
Elements and objects like couch, carpets, pillows, can help users relax.
Abstract Environment
The advantage of abstract environment is it can be something totally unique, which can elicit a feeling of awe in the users.
Unfamiliar elements can fascinate users and keep them engaged.
Playful lighting and colors can grab users attention and help them focus during meditation in-turn increasing their focus levels.
Limitations and Future Direction
While this study aimed to explore how different environments and the elements within them would affect individuals' mindfulness and provide a starting point, it has limitations that must be acknowledged in future.
The small sample size (n=12) resulted in low statistical power and increased Type 2 error risk.
Having a larger sample size will help get deeper understanding of participants’ preferences further.
The participants were limited to the age group 20-30 years old.
This skews the data in favor of that particular age group.
The study relied on self-reported data through questionnaires like SMS to measure the mindfulness levels.
This may introduce bias and may not be completely accurate, even though it provides a general overview into participants’ experience.
Reflection
For this study, I was responsible for end-to-end process from researching to developing prototype for testing and facilitating the user testing in addition to analysis of data. There were a few roadblocks in the way that I overcame but I learned how important it is to clearly define the research objectives, do a thorough research, and to test a concept/prototype with users even before starting the actual user testing.
