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Immersive virtual reality (IVR) and Metaverse applications are gaining attention in the educational field, showing potentials in transforming traditional learning methods by supporting active and experiential forms of learning. Our study, conducted within the context of an Italian university course, employs the Extended Expectation-Confirmation Model (EECM) as a theoretical framework to explore the key aspects of students' acceptance and continued intention to use IVR and Metaverse integrated learning environments in educational settings. The EECM, which bridges the gap between pre-adoption expectations and post-adoption experiences, provides a comprehensive perspective for exploring technology adoption in education. Students' attitudes were assessed before and after they completed an elective course offered by the university that delved into IVR and Metaverse applications. During the course, students explored the theoretical and practical applications of these technologies, engaging in a variety of experiences, from immersive relaxation exercises to immersive educational platforms in the emerging Metaverse. Contrary to common assumptions, pre-adoption factors like performance and effort expectancy had limited impact on expectancy confirmation. However, when students' initial expectations matched their experiences, their perceptions of the technology's usefulness, satisfaction, and confidence in its use were positively enhanced, influencing their continued intention to integrate these tools in education.

Purpose of Review: We review the first pilot studies applying metaverse-related technologies in psychiatric patients and discuss the rationale for using this complex federation of technologies to treat mental diseases. Concerning previous virtual-reality applications in medical care, metaverse technologies provide the unique opportunity to define, control, and shape virtual scenarios shared by multi-users to exploit the “synchronized brains” potential exacerbated by social interactions. Recent Findings: The application of an avatar-based sexual therapy program conducted on a metaverse platform has been demonstrated to be more effective concerning traditional sexual coaching for treating female orgasm disorders. Again, a metaverse-based social skills training program has been tested on children with autism spectrum disorders, demonstrating a significant impact on social interaction abilities. Summary: Metaverse-related technologies could enable us to develop new reliable approaches for treating diseases where behavioral symptoms can be addressed using socio-attentive tasks and social-interaction strategies.

This article investigates the attribution of mental state (AMS) to an anthropomorphic robot by humans in a strategic interaction. We conducted an experiment in which human subjects are paired with either a human or an anthropomorphic robot to play an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game, and we tested whether AMS is dependent on the robot "consistency," that is, the correspondence between the robot's verbal reaction and its behavior after a nonoptimal social outcome of the game is obtained. We find that human partners are attributed a higher mental state level than robotic partners, regardless of the partner's consistency between words and actions. Conversely, the level of AMS assigned to the robot is significantly higher when the robot is consistent in its words and actions. This finding is robust to the inclusion of psychological factors such as risk attitude and trust, and it holds regardless of subjects' initial beliefs about the adaptability of the robot. Finally, we find that when the robot apologizes for its behavior and defects in the following stage, the epistemic component of the AMS significantly increases.

The ubiquity of human art prompted evolutionary psychologists to explore its origins as a potential adaptation to the environment. Here we focus on emotionally charged art and posit that affective affordances embedded into some artworks play a pivotal role in explaining why these artworks are enjoyed from an evolutionary perspective. Such features, recurring in various art forms, are interpreted as cues to the emotional state of others, enabling art consumers to engage in empathetic experiences and vicarious emotions. We explore the adaptive value of deriving pleasure from vicarious emotions, while also addressing the seemingly counterintuitive enjoyment of artworks that evoke negative emotions. We discuss the appreciation of vicarious emotions irrespective of their valence and maintain this appreciation to hold adaptive significance for three key reasons. Firstly, it aids art consumers in refining their interpretational schemes of internal states, potentially enhancing emotional regulation skills. Secondly, it contributes to a deeper understanding of the emotions of others, thereby fostering emotional intelligence and empathy. Lastly, the enjoyment of affectively charged artworks reinforces social cohesion by harmonizing the emotions of group members. This perspective provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the evolutionary underpinnings of the human capacity for art appreciation and emotional engagement.

Nowadays, the web presents real estate sites providing the possibility to use low-cost virtual reality (VR) solutions without sacrificing the high quality of graphic visualization of their contents to attract customers through enhanced digital experiences and increase the probability of selling their products. However, whether immersive VR technologies improve the chances of selling real estate is unclear. This study examines the effects induced by a real estate website that offers the opportunity to evaluate the potential purchase of a property in two ways: by viewing photos of the house (non-immersive conditions) and by taking a virtual tour of the same house using a VR head-mounted display (immersive conditions). Forty participants interested in evaluating the purchase of a new house, randomly assigned to one of the experimental conditions, participated in the experiment. During the real estate experience, electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance (SC) were recorded to collect biological data about the emotional effects raised by each condition. After the study, psychological self-reported questionnaires were collected measuring: emotions, presence, user experience (UX), and a three-item ad hoc scale exploring behavioral intentions (e.g., the perceived pleasantness of the house, the willingness to visit the house, and the purchase intention). Results show that immersive navigation is associated with more positive emotions (EEG), more intense physiological arousal (SC), higher scores on the presence questionnaire, and higher scores on the UX questionnaire compared to the non-immersive one. The psychological scales measuring emotions did not yield significant results. No significant difference in the three-item ad-hoc self-questionnaire was found, except for the item examining willingness to visit the real house building. Implications are also discussed.

Background: Virtual Reality (VR) has already emerged as an effective instrument for simulating realistic interactions, across various domains. In the field of User Experience (UX), VR has been used to create prototypes of real-world products. Here, the question is to what extent the users' experience of a virtual prototype can be equivalent to that of its real counterpart (the real product). This issue particularly concerns the perceptual, cognitive and affective dimensions of users' experiences. Methods: This exploratory study aims to address this issue by comparing the users' experience of a well-known product, i.e., the Graziella bicycle, presented either in Sumerian or Sansar VR platform, or in a physical setting. Participants' Emotional Engagement, Sense of Presence, Immersion, and Perceived Product Quality were evaluated after being exposed to the product in all conditions (i.e., Sumerian, Sansar and Physical). Results: The findings indicated significantly higher levels of Engagement and Positive Affect in the virtual experiences when compared to their real-world counterparts. Additionally, the sole notable distinction among the VR platforms was observed in terms of Realism. Conclusions: This study suggests the feasibility and potential of immersive VR environments as UX evaluation tools and underscores their effectiveness in replicating genuine real-world experiences.

As ubiquitous technology is increasingly mediating our relationships with the world and others, we argue that the sublime is struggling to find room in product design primarily aimed at commercial and transactional goals such as speed and efficiency. We suggest a new category of products to promote deeper and more meaningful experiences, specifically those offering liminality, transcendence, and personal transformation. This paper introduces a conceptual framework and three-step design approach looking at narrative participation in design through abstractions to promote, hold and deepen more complex emotions. We explore implications from a theoretical point of view and suggest product examples for how the model might be applied in practice.

The metaverse, which is “a post-reality universe, a place where physical reality and digital virtuality mix,” offers new ways to learn that are very exciting. The metaverse technology has several features that can be used to learn and teach in a way that is immersive and hands-on. It can keep people interested in the content, allow for real-time social connections, and make learning more active. It also lets us navigate some of the problems with traditional education, such as being stuck in one place and not being able to personalize or work together. With the metaverse, learning can be more interactive, personalized, and team based. How can we make learning the best it can be in the Metaverse? How do the unique parts of the metaverse, such as immersion, affect learning and emotions? Can we come up with rules for how to make the Metaverse a good place to learn online? The META Learning Project will attempt to answer these research questions and to contribute to defining the elements of a “Metaverse-powered online distance education.” The project will be implemented at the Research Center in Communication Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan, Italy; https://centridiricerca.unicatt.it/psicom) in collaboration with Ernst & Young Business School (Rome, Italy).

Ethics: disclose use of AI in scientific manuscripts

Empirical research has explored the potential of the emotion of awe to shape creativity, while theoretical work has sought to understand the link between this emotion and transformation in terms of imagining new possible worlds. This branch of study relies on the transformative potential of virtual reality (VR) to examine and invite cognitive and emotional components of transformative experiences (TEs) within the interdisciplinary model of Transformative Experience Design (TED) and the Appraisal-Tendency Framework (ATF). TED suggests using the epistemic and emotional affordances of interactive technologies, such as VR, to invite TEs. The ATF can provide insight into the nature of these affordances and their relationship. This line of research draws on empirical evidence of the awe-creativity link to broaden the discourse and consider the potential impact of this emotion on core beliefs about the world. The combination of VR with these theoretical and design-oriented approaches may enable a new generation of potentially transformative experiences that remind people that they can aspire to more and inspire them to work toward imagining and creating a new possible world.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest towards the potential hybridisation of digital and physical spaces, an emerging technology paradigm also known as “phygital”. Enabled by the convergence of virtual/augmented/mixed/extended reality, mobile tools, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, the growing symbiosis between human spaces and computers is leading to the emergence of mixed physical and digital ecosystems, which will have a transformational impact on people's lives. However, the potential role that phygital systems could play in enhancing mental health and well-being is still under investigation. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of phygital interaction for mental health and present some scenarios of how this emerging paradigm can be used to enhance the prevention, promotion and treatment of mental conditions.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest towards the potential hybridisation of digital and physical spaces, an emerging technology paradigm also known as “phygital”. Enabled by the convergence of virtual/augmented/mixed/extended reality, mobile tools, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, the growing symbiosis between human spaces and computers is leading to the emergence of mixed physical and digital ecosystems, which will have a transformational impact on people's lives. However, the potential role that phygital systems could play in enhancing mental health and well-being is still under investigation. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of phygital interaction for mental health and present some scenarios of how this emerging paradigm can be used to enhance the prevention, promotion and treatment of mental conditions.

Digital Twins constitute a class of innovative data-intensive network-based computing solutions based on real-time interactive simulations of physical systems—Physical Twins—in multiple domains, representing and predicting the states of complex systems (from bacteria to cities). However, the variety of Digital Twins proposed in literature makes it difficult to shape a general definition for this class of computational tools (possibly merging with phygital systems). On the other hand, this is a sign of the versatility of Digital Twins, in both their own capability to solve heterogeneous problems in real world and to inspire novel approaches to handle the uncertainty in complex systems. Such advantages are also explored in fields like healthcare, especially considering domains of Digital Health and mHealth. Indeed, major efforts in research are pushing the methodological and technological boundaries of biomedical sciences, translational research, and precision medicine. Such efforts should be pursued for implementing Digital Twins helping, for instance, the human-centric optimization of the resources allocation in healthcare settings (hospitals, homes, and cities). This chapter will present the opportunity and the ethical issues of using these systems for foreseeing the future states of a person or a population (a need that certainly was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic) or a system including a medical device and its user.

How do specific nature experiences in VR differ from the equivalent real ones? Although virtual reality ( VR) is increasingly being used as an ecological tool to resemble even complex phenomena, a debated issue still concerns the extent to which experiences in VR are similar to the equivalent real ones. This is especially relevant at the emotional level, as claimed in the emerging field of Virtual Emotions, and with regards to a peculiar content, that is, simulated nature. Despite these advancements in the understanding of the benefits associated with simulated nature, little research has examined to what extent the effects of virtual and real nature on emotions are comparable. In this pilot study, we addressed this issue by comparing virtual and real nature's ability to convey affect, specific discrete emotions, and aesthetic emotions. Following a within-subjects design, 16 participants were exposed to the same natural environment either in reality or in virtual reality. Next, type and valence of emotions, as well as sense of presence, immersion and state anxiety reported by participants, were compared across conditions. Bayesian factor paired t-test showed that only some aesthetic emotions and state anxiety were significantly more intense in the real context compared to the virtual one. Curiously, mixed affects were more intense in reality than in virtual reality. Presence was significantly higher after being exposed to the real condition, but immersion was not. Several internal significant correlations among presence, emotions, aesthetic emotions, affect and anxiety in each condition were found. These results provided evidence that only some emotions elicited by virtual reality were comparable to those evoked by real-life experiences and this deserve further investigation.

Virtual Reality (VR) changed the ways through which art is produced and also experienced by the audience. VR can convey effective emotional and aesthetic experiences thanks to the sense of presence. So far, previous studies have mostly focused on the cognitive implications of using virtual environments in aesthetic contexts. However, empirical studies testing whether and how immersion, sense of presence and engagement are able to emphasize emotional responses to artworks, compared to their simple 2D reproductions, are still scarce. In this study, we tested a new immersive aesthetic format of conventional 2D paintings consisting in a 360 degrees spherical representation of the same paintings, enriched with narratives and music. This preliminary study aims at testing the role of immersion and sense of presence in promoting aesthetic emotions, in terms of aesthetic appreciation and emotional responses. To test this objective, in a within subject-design, each participant is exposed in a counterbalanced order to the new aesthetic format consisting of a set of virtual highly immersive paintings presented in a 360 degrees environment (immersive condition) and to the same set of virtual paintings presented on a simple 2D virtual screen (non-immersive condition). Aesthetic emotions were measured through the AESTHEMOS scale containing 21 subscales covering prototypical aesthetic emotions, epistemic emotions and emotions indicative of amusement. Also, measures related to immersion, sense of presence, engagement and perceived novelty of the stimuli were assessed. Finally, self-report questionnaires measuring people's broader engagement with the arts and humanities, disposition to experience positive emotions and general aesthetic interest were administered to participants. For this preliminary study, we expected artworks to be judged more aesthetically pleasant and emotionally engaging compared to the same set of non-immersive stimuli, presented on a 2D screen. Moreover, we hyp

An increasing number of studies have unveiled the nuanced nature of awe - a complex emotion stemming from stimuli so perceptually and conceptually vast to impact individuals’ current mental frames. Its positive impact on human wellbeing and health have been reported even after a single short exposure to awe-inspiring stimuli. Recently, Virtual Reality (VR) has emerged as a suitable technique for eliciting brief moments of intense awe. Moreover, nowadays, the Metaverse has increased the opportunity to access even complex experiences, such as awe, for a prolonged period. However, the impact of a prolonged exposure to an awe-inspiring simulated experience still must be investigated. Here, in the first study, we designed and tested usability, user experience and preliminary effectiveness of the first VR awe-inspiring training vs. an equivalent neutral training in VR. We relied on an immersive virtual reality online social platform- Altspace VR - for designing the training. In the second study, we investigated whether a prolonged exposure to awe could hold the same effect on creative thinking as it was demonstrated for brief exposure to awe in VR. Specifically, we tested the impact of a long-lasting exposure to awe on creative thinking in the short and on the long run (after the training and in a one-week follow-up) and vs. an equivalent neutral condition (the same as the first study). Creativity thinking, was assessed through Alternative Uses Task (AUT). Additionally, measures related to the disposition to feel positive emotions, social desirability and level of curiosity were collected. The first study supported the feasibility of the training together with the usability of the platform as well as its effectiveness in eliciting awe (vs. neutral condition). Moreover, for the second study, there was a main effect of time on some of the dimensions of creative thinking. Participants scored higher in fluency, originality, and flexibility one week after the training compared

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the field of creativity faces new opportunities and challenges. This manifesto explores several scenarios of human–machine collaboration on creative tasks and proposes “fundamental laws of generative AI” to reinforce the responsible and ethical use of AI in the creativity field. Four scenarios are proposed and discussed: “Co-Cre-AI-tion,” “Organic,” “Plagiarism 3.0,” and “Shut down,” each illustrating different possible futures based on the collaboration between humans and machines. In addition, we have incorporated an AI-generated manifesto that also highlights important themes, ranging from accessibility and ethics to cultural sensitivity. The fundamental laws proposed aim to prevent AIs from generating harmful content and competing directly with humans. Creating labels and laws are also highlighted to ensure responsible use of AIs. The positive future of creativity and AI lies in a harmonious collaboration that can benefit everyone, potentially leading to a new level of creative productivity respecting ethical considerations and human values during the creative process.

How Real Are Virtual Emotions?

Research shows that reduced exposure to natural contexts is associated with an increase in psychophysical disorders. Recent evidence suggests that even a brief experience in natural scenarios can positively affect people's health and well-being. However, natural contexts are not always easily accessible. This study investigates the effects of natural and indoor virtual environments (VREs) on psychophysiological and cognitive responses. Following a within-subject design, 34 healthy participants were exposed to two VREs (i.e., a forest and a living room) in a counterbalanced order through a head-mounted display (Oculus Rift). Participants were asked to explore the scenarios and execute a modified version of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. Physiological parameters (heart rate, skin conductance level [SCL], and respiration rate) were recorded during the whole session. After the exposure to VREs, participants filled a set of visual analog scales to rate their subjective experience of presence, relaxation, and stress. Participants reported a higher perceived sense of relaxation in the virtual forest. Moreover, their SCLs were significantly higher in this environment, showing that the forest elicited higher physiological arousal than the living room. Furthermore, their SCLs were significantly higher during the attentional task in the virtual living room. The results suggest that a natural virtual environment can make people feel more relaxed and physiologically engaged than an indoor scenario. The latter instead can be linked to a performing venue, as reported for real contexts. However, these changes were not related to modulations of attentional performance.

Since Mark Zuckerberg's announcement about the development of new three-dimensional virtual worlds for social communication, a great debate has been raised about the promise of such a technology. The metaverse, a term formed by combining meta and universe, could open a new era in mental health, mainly in psychological disorders, where the creation of a full-body illusion via digital avatar could promote healthcare and personal well-being. Patients affected by body dysmorphism symptoms (i.e., eating disorders), social deficits (i.e. autism) could greatly benefit from this kind of technology. However, it is not clear which advantage the metaverse would have in treating psychological disorders with respect to the well-known and effective virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy. Indeed, in the last twenty years, a plethora of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of VR technology in reducing symptoms of pain, anxiety, stress, as well as, in improving cognitive and social skills. We hypothesize that the metaverse will offer more opportunities, such as a more complex, virtual realm where sensory inputs, and recurrent feedback, mediated by a "federation" of multiple technologies - e.g., artificial intelligence, tangible interfaces, Internet of Things and blockchain, can be reinterpreted for facilitating a new kind of communication overcoming self-body representation. However, nowadays a clear starting point does not exist. For this reason, it is worth defining a theoretical framework for applying this new kind of technology in a social neuroscience context for developing accurate solutions to mental health in the future.

Cognitive frailty is defined as a clinical condition characterized by both physical frailty and cognitive impairment, without reaching the criteria for dementia. The major goal of rehabilitation intervention is to assist patients in performing ordinary personal duties without the assistance of another person, or at the very least to remove the need for additional support, using adaptive approaches and facilities. In this regard, home-based rehabilitation allows patients to continue an intervention begun in a hospital setting while also ensuring support and assistance when access to healthcare systems is limited, such as during the present pandemic situation. We thus present Brain m-App, a tablet-based application designed for home-based cognitive rehabilitation of frail subjects, addressing spatial memory, attention, and executive functions. This app exploits the potential of 360° videos which are well-suited to home-based rehabilitation. The Brain m-app is made up of 10 days of activities that include a variety of exercises. The activities were chosen based on those patients used to do during their clinical practice in the hospital with the aim to improve their independence and autonomy in daily tasks. The preliminary usability test, which was conducted on five older people, revealed a sufficient level of usability, however, the sample size was modest. Results from the clinical study with 10 patients, revealed that Brain m-App improved especially executive functions and memory performances.

Since Mark Zuckerberg's announcement about the development of new three-dimensional virtual worlds for social communication, a great debate has been raised about the promise of such a technology. The metaverse, a term formed by combining meta and universe, could open a new era in mental health, mainly in psychological disorders, where the creation of a full-body illusion via digital avatar could promote healthcare and personal well-being. Patients affected by body dysmorphism symptoms (i.e., eating disorders), social deficits (i.e. autism) could greatly benefit from this kind of technology. However, it is not clear which advantage the metaverse would have in treating psychological disorders with respect to the well-known and effective virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy. Indeed, in the last twenty years, a plethora of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of VR technology in reducing symptoms of pain, anxiety, stress, as well as, in improving cognitive and social skills. We hypothesize that the metaverse will offer more opportunities, such as a more complex, virtual realm where sensory inputs, and recurrent feedback, mediated by a “federation” of multiple technologies - e.g., artificial intelligence, tangible interfaces, Internet of Things and blockchain, can be reinterpreted for facilitating a new kind of communication overcoming self-body representation. However, nowadays a clear starting point does not exist. For this reason, it is worth defining a theoretical framework for applying this new kind of technology in a social neuroscience context for developing accurate solutions to mental health in the future.

Why and How Empathy Matters in Aesthetic Experiences

The concept of transformative experience (TE) has been widely explored by several disciplines from philosophy to neurobiology, and in different domains, from the spiritual to the educational one. This attitude has engendered heterogeneous models to explain this phenomenon. However, a consistent and clear understanding of this construct remains elusive. The aim of this work is to provide an initial comprehensive interdisciplinary, cross-domain, up-to-date, and integrated overview on the concept of TEs. Firstly, all the models and theories on TEs were reviewed to extract and analyze TEs’ main components emerging from different disciplines. Then, this preliminary analysis was integrated with an in-depth examination of redundancies and particularities across domains and disciplines, to provide an integrated theoretical framework of TEs and a preliminary interdisciplinary operational definition of TEs. This examination, in turn, can help organize current research and theories, thus providing suggestions for operationalizing TEs as well as encouraging new interdisciplinary research endeavors.

The emotion of awe, arising when the human being confronts himself with something vast, able to overwhelm current mental structures and to turn into a potentially transformative experience, has been recently introduced into the learning domain as a driver of knowledge-seeking behavior as well as an authentic trigger of interest towards science. However, to date, an awe-inspiring training for workers into the domain of science – specifically of STEM or STEAM – has not been designed and tested yet. In this study, we implemented recent scientific evidence concerning how to elicit intense instances of awe into an awe-inspiring training delivered through a social virtual reality (VR) platform-AltspaceVR. High-school teachers attended this novel awe-inducing training consisting of an autobiographical recall of awe as well as the exposure to awe-inspiring virtual environments (VREs). Their level of awe, presence, and affect were measured before and at the end of the training. Moreover, at the end of the experience, participants were involved in a focus group on the overall experience. Participants reported a profound sense of awe along with other related emotions, as well as a continuous sense of presence in the VRE. In conclusion, this training could pave the way for a multitude of applications, enhancing the individual involvement towards science and technology at any age.

Call for Special Issue Papers: Virtual Emotions: Understanding Affective Experiences in the Metaverse

In a society where advances and innovations occur on a daily basis, outreach and meaningful engagement with the general public become more challenging. The amount of information produced and repackaged surpasses existing systems in place to ensure truthful and factual engagement with the public, especially with complex matters regarding health science. This perspective paper discusses the value of contextualization and optimization for creating transparent and engaging content. We reflect on the innovative Transformative Storytelling Technique as a new category creating hybrid content to guide the experience of audiences, starting with the case of informal caregivers helping individuals living with neurological conditions. Moreover, we share our perspective on the important considerations for current and future development of highly targeted content using this technique. We include reflexions around the risks and ethical principles needed in the utilization and dissemination of “guided” content for the general public.

Transformation can be deemed as a process composed of specific emotional (e.g., awe) and cognitive components (worldview and mental schema) interacting together to trigger impactful experiences of transformation (TE). Several theories posited that one trigger of transformation can be something able to violate people’s current worldview. In Italy, the lockdown – requested by the Government to limit the consequences of pandemic-represented an unprecedented experience for Italian citizens. Although COVID-19 home confinement significantly impacted psychosocial wellbeing and encouraged the adoption of new communication technologies to overcome lockdown loneliness, no difference emerged in relation to lockdown intensity. However, the potential transformative impact of this event has not been tested yet. In this study, we measured fluctuations of nine healthy Italian people’s cognitive worldview and personality traits, as well as their disposition to live the complex emotion of awe in three timeframes (i.e., at the beginning of Italian Lockdown period, at the end, and one month after the end of the lockdown). No significant changes emerged from data analyses, thus suggesting that, despite the potential impact of this worldwide event, people’s stable worldview, personality factors, and complex emotion dispositions persisted, at least, immediately after the first lockdown period.

Mindfulness is one of the most popular psychotherapeutic techniques that help to promote good mental and physical health. Combining mindfulness with immersive virtual reality (VR) has been proven to be especially effective for a wide range of mood disorders for which traditional mindfulness has proven valuable. However, the vast majority of immersive VR-enhanced mindfulness applications have focused on clinical settings, with little evidence on healthy subjects. This narrative review evaluates the real effectiveness of state-of-the-art mindfulness interventions mediated by VR systems in influencing mood and physiological status in non-clinical populations. Only studies with an RCT study design were considered. We conclude that most studies were characterized by one single meditation experience, which seemed sufficient to induce a significant reduction in negative mood states (anxiety, anger, depression, tension) combined with increased mindfulness skills. However, physiological correlates of mindfulness practices have scarcely been investigated. The application of VR-enhanced mindfulness-based interventions in non-clinical populations is in its infancy since most studies have several limitations, such as the poor employment of the RCT study design, the lack of physiological measurements (i.e., heart rate variability), as well as the high heterogeneity in demographical data, technological devices, and VR procedures. We thus concluded that before applying mindfulness interventions mediated by VR in clinical populations, more robust and reliable methodological procedures need to be defined.

This research project has the goal to verify whether the application of neuromarketing techniques, such as implicit association test (IAT) techniques and emotional facial expressions analyses may contribute to the assessment of user experience (UX) during and after website navigation. These techniques have been widely and positively applied in assessing customer experience (CX); however, little is known about their simultaneous application in the field of UX. As a specific context, the experience raised by different websites from two well-known automotive brands was compared. About 160 Italian university students were enrolled in an online experimental study. Participants performed a Brand Association Reaction Time Test (BARTT) version of the IAT where the two brands were compared according to different semantic dimensions already used in the automotive field. After completing the BARTT test, the participants navigated the target website: 80 participants navigated the first brand website, while the other half navigated the second brand website (between-subject design). During the first 3 min of website navigation, emotional facial expressions were recorded. The participants were asked to freely navigate the website home page, look for a car model and its characteristics and price, use the customising tool, and in the end, look for assistance. After the website navigation, all the participants performed, a second time, the BARTT version of the IAT, where the two brands were compared again, this time to assess whether the website navigation may impact the Implicit Associations previously detected. A traditional evaluation of the two websites was carried on by means of the classic heuristic evaluation. Findings from this study show, first of all, the significant results provided by neuromarketing techniques in the field of UX, as IAT can provide a positive application for assessing UX played by brand websites, thanks to the comparison of eventual changes in time reacti

In the past years, the field of collaborative robots has been developing fast, with applications ranging from health care to search and rescue, construction, entertainment, sports, and many others. However, current social robotics is still far from the general abilities we expect in a robot collaborator. This limitation is more evident when robots are faced with real-life contexts and activities occurring over long periods. In this article, we argue that human-robot collaboration is more than just being able to work side by side on complementary tasks: collaboration is a complex relational process that entails mutual understanding and reciprocal adaptation. Drawing on this assumption, we propose to shift the focus from "human-robot interaction"to "human-robot shared experience."We hold that for enabling the emergence of such shared experiential space between humans and robots, constructs such as coadaptation, intersubjectivity, individual differences, and identity should become the central focus of modeling. Finally, we suggest that this shift in perspective would imply changing current mainstream design approaches, which are mainly focused on functional aspects of the human-robot interaction, to the development of architectural frameworks that integrate the enabling dimensions of social cognition.

The investigation of emerging adults' expectations of development of the next generation of robots is a fundamental challenge to narrow the gap between expectations and real technological advances, which can potentially impact the effectiveness of future interactions between humans and robots. Furthermore, the literature highlights the important role played by negative attitudes toward robots in setting people's expectations. To better explore these expectations, we administered the Scale for Robotic Needs and performed a latent profile analysis to describe different expectation profiles about the development of future robots. The profiles identified through this methodology can be placed along a continuum of robots' humanization: from a group that desires mainly the technical features to a group that imagines a humanized robot in the future. Finally, the analysis of emerging adults' knowledge about robots and their negative attitudes toward robots allowed us to understand how these affect their expectations.

The existing interventions for informal caregivers assist with managing health outcomes of the role burden. However, the deeper meaning-making needs of informal caregivers have been generally neglected. This paper reflects on the meaning-making needs of informal caregivers, through the theory of narrative identity, and proposes a new approach – the Transformative Video Design technique delivered via video storytelling. Transformative Video Design assists informal caregivers to re-create a cohesive caregiving story and incorporate it into the narrative identity. The technique is used as a stimulus for triggering the self-re-structure within the narrative identity and facilitating role transformation.

Recently, interest in the unique pathways linking discrete positive emotions to specific health outcomes has gained increasing attention, but the role of awe is yet to be elucidated. Awe is a complex and transformative emotion that can restructure individuals' mental frames so deeply that it could be considered a therapeutic asset for major mental health major issues, including depression. Despite sparse evidence showing a potential connection between depression and awe, this link has not been combined into a proposal resulting in specific intervention guidelines. The aim of this perspective was three-fold: (i) to provide a new unifying model of awe's functioning—the Matryoshka model; (ii) to show systematic and explicit connections between this emotion and depression; and (iii) to suggest specific guidelines of intervention utilizing the potential therapeutic role of awe for mental health, specifically for depression. This theoretical endeavor in its entirety has been framed within the health domain.

The goal of this large-scale study was to test the relationship between positive emotion dispositions (i.e., Joy, Contentment, Pride, Love, Compassion, Amusement, and Awe) and two strategies of emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) in the Italian population. 532 Italian-speaking adults completed the Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES), the Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS), the Italian Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Big-Five Inventory (BFI). DPES scales showed high reliability. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that a 6-factor model fits the Italian sample better. Joy and Contentment loaded on the same factor. Items assessing the other five emotions loaded on separate factors. The patterns of relationships between positive emotion dispositions, positive and negative affects traits (PANAS), and personality traits (BFI) indicated concurrent validity of the DPES. Twelve separated multiple regression models with BFI and ERQ factors as predictors and DPES factors as response variables showed that Extraversion significantly positively predicted of all DPES emotions. Agreeableness predicted Happiness, Love, Compassion, and Awe positively. Conscientiousness predicted Amusement and Love negatively and Compassion, Pride, and Happiness positively. Neuroticism predicted all emotions negatively except for Compassion. Positive emotions were significantly and positively predicted by reappraisal, and negatively predicted by suppression.

In this contribution, we introduce the concept of Positive Innovation Networks (PINs) as a framework to understand processes of co-creation and open collaboration involved in digital social innovation. Drawing on positive psychology, an emerging field focused on the empirical investigation of optimal human functioning, we deconstruct two assets that PINs can leverage to achieve transformative social change: networked flow and positive psychological capital. Networked flow is an optimal group experience that can unlock the creative potential of a PIN by maximizing the 'we-intention' of its members. Positive psychological capital refers to the capacity of a PIN's core team to accrue and spread hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. We show how these positive psychological resources can be measured and developed for improving PIN performance. Finally, we summarize the key traits of PINs and illustrate them through a case study.

In questo breve testo vi sarà richiesto di immaginare, lasciarvi trascinare e immergere nel mondo delle emozioni. Questo, che più che un mondo è un universo, costituirà la strada privilegiata per comprendere e assaporare i momenti di eternità. Prima di fornirne una definizione e una correlata spiegazione, scegliamo di farvi assaporare questi istanti unici, iniziando con una storia. Immaginate alcune donne, ormai ottantenni, provenienti da un paesino sperduto, tal “Daone” in Trentino-Alto Adige. Un giorno qualsiasi, uno di tanti, le donne decidono di intraprendere un viaggio verso il mare. Lontano dalle loro consuetudini, dalla montagna, dai loro familiari e dai loro costumi, sentono la necessità di placare questo bisogno e di provare qualcosa che non aveva mai potuto far parte delle loro vite fino a quel momento: immergersi nelle acque del mare. Questa esperienza è documentata nel docufilm Funne: Le ragazze ottantenni che sognavano il mare di Katia Bernardi ed è stata parte della vita vera di queste donne così coraggiose e intraprendenti. Ora, vi chiediamo di figurarvi le Funne immerse nel mare per la prima volta, immaginando e assaporando quell’unico istante di incontro con l’acqua in cui il tempo si ferma, il respiro è trattenuto per poi essere rilasciato in mezzo aun profondo sospiro, si spalancano gli occhi come anche la mente e il cuore. All’esordio del film, in un’intervista al magazine di Tgr Petrarca, l’ideatrice del documentario aveva descritto questo momento di incontro con la sconosciuta acqua, come “un momento di eternità”. In questo testo, abbiamo fatto nostra quell’espressione per nominare un sentimento complesso che caratterizza questi momenti di eternità. Poiché tale sentimento, a oggi, ha solo un nome straniero, abbiamo scelto di tradurlo liberamente, ma in modo ponderato, con “profonda meraviglia”. Infatti, non si tratta solo di “meraviglia” ma di un sentimento ancora più profondo, sentito, coinvolgente, in grado di sconvolgerci, abba

Although recognised as effective measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, social distancing and self-isolation have been suggested to generate a burden throughout the population. To provide scientific data to help identify risk factors for the psychosocial strain during the COVID-19 outbreak, an international cross-disciplinary online survey was circulated in April 2020. This report outlines the mental, emotional and behavioural consequences of COVID-19 home confinement. The ECLB-COVID19 electronic survey was designed by a steering group of multidisciplinary scientists, following a structured review of the literature. The survey was uploaded and shared on the Google online survey platform and was promoted by thirty-five research organizations from Europe, North Africa, Western Asia and the Americas. Questions were presented in a differential format with questions related to responses “before” and “during” the confinement period. 1047 replies (54% women) from Western Asia (36%), North Africa (40%), Europe (21%) and other continents (3%) were analysed. The COVID-19 home confinement evoked a negative effect on mental wellbeing and emotional status (P < 0.001; 0.43 ≤ d ≤ 0.65) with a greater proportion of individuals experiencing psychosocial and emotional disorders (+10% to +16.5%). These psychosocial tolls were associated with unhealthy lifestyle behaviours with a greater proportion of individuals experiencing (i) physical (+15.2%) and social (+71.2%) inactivity, (ii) poor sleep quality (+12.8%), (iii) unhealthy diet behaviours (+10%), and (iv) unemployment (6%). Conversely, participants demonstrated a greater use (+15%) of technology during the confinement period. These findings elucidate the risk of psychosocial strain during the COVID-19 home confinement period and provide a clear remit for the urgent implementation of technology-based intervention to foster an Active and Healthy Confinement Lifestyle AHCL).

The sublime – the mixed aesthetic experience of uplift and elevation in response to a powerful or vast object that otherwise is experienced as menacing – has nurtured philosophical discourse for centuries. One of the major philosophical issues concerns whether the sublime is best thought of as a subjective response or as a stimulus. Recently, psychology has conceived of the sublime as an emotion, often referred to as awe, arising from natural or artistic stimuli that are great, rare, and/or vast. However, it has not yet been empirically demonstrated whether two major elicitors of the sublime – nature and art – differ in inducing this state. In order to experimentally compare nature and art, we exposed 50 participants to sublimity-inducing content in two different formats (nature-based and art-based) using 360° videos. We compared Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night with a photorealistic version of the actual place depicted in the painting, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. We measured participants’ emotional responses before and after each exposure, as well as the sense of presence. The nature-based format induced higher intensity emotional responses than the art-based format. This study compares different sublime stimuli (nature vs. art) for eliciting the sublime.

The Metaverse can be defined as a hybrid (digital/physical) environment offering places for rich user interaction. In this view, the main feature of the Metaverse is a twofold link between the virtual and physical worlds: (a) behavior in the physical world influences the experience in the virtual one and, (b) behavior in the virtual world influences the experience in the real one. Furthermore, any change in the physical world is mirrored in its digital representation (the digital twin), and feedback is sent in the opposite direction (i.e., if the avatar is touched, haptic feedback is provided to the physical body). Currently, this is achieved through 3D shared XR worlds, biosensors and activity sensors (from the real to the virtual world), two-way Internet of Things (IoT) object connections, social media, and wearable devices including smartphones (from the virtual world to the real one). Our view is that bridging technologies that simulate both the external world and the internal world (our bodily experience) will allow the simulated, cognitive, and embodied dimension of the Metaverse to merge, thereby transforming it into the ultimate clinical technology. In particular, it will allow for the emergence of Regenerative VR: the integration of external and internal simulated technologies to rewrite a faulty bodily experience and to regenerate the wellbeing of an individual.

Despite a rapidly ageing world population, ageism – particularly in its implicit form – is widespread in society. In this article, we propose that a paradigm shift is needed in how we approach ageing-related design research and practice in areas such as assistive technologies. We also put forward the idea of using the Healthy Ageing (HA) framework of the WHO as the basis for new lines actions that can be taken by design researchers and practitioners to address implicit ageism in society through their work.

Background: The worldwide increase in community-dwelling people with dementia underscores the need for innovative eHealth technologies that aim to provide support to both patients and their informal caregivers in the home setting. However, sustainable implementation of eHealth technologies within this target group can be difficult. Objective: The goal of this study was to gain a thorough understanding of why it is often difficult to implement eHealth technologies in practice, even though numerous technologies are designed to support people with dementia and their informal caregivers at home. In particular, our study aimed to (1) provide an overview of technologies that have been used and studied in the context of informal dementia care and (2) explore factors influencing the implementation of these technologies. Methods: Following an umbrella review design, five different databases were searched (PubMed, PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane) for (systematic) reviews. Among 2205 reviews retrieved, 21 were included in our analysis based on our screening and selection procedure. A combination of deductive and inductive thematic analyses was performed, using the Nonadoption, Abandonment, Scale-Up, Spread, and Sustainability (NASSS) framework for organizing the findings. Results: We identified technologies designed to be used "by informal caregivers," "by people with dementia," and "with people with dementia." Within those groups, most of the represented technologies included, respectively: (i) devices for in-home monitoring of lifestyle, health, and safety; (ii) technologies for supporting memory, orientation, and day structure; and (iii) technologies to facilitate communication between the informal caregiver and person with dementia. Most of the identified factors influencing implementation related to the condition of dementia, characteristics of the technology, expected/perceived value of users, and characteristics of the informal caregiver. Considerably less infor

We examined the effects of a VR experience ("The Secret Garden") designed to promote relaxation following acute stress induction. Participants (N=47, mean age = 26,0 years, S.D. 7,9, 31 females, 16 males) were exposed to a laboratory stressor (i. e., The Trier Social Stress Test Protocol for Inducing Psychological Stress, TSST and randomly assigned to either the experimental condition (VR relaxation environment, N=24) or the control condition (resting, N=23). Stress recovery was assessed via repeated measures at baseline, after TSST and following VR/resting conditions. Psychological measures included the administration of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory (ITC-SOPI). Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) data were also collected. Repeatedmeasure ANOVAs revealed that anxiety levels significantly increased from baseline to post-TSST, with main HR indexes following the same pattern. There was no main effect of experimental condition on both anxiety and HR measures, but a significant time per condition interaction effect, with a higher mean reduction of anxiety in the VR group after the acute stress induction than in the control group. No main effects of condition were found on HR/HRV indexes. These findings suggest that TSST increased psychological and physiological stress and that VR relaxation was able to help recovery from stress condition, although this effect was not corroborated by HRV data analysis. These results confirm the potential of VR as a procedure to support recovery from acute stress and warrant further studies.

New media literacy (NML) involves a series of crucial skills needed for living and working in the mediated and participatory society of the 21st century. Along with the emergence of new media technologies, individuals are now expected to know the socio-cultural and emotional aspects of new media beyond its technical characteristics. This paper seeks to extend the notion of digital skills by developing and measuring an additional set of abilities: the Digital Smartness (DS). DS is a set of technical and interpersonal skills for a professional practice of ICTs, based on professional identity designing and communication activities. Moreover, this article outlines the main results and methodological challenges of an ad hoc scale to measure digital smartness. The development, properties, and uses of the Digital Smartness Scale (DSS) are described. Dimensionality, reliability, and validity data are presented for two studies (pilot test and validity test) involving a total of 2.257 individuals. The psychometric properties of the scale were examined. The four-factor 34-item DSS revealed good content validity, structural validity, construct reliability, construct convergent validity and discriminant validity. Moreover, findings indicated the novelty of this skill set, thanks to low convergent and incremental validity.

Given the innovative, technological and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) environment in which we live, it would be essential to understand which role humans can take on in it, as well as the empowerment provided to human beings by this complex context. This paper constitutes a focus on these possibilities through the investigation of the dynamics of collaboration in Mixed-Reality (MR) environments (PC-HoloLens), paying particular attention to the role of nudges in eliciting (optimal) shared experiences among team members. This study, therefore, intends to investigate the interactive and emotional outcomes related to a mediated communication based on different nudges (three experimental conditions: nudge for empathy, nudge for awareness, and no nudge). We hypothesized that these nudges could also modulate the emergence of optimal shared experiences, such as the one of group flow and of social presence. Through the quantitative analysis of psychometrical measures and the qualitative analysis of the dialogue within one dyad, we detected featured elements and patterns that can be used as starting points to question collaborative processes in digitally mediated interactions

The aim of this paper is to present an innovative tablet-based application with 360° videos for the motor rehabilitation of frail elderly, Bal-App. This app was developed for iPad and exploits the potentiality of 360° videos to improve bal-ance in frail patients throught several exercises with an increasing level of difficulty. The app includes 10 sessions to be played 3 times a week for 3 weeks. The results of the usability study are very encouraging, and patients are very interested in try this app at home like a guide for the motor rehabilitation. Only few non-substantial adjustments be-fore the clinical trial are planned.

Aging is a condition that may be characterized by a decline in physical, sensory, and mental capacities, while increased morbidity and multimorbidity may be associated with disability. A wide range of clinical conditions (e.g., frailty, mild cognitive impairment, metabolic syndrome) and age-related diseases (e.g., Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, cancer, sarcopenia, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) affect older people. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel and promising tool for assessment and rehabilitation in older people. Usability is a crucial factor that must be considered when designing virtual systems for medicine. We conducted a systematic review with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines concerning the usability of VR clinical systems in aging and provided suggestions to structure usability piloting. Findings show that different populations of older people have been recruited to mainly assess usability of non-immersive VR, with particular attention paid to motor/physical rehabilitation. Mixed approach (qualitative and quantitative tools together) is the preferred methodology; technology acceptance models are the most applied theoretical frameworks, however senior adapted models are the best within this context. Despite minor interaction issues and bugs, virtual systems are rated as usable and feasible. We encourage usability and user experience pilot studies to ameliorate interaction and improve acceptance and use of VR clinical applications in older people with the aid of suggestions (VR-USOP) provided by our analysis.

Background: Public health recommendations and governmental measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in numerous restrictions on daily living including social distancing, isolation and home confinement. While these measures are imperative to abate the spreading of COVID-19, the impact of these restrictions on health behaviours and lifestyles at home is undefined. Therefore, an international online survey was launched in April 2020, in seven languages, to elucidate the behavioural and lifestyle consequences of COVID-19 restrictions. This report presents the results from the first thousand responders on physical activity (PA) and nutrition behaviours. Methods: Following a structured review of the literature, the “Effects of home Confinement on multiple Lifestyle Behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak (ECLB-COVID19)” Electronic survey was designed by a steering group of multidisciplinary scientists and academics. The survey was uploaded and shared on the Google online survey platform. Thirty-five research organisations from Europe, North-Africa, Western Asia and the Americas promoted the survey in English, German, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Slovenian languages. Questions were presented in a differential format, with questions related to responses “before” and “during” confinement conditions. Results: 1047 replies (54% women) from Asia (36%), Africa (40%), Europe (21%) and other (3%) were included in the analysis. The COVID-19 home confinement had a negative effect on all PA intensity levels (vigorous, moderate, walking and overall). Additionally, daily sitting time increased from 5 to 8 h per day. Food consumption and meal patterns (the type of food, eating out of control, snacks between meals, number of main meals) were more unhealthy during confinement, with only alcohol binge drinking decreasing significantly. Conclusion: While isolation is a necessary measure to protect public health, results indicate that it alters physical activity and eat

Sometimes, life houses rare and unexpected events, such as moving abroad or meeting a special person unexpectedly. Recently, these situations have been indicated as “diversifying experiences” (DEs), defined as unusual and unexpected events that drag people outside their daily routine and accustomed schemas. The core mechanism of DEs would entail the disruption of our mental schema, which can facilitate unexpected connections among even distant ideas, thus enhancing people’s cognitive flexibility, that is, a key component of creative thinking. Despite both qualitative and lab-based studies have investigated the features of these experiences, an ecological assessment of their properties also in relation with creativity is still an open issue. The aim of this research is to study the DE–creativity link in a more ecological way, on the basis of a real-life disruptive experience of light deprivation. Specifically, we compared an ecological DE artistic established entertainment format (i.e., “dialogue in the dark,” which is seeing people perform several daily life activities but in the absence of light) with an equivalent experience in which the same activities were acted in the sunlight. The absence of light played the role of violating mechanism, framed within the ecological experiential format of the “dialogue in the dark.” We compared visitors’ emotional profile [Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), ad hoc Adjective Checklist], perceived impact of the experience [Centrality of Event Scale (CES)], and creative performance [Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)] in both groups of sighted people (in absence of light vs. in presence of light); and we also controlled for people’s openness to experience and need for cognitive closure, as dispositions. Results showed that (vs. control group) “dialogue in the dark” (i) led to worse creative performances, (ii) produced more intense positive affect, and (iii) resulted as a more impacting experience. Intense short

Brain science research often involves the use of low-dimensional tools and stimuli that lack several of the potentially valuable features of everyday activities and interactions. Although this research has provided important information about cognitive, affective, and social processes for both clinical and nonclinical populations, there is growing interest in high-dimensional simulations that extend reality. These high-dimensional simulations involve dynamic stimuli presented serially or concurrently to permit the assessment and training of perceivers’ integrative processes over time. Moreover, high-dimensional simulation platforms can contextually restrain interpretations of cues about a target’s internal states. Extended reality environments extend assessment and training platforms that balance experimental control with emotionally engaging background narratives aimed at extending the affective experience and social interactions. Herein, we highlight the promise of extended reality platforms for greater ecological validity in the clinical, affective, and social neurosciences.