- Access to virtual reality (VR) devices and headsets has only grown over the last few years, and research suggests that there are benefits to using VR, including overcoming fears and anxieties (e.g, Crosswell & Yun, 2020; Gorini et al., 2010).
- With anxiety and stress levels being high during the pandemic, examining various methods to alleviate stress in safe, easy ways that participants will be motivated to use is important.
- This research examined whether VR could be used to increase relaxation in participants through a coloring task. Specifically, this study examined whether the known positive effects of coloring in reducing anxiety, psychological, and physiological symptoms (e.g., Ashlock et al. 2018; Flett et al., 2017; Noor et al., 2017; Richesin et al., 2021) could be replicated. VR’s use in inducing relaxation is relatively new, so this research also extended previous research to examine whether the immersive nature of VR might strengthen the typical relaxing effects of coloring compared to more traditional coloring formats (2D computer coloring and paper).
Participants
136 undergraduate students participated in the study in exchange for course credit or raffle entry. Multiple gender and racial categories could be selected.
- Ages ranged from 18 to 24 years old (M = 18.84, SD = 1.08)
- Gender included 49 cisgender men, 77 cisgender women, 9 non-binary individuals, 1 agender person, and 4 individuals who chose to self-identify
- The sample was 72.8% White/Caucasian, 11.8% Black, 11.8% Hispanic, 5.1% Asian American, 3.7% Biracial, 3.7% Middle Eastern/North African, 2.2% American Indian/Native American, 0.7% Pacific Islander, and 0.7% chose to self identify
Materials and Procedure
Sessions were completed in a laboratory setting with sufficient space for VR use. Participants were randomly assigned to complete a coloring activity on paper with colored pencils, on a computer in a two-dimensional coloring program, or in VR through the use of an Oculus headset. After providing informed consent, participants completed baseline questions on:
- Past experience with and attitudes about VR and coloring.
- Relaxation Inventory (Crist et al., 1989) including subscales for physiological tension, physical assessment, and cognitive tension. Higher scores on all 3 subscales represent higher relaxation.
- Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson et al., 1988) including subscales for positive affect, negative affect, and selected items describing relaxed affect.
- Items selected from the Perceived Stress Scale (Wickrama et al., 2013) including subscales of vulnerability to stress and competency in coping with stress.
Participants in the computer/VR conditions were then walked through a tutorial on how to use the program they were assigned. All participants then colored a picture of their choice for ten minutes. Afterwards, participants completed the same questionnaires as before, but participants in the VR condition also completed the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (Kennedy et al., 1993) and questions about their perceptions of the VR experience. They were then debriefed and thanked.
- While the present work found only limited differences between the different coloring conditions, we found consistently significant differences between pre-test and post-test scores in almost all domains.
- Hypothesis 1 was not well-supported, as participants in the VR condition did not significantly differ from other participants in three of the four domains of relaxation, any stress domains, or enjoyment of coloring. However, individuals in the VR condition did endorse greater relaxation in the domain of cognitive tension than the other groups.
- Hypothesis 2 was not supported, as participants in the VR condition did not report significantly different levels of task relaxation or engagement than participants in the other conditions.
- Hypothesis 3 was supported, as participants in the VR condition endorsed more positive views of VR after their experience and in comparison to participants in the 2D and paper conditions.
The Effect of Virtual Reality, Online, and Traditional Coloring on Relaxation
Nicholas Ashenfelter, Nicolette Iacona, Drew Sonnenberg (B.S.),
Jacinda Thomas (B.S.), & Jennifer J. Tickle (Ph.D)
Department of Psychology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Hypothesis 1: Participants who used VR to color would experience increased relaxation, decreased stress and negative affect, and greater enjoyment of coloring than participants who used a two-dimensional computer program or paper format for coloring.
Hypothesis 2: Participants who used VR to color would also report higher levels of task relaxation and engagement than participants in the other conditions.
Hypothesis 3: Being exposed to VR in the laboratory would increase positive attitudes toward VR compared to baseline and compared to non-VR conditions.
We conducted a series of 2 (pre-test, post-test) x 3 (Paper Coloring, 2D Coloring, VR Coloring) Mixed Factorial ANOVAs.
- Coloring, whether it is completed in VR, in a 2D computer program, or on paper, resulted in significant improvements in domains of relaxation, stress, and affect. In this way, the present work supports previous work which found that there were positive effects to coloring.
- The method of coloring did not typically have an impact on outcome. This means that while one medium was not generally supported as most effective, individuals seeking the benefits of coloring have greater flexibility in which medium they may choose to use.
- Future research should identify both how long the benefits of coloring continue, as well as how this varies based on coloring medium.
- Future research should also examine whether different aspects of the conditions are responsible for their efficacy–for example, if VR coloring is effective due to immersion while paper coloring is effective due to the repeated performance of an action.
- Ashlock, L. E., Miller-Perrin, C. & Krumrei-Mancuso, E. (2018). The effectiveness of structured coloring activities for anxiety reduction. Art Therapy, 35 (4), 195-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2018.1540823
- Crist, D. A., Rickard, H. C., Prentice-Dunn, S., & Barker, H. R. (1989). The Relaxation Inventory: Self-report scales of relaxation training effects. Journal of Personality Assessment, 53(4), 716–726. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5304_8
- Crosswell, L. & Yun, G. W. (2020): Examining virtual meditation as a stress management strategy on college campuses through longitudinal, quasi-experimental research. Behaviour & Information Technology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2020.1838609
- Flett, J. A. M., Riordan, B. C., Thompson, L. M., Conner, T. S., & Hayne, H. (2017). Sharpen your pencils: Preliminary evidence that adult coloring reduces depressive symptoms and anxiety. Creativity Research Journal, 29 (4), 409-416. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2017.1376505
- Gorini, A., Pallavicini, F., Algeri, D., Repetto, C., Gaggioli, A.,& Riva, G. (2010). Virtual reality in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorders. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 154, 39-43.
- Kennedy, R.S., Lane, N.E., Berbaum, K.S., & Lilienthal, M.G. (1993). Simulator Sickness Questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 3(3), 203-220.
- Noor, S. M., Saleem, T., Azmat, J., & Arouj, K. (2017). Mandala-coloring as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety reduction in university students. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 67 (6), 904-907.
- Richesin, M. T., Baldwin, D. R., & Wicks, L. A. M. (2021). Art making and virtual reality: A comparison study of physiological and psychological outcomes. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.101823.
- Watson, D., Clark. L. A. &, Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063-70. https://doi:10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.
- Wickrama, K. A. S., Ralston, P. A., O’Neal, C. W., Ilich, J. Z., Harris, C. M., Coccia, C., Young-Clark, I., & Lemacks, J. (2013). Perceived Stress Scale--Revised [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t25065-000
Affect. Coloring reduced negative affect (F(1, 130) = 99.26, p < .001, ηp2 = .43) and increased relaxation affect (F(1, 133) = 194.01, p < .001, ηp2 = .59), but did not change positive affect. There was a main effect of condition on negative affect, but both of the main effects were qualified by a significant interaction driven by the baseline measure in the paper coloring group being significantly lower than the baseline measure in the VR condition, but no differences were seen between conditions at post-test, F (2, 130) = 4.33, p < .05, ηp2 = .06. See Figures 4, 5, and 6.
Relaxation. Coloring decreased physiological tension (F(1, 130) = 167.92, p < .001, ηp2 = .56), decreased cognitive tension (F(1, 133) = 177.30, p < .001, ηp2 = .57), and increased physical assessment of relaxation (F(1, 125) = 123.90, p < .001, ηp2 = .50). A main effect of format showed significantly lower cognitive tension in VR than both other conditions, F (2, 133) = 5.99, p < .05, ηp2 = .08. There was also a physiological tension interaction driven by baseline higher tension (lower relaxation) in the paper condition than in VR, but no differences were seen between conditions at post-test, F (2, 130) = 5.82, p < .05, ηp2 = .08. See Figures 1, 2, and 3.
Figure 1. Physiological Tension
Figure 2. Cognitive Tension
Figure 3. Physical Assessment of Relaxation
Figure 4. Negative Affect
Figure 5. Positive Affect
Stress. Coloring increased perceptions of stress competency (F(1, 128) = 26.37, p < .001, ηp2 = .17) and decreased perceptions of vulnerability to stress (F(1, 128) = 187.81, p < .001, ηp2 = .60). A vulnerability to stress interaction was driven by baseline higher vulnerability ratings in the 2D coloring condition compared to VR, but no differences were seen between conditions at post-test, F (2, 128) = 3.23, p < .05, ηp2 = .05. See Figures 7 and 8.
Task measures. Coloring increased beliefs that coloring was relaxing (F(1, 133) = 24.29, p < .001, ηp2 = .15) and engaging (F(1, 132) = 63.13, p < .001, ηp2 = .32).
VR attitudes. The significant main effect of time on positive attitudes towards VR was qualified by a significant interaction in which positive attitudes toward VR increased from pre-test to post-test only in the VR condition, as would be expected, and the VR condition was significantly higher than both other coloring conditions at post-test, F (2, 133) = 4.38, p < .05, ηp2 = .06. See Figure 9.
Figure 7. Competency Coping with Stress
Figure 8. Vulnerability to Stress
Note. Higher scores are less tension (more relaxation).
Note. Higher scores are less tension (more relaxation).
Figure 9. Positive Attitudes toward VR