Skip to main content

Mindfulness, Virtual Reality, and Video Games

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Synonyms

Mindfulness; Video games; Virtual reality

Definition

Virtual reality (VR) is “A high-end user-computer interface that involves real-time simulation and interactions through multiple sensorial channels” (Burdea Grigore and Coiffet 1994).

Mindfulness is defined as the intentional paying attention to the present moment (Kabat-Zinn and Hanh 2009).

Introduction

Mindfulness is characterized by positive emotional states and well-being (Brown and Ryan 2003), and it is researched in many contexts such as health, business, and education (Aviles and Dent 2015). Mindfulness results in being more sensitive to the environment and more open to new information (Langer and Moldoveanu 2000a, b). With the advent of virtual reality and wide use of digital applications, the research on mindfulness in virtual reality and other digital applications is also gaining importance.

There is already a considerable amount of applications in the mobile market targeting solely mindfulness, which have variety...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Amores, J., Benavides, X., Maes, P.: Psychicvr: increasing mindfulness by using virtual reality and brain computer interfaces. In: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI EA ’16, San Jose, 7–12 May 2016. ACM, New York, p. 2 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  • Aviles, P.R., Dent, E.B.: The role of mindfulness in leading organizational transformation: a systematic review. J. Appl. Manag. Entrep. 20(3), 31–55 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, K.W., Ryan, R.M.: The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 84(4), 822 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burdea Grigore, C., Coiffet, P.: Virtual Reality Technology. Wiley-Interscience, London (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, D., Brown, M., Críosta, G.M.: Telling the Story of MindRising: Minecraft, Mindfulness and Meaningful Learning. International Association for Development of the Information Society. Paper presented at the International Conferences on Internet Technologies & Society (ITS), Education Technologies (ICEduTECH), and Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE), Melbourne, 6–8 December 2016 (2016). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED571584

  • Choo, A., May, A.: Virtual mindfulness meditation: virtual reality and electroencephalography for health gamification. In: Games Media Entertainment (GEM), 2014 IEEE, Toronto, 22–24 October 2014. IEEE, pp. 1–3 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1109/GEM.2014.7048076. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7048076/

  • Crescentini, C., Chittaro, L., Capurso, V., Sioni, R., Fabbro, F.: Psychological and physiological responses to stressful situations in immersive virtual reality: differences between users who practice mindfulness meditation and controls. Comput. Hum. Behav. 59, 304–316 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gackenbach, J., Bown, J.: Mindfulness and video game play: a preliminary inquiry. Mindfulness. 2(2), 114–122 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavriloff, D., Lusher, J.: Social anxiety and mindfulness in online gamers. Comput. Games J. 4(1–2), 123–132 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gromala, D., Song, M., Yim, J.D., Fox, T., Barnes, S.J., Nazemi, M., Shaw, C., Squire, P.: Immersive VR: a non-pharmacological analgesic for chronic pain? In: Proceeding CHI EA ’11, CHI ’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Vancouver, 7–12 May 2011. ACM, New York, pp. 1171–1176 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gromala, D., Tong, X., Choo, A., Karamnejad, M., Shaw, C.D.: The virtual meditative walk: virtual reality therapy for chronic pain management. In: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’15, Seoul, 18–23 April 2015. ACM, New York, pp. 521–524 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J., Hanh, T.N.: Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Delta. Penguen Random Company, New York (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosunen, I., Salminen, M., Järvelä, S., Ruonala, A., Ravaja, N., Jacucci, G.: RelaWorld: Neuroadaptive and immersive virtual reality meditation system. In: Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, IUI ’16, Sonoma, 07–10 March 2016. ACM, New York, pp. 208–217 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer, E.J., Moldoveanu, M.: Mindfulness research and the future. J. Soc. Issues. 56(1), 129–139 (2000a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langer, E.J., Moldoveanu, M.: The construct of mindfulness. J. Soc. Issues. 56(1), 1–9 (2000b)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyzwinski, L.N., Caffery, L., Bambling, M., Edirippulige, S.: A systematic review of electronic mindfulness-based therapeutic interventions for weight, weight-related behaviors, and psychological stress. Telemed. e-Health. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2017.0117

  • Nararro-Haro, M.V., Hoffman, H.G., Garcia-Palacios, A., Sampaio, M., Alhalabi, W., Hall, K., Linehan, M.: The use of virtual reality to facilitate mindfulness skills training in dialectical behavioral therapy for borderline personality disorder: a case study. Front. Psychol. 7, 1573 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patibanda, R., Mueller, F., Leskovsek, M., Duckworth, J.: Life Tree: Understanding the Design of breathing exercise games. In: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY ’17, Amsterdam, 15–18 October 2017. ACM, New York, pp. 19–31 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  • Plaza, I., Demarzo, M.M.P., Herrera-Mercadal, P., García-Campayo, J.: Mindfulness-based mobile applications: literature review and analysis of current features. JMIR mHealth uHealth. 1(2), e24 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sliwinski, J., Katsikitis, M., Jones, C.M.: Mindful gaming: how digital games can improve mindfulness. In: Human-Computer Interaction, pp. 167–184. Springer, Cham (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sliwinski, J., Katsikitis, M., Jones, C. M.: A review of interactive technologies as support tools for the cultivation of mindfulness. Mindfulness. 8(5), 1150–1159 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, G., Harteveld, C.: Procedural content generation as an opportunity to Foster collaborative mindful learning. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI ’14, Toronto, 26 April–1 May 2014. ACM, New York, pp. 917–926 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehmet Kosa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kosa, M., Uysal, A. (2018). Mindfulness, Virtual Reality, and Video Games. In: Lee, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computer Graphics and Games. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_164-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08234-9_164-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08234-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics