The impact of virtual reality meditation on college students’ exam performance

• Published in: Smart learning environments Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 21 - 15
• Main Authors: Kaplan-Rakowski, Regina, Johnson, Karen R., Wojdynski, Tomasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 16.10.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Anxiety; Attention; College Curriculum; College Students; Colleges & universities; Computer Simulation; Computers; Computers and Education; Creative Thinking; Depression (Psychology); Education; Educational Change; Educational Facilities Improvement; Educational Practices; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Empirical analysis; Influence of Technology; Literature Reviews; Meditation; Mental Health; Metacognition; Mindfulness; Music; Outcomes of Treatment; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Relaxation Training; Scores; Short Term Memory; Students; Test Anxiety; Test Theory; Tests; Video Technology; Virtual reality; Visual Stimuli; Well Being; Young Children; Anxiety; Well-being; Meditation; Mindfulness; Exam; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 2196-7091; 2196-7091
• DOI: 10.1186/s40561-021-00166-7

Advocates of meditation claim that it can improve various aspects of life, including health, attention, thinking, and learning. The purpose of this empirical, quantitative, between-subject study was twofold. First, it compared the effectiveness of meditation delivered through virtual reality versus video, as measured by students’ test scores. Second, the study provided insights on the use of meditation, whether via virtual reality or video, as a way to positively affect well-being. T -test analysis showed virtual reality meditation to be significantly more beneficial than video meditation. Students reported that meditation techniques delivered using either medium to be helpful in decreasing their pre-exam anxiety. This study has practical implications and offers evidence on the beneficial impact of VR meditation on students’ exam performance and anxiety levels.