MÉDITATION DE PLEINE CONSCIENCE EN RÉALITÉ VIRTUELLE ET EN AUDIOGUIDE : EFFETS COMPARABLES SUR LES AFFECTS ET L’ANXIÉTÉ D’ÉTAT DANS UNE POPULATION ADULTE

Abstract

The present study examines whether integrating virtual reality (VR) into a mindfulness meditation practice enhances its effects on emotional regulation, anxiety, and reward sensitivity, compared to traditional audio-guided meditation. A total of 94 adults were assigned to one of two conditions (VR vs. audio-guided). Positive and negative affects (PANAS-SF), state anxiety (STAI-Y-A), heart rate variability (via RMSSD), and performance on the Fribourg Reward Task (FRT) were measured before and after a meditation session. A moderation analysis also examined the role of VR familiarity. Results indicate a significant decrease in negative affect and state anxiety following meditation, regardless of experimental condition. The slight decrease in positive affect observed in both groups is attributable to a measurement bias inherent to the PANAS-SF, whose items reflect high-activation positive affect and are therefore poorly suited to capturing the states of calm and equanimity characteristic of mindfulness practice. No effect of meditation or condition on FRT performance was observed, regardless of reward type (social, monetary, or absent), a finding potentially explained by the insufficient cognitive difficulty of the task version employed. No superiority of VR was observed, and VR familiarity did not moderate the relationship between RMSSD and anxiety. These findings suggest that the observed benefits are primarily attributable to the meditative practice itself rather than to the technological medium, and that integrating meditation sessions represents a relevant complementary intervention in both clinical and preventive settings to support emotional regulation.