Kaimal Girija, Carroll-Haskins Katrina, Ramakrishnan Arun, Magsamen Susan, Arslanbek Asli, Herres Joanna
Department of Creative Arts Therapies, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
International Arts + Mind Lab, Brain Science Institute, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Front Psychol. 2020 Dec 8;11:589461. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589461. eCollection 2020.
In this pilot mixed-methods study, we examined the participants experiences of engaging in virtual drawing tasks and the impact of an olfactory stimulus (calming fragrance blend) on outcomes of affect, stress, self-efficacy, anxiety, creative agency, and well-being (satisfaction with life).
This study used a parallel mixed-methods, simple block randomization design. The study participants included 24 healthy adults aged 18 to 54 years, including 18 women and six men. The participants completed two 1-h immersive virtual art making sessions and were randomly assigned to receive either a fragrance or a non-fragrance condition for the first session. Quantitative (standardized self-report measures) and qualitative (open-ended survey responses and virtual artwork) datasets were collected concurrently and integrated during data analysis.
The quantitative results indicated that the fragrance condition demonstrated a significant reduction in negative affect (e.g., feeling hostile, jittery, upset, distressed, etc.), namely, reduced feelings of negativity when compared to the non-fragrance condition. A trend toward improvement in self-efficacy was also seen in the fragrance condition. No significant changes were found for fragrance or non-fragrance conditions for positive affect, anxiety, and creative agency. The qualitative findings included five themes related to art making experiences in virtual reality in both conditions: fun and joy; novelty of virtual media, experimentation, and play; relaxation and calm; learning curve; and physical discomfort and disorientation. Four themes were identified for virtual art content and visual qualities: nature imagery, references to memories and personal symbols, fantasy and play within imagery, and depiction of everyday objects.
Overall, the participants reported positive responses to the novel virtual art making experiences which were further heightened by the inclusion of the fragrance stimulus for negative affect. These preliminary findings need to be replicated with larger sample sizes to confirm the outcomes and the trends that were seen in this pilot study. Further research is recommended to examine the differences between experiences of virtual and traditional art media and to examine different olfactory stimuli promoting focus and concentration.
在这项初步的混合方法研究中，我们考察了参与者参与虚拟绘画任务的体验，以及嗅觉刺激（舒缓香薰混合物）对情感、压力、自我效能感、焦虑、创作能动性和幸福感（生活满意度）等结果的影响。
本研究采用平行混合方法、简单区组随机设计。研究参与者包括24名年龄在18至54岁之间的健康成年人，其中18名女性和6名男性。参与者完成了两次1小时的沉浸式虚拟艺术创作课程，并被随机分配在第一次课程中接受香薰或无香薰条件。同时收集了定量（标准化自我报告测量）和定性（开放式调查回复和虚拟艺术品）数据集，并在数据分析过程中进行整合。
定量结果表明，香薰条件下负面情绪（如感到敌意、紧张、心烦、苦恼等）显著减少，即与无香薰条件相比，负面情绪有所减轻。香薰条件下自我效能感也有改善趋势。在积极情绪、焦虑和创作能动性方面，香薰或无香薰条件均未发现显著变化。定性研究结果包括与两种条件下虚拟现实艺术创作体验相关的五个主题：乐趣与喜悦；虚拟媒体的新颖性、实验与玩耍；放松与平静；学习曲线；身体不适与迷失方向。针对虚拟艺术内容和视觉品质确定了四个主题：自然意象、对记忆和个人符号的提及、意象中的幻想与玩耍以及日常物品的描绘。
总体而言，参与者对新颖的虚拟艺术创作体验给出了积极回应，而香薰刺激对负面情绪的影响进一步增强了这种体验。这些初步研究结果需要用更大的样本量进行重复验证，以确认本试点研究中观察到的结果和趋势。建议进一步开展研究，以考察虚拟艺术媒体与传统艺术媒体体验之间的差异，并研究不同的嗅觉刺激对注意力和专注力的促进作用。
