Assessing the Effects of Virtual Reality and Meditation on Pain Tolerance

Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)

Whitney Heppner

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation tasks can increase an individual’s pain tolerance (Brown & Jones, 2010). Immersion in a virtual reality setting can also improve pain tolerance (Dahlquist et. al., 2010). Although research exists on the effects of meditation or virtual reality (separately) on pain, no studies to our knowledge combine the two. Thus, this study will examine if doing meditation in a virtual reality environment will create a bigger impact on pain tolerance than traditional meditation alone. Participants will complete two counterbalanced sessions (VR+ meditation and no-VR + meditation). During these trials, participants will undergo the cold-pressor task described by Eden and Gil (1995). Pain tolerance will be measured by how long participants keep their hand in the water. We hypothesize that people will have a higher tolerance for in the VR + meditation trials than the no-VR + meditation trials. The study is in progress, but results and conclusions will be ready for the conference.

Start Date

27-3-2024 9:00 AM

End Date

27-3-2024 9:50 AM

Location

Magnolia Ballroom

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Mar 27th, 9:00 AM Mar 27th, 9:50 AM

Assessing the Effects of Virtual Reality and Meditation on Pain Tolerance

Magnolia Ballroom

Mindfulness meditation tasks can increase an individual’s pain tolerance (Brown & Jones, 2010). Immersion in a virtual reality setting can also improve pain tolerance (Dahlquist et. al., 2010). Although research exists on the effects of meditation or virtual reality (separately) on pain, no studies to our knowledge combine the two. Thus, this study will examine if doing meditation in a virtual reality environment will create a bigger impact on pain tolerance than traditional meditation alone. Participants will complete two counterbalanced sessions (VR+ meditation and no-VR + meditation). During these trials, participants will undergo the cold-pressor task described by Eden and Gil (1995). Pain tolerance will be measured by how long participants keep their hand in the water. We hypothesize that people will have a higher tolerance for in the VR + meditation trials than the no-VR + meditation trials. The study is in progress, but results and conclusions will be ready for the conference.