TY - SLIDE TI - Transformative experience design: using virtual reality, brain-based technologies and the language of arts to support self-transcendence experiences T2 - 23rd Annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference A2 - Gaggioli, Andrea A2 - Riecke, Bernhard E. AB - There are experiences in life that are able to generate profound and long-lasting shifts in core beliefs and attitudes, including subjective self-transformation [1]. These experiences have the capacity of changing not only what individuals know and value, but also how they see the world. For these characteristics, transformative experiences are gaining increasing attention not only in psychology and neuroscience, but also in philosophy. From a psychological perspective, transformative change is often associated to specific experiential states, defined “self-transcendence experiences”. These are transient mental states that allow individuals experiencing something greater of themselves, reflecting on deeper dimensions of their existence and shaping lasting spiritual beliefs. These experiences encompass several mental states, including flow, positive emotions such as awe and elevation, “peak” experiences, “mystical” experiences and mindfulness (for a review, see Yaden et al. [2]). Although the phenomenological profile of these experiential states can vary significantly in terms of quality and intensity, they are characterized by a diminished sense of self and increased feelings of connectedness to other people and one’s surroundings [2]. Previous research has shown that self-transcendent experiences are important sources of positive psychological outcomes, including increased meaning in life, positive mood and life satisfaction, positive behavior change, spiritual development and pro-social attitudes. One potentially interesting question related to self-transcendent experiences concerns whether, and to which extent, these mental states can be invited or elicited by means of interactive technologies. This question lies at the center of a new research program – transformative experience design [3] – which has a two-fold aims: (i) to systematically investigate the phenomenological and neurocognitive aspects of self-transcendent experiences, as well as their implications for individual growth and psychological wellbeing; and (ii) to translate such knowledge into a tentative set of design principles for developing “e-experiences” that support meaning in life and personal growth. More specifically, the TED framework has identified three possible assets that can be combined to achieve this goal. The first strategy concerns the use of advanced simulation technologies, such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality, as the elective medium to generate controlled alteration of perceptual, motor and cognitive processes. The second asset regards the use of the language of arts to create emotionally-compelling storytelling scenarios. The third and final element of TED concerns the use of brain-based technologies, such as brain stimulation and bio/neurofeeback, to modulate neuro-physiological processes underlying self-transcendence mental states, using a closed-loop approach. The central assumption of TED is that the combination of these means provides a broad spectrum of transformative possibilities, which include, for example, “what it is like” to embody another self or another life form, simualting peculiar neurological phenomena like synesthesia or out-of-body experiences, and altering time and space perception. The safe and controlled use of these e-experiences hold the potential to facilitate self-knowledge and self-understanding, foster creative expression, develop new skills, and recognize and learn the value of others. The goal of this symposium is to introduce attendees to emerging research in transformative experience design as well as to explore the theoretical and methodological challenges associated to this topic. Oral presentations - Alexandra Kitson, Bernhard E. Riecke., Lucid Dreaming as a Lens into Transformative Experience Design for Virtual Reality - Andrea Gaggioli et al., Closing the loop: User-Adaptive Generative Virtual Reality - Andrea Gaggioli et al, The Transformative Potential of Immersive Virtual Storytelling - (…) REFERENCES [1] W.R. Miller and J. C’de Baca, Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives, New York: Guilford Press., Guilford Press, New York, 2001. [2] D.B. Yaden, J. Haidt, R.W. Hood, D.R. Vago, and A.B. Newberg, The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience, Review of General Psychology (2017). [3] A. Gaggioli, Transformative Experience Design, in: Human Computer Confluence: Transforming Human Experience Through Symbiotic Technologies, A. Gaggioli, F. A., G. Riva, S. Dunne, and I. Viaud-Delmon, eds., De Gruyter Open, Warsaw, 2016, pp. 97-121. 1. CY - Gatineau, Canada DA - 2018/06// PY - 2018 M3 - Symposium UR - http://interactivemediainstitute.com/cypsy23/ KW - Riecke KW - Riecke_2018 KW - andrea-gaggioli KW - bernhard-riecke KW - symposium KW - talkWithoutPaper ER -