Virtual Reality Induced Awe in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

As emerging media technologies, virtual reality (VR) applications are used to elicit emotional engagement across various contexts—entertainment, education, therapy, training, marketing, and fitness, to name a few—often with the hope of effecting behavioral change. Within the healthcare domain, VR technologies have been successfully leveraged to manage acute pain, but understanding of their efficacy in managing chronic pain remains limited. Current models emphasize the necessity of examining discrete effects of VR across multiple dimensions of pain, particularly its emotional impact. An emotion receiving increased attention by media scholars over the past few years is awe, the complex response to perceived vastness. Awe is a highly relevant, yet largely unexplored, emotion in chronic pain research, as it involves cognitive processes—vastness appraisals, feelings of connectedness, accommodation of new ideas—which may influence psychological processes shaping pain perception. To date, no study has examined the feasibility of inducing awe through VR among individuals with chronic pain. Accordingly, this preliminary study deployed a descriptive mixed-methods approach to examine the feasibility of utilizing a head-mounted display for VR-induced awe. Participants (n = 10) with CLBP viewed 360-degree virtual nature scenes depicting a mountain ascension, combined with music previously validated to elicit awe. Participants completed self-report measures before and after the VR session documenting pain intensity and emotional experiences. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted following the post-session surveys. Results from both methods support the feasibility of inducing awe among individuals with chronic pain via virtual immersion, showing overall positive affective changes and reduction in frequency of self- and pain-related thoughts.