Transformative Experience Design

Symposium on: Transformative Experience Design Using virtual reality, brain-based technologies and the language of arts to support self-transcendent experiences Andrea Gaggioli, Ph.D. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

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Can technology be designed to support transformative experiences?

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Transformative experiences • There are experiences in life that are able to generate profound and longlasting shifts in core beliefs and attitudes • As noted by Miller and C’de Baca, these experiences able to produce a deep and enduring restructuration of one or more personal dimension • A transformative experience can change not only what individuals know and value, but also how they see the world

In outer space you develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that, you son of a bitch!". Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 14

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The transformative experience of Viktor Frank

Viktor Frank (1963, pp. 141-42)

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Varieties of transcendent experiences Flow

Awe

Peak experiences

A mental state of focused

A profound and overwhelming

Experiences involving intense

absorption in an interesting

feeling of wonder or

feelings of “merging with the

and challenging task

admiration for something vast and difficult to accommodate

universe”, wholeness, unity, and integration

Moral emotions

Mystical experiences

Mindfulness

Positive emotions generated by

Experiences in which the

Experience characterized by

the connection with something

sense of self can fall away

“ego-less”, moment-to-

greater than ourselves (i.e., elevation, compassion,

entirely, creating a distinctionless sense of unity with one’s

moment, open, nonjudgmental awareness

admiration, gratitude)

surroundings

Yaden et al., (2017, May 1). The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience. Review of General Psychology 21 (2), 143-160.

Key questions for TED • What are transformative experiences? • Which are the neuro-cognitive signatures of «quantum change»? • What are the antecedents and consequences of transformative experiences? • Can transformative experiences be «invited» or «facilitated» using emerging technologies, like VR/AR, AI and brain-based tools?

Gaggioli et al. (2016). Transformative Experience Design. In: Gaggioli, A, Ferscha, A,. Riva, G, Dunne, S, Viaud-Delmon, 7I. (eds.) Human Computer Confluence. De Gruyter: Berlin

Kinds of transformative experiences EPISTEMICALLYTRANSFORMATIVE

The only way to know what it is like to have it is to have it yourself

E.g.: trying a fruit you’ve never tasted before; seeing a color for the first time

TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE PERSONALLYTRANSFORMATIVE

It changes your point of view, including your core preferences

E.g.: Examples: having a child; taking a college course

Paul, L. A. (2014). Transformative Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press

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The transformative potential of VR Can VR support epistemicallytransformative experiences? à the only way to know what it is like to have it is to have it yourself

Can VR support personally-transformative experiences? à if it changes your point of view, including your core preferences

Can VR support transformative experiences? à if it is both epistemically and personally transformative

VR allows simulating “possible worlds” and “possible selves”: Using VR, it is possible to know «what is like to be a bat» from a first-person, subjective perspective

VR has shown significant potential as a tool to promote personal change in several clinical applications

The potential of VR as a transformative experience technology in clinical and wellbeing applications is still unexplored 9

Gaggioli et al. (2016). Transformative Experience Design. In: Gaggioli, A, Ferscha, A,. Riva, G, Dunne, S, Viaud-Delmon, I. (eds.) Human Computer Confluence. De Gruyter: Berlin

A model of transformational change The exposure to novel information (i.e. aweinducing stimuli) triggers the process of assimilation. If integration fails, the person experiences a critical fluctuation that can either lead to rejection of novelty or to an attempt to accommodate existing schema, eventually generating new knowledge structures and therefore producing an epistemic expansion Gaggioli et al. (2016). Transformative Experience Design. In: Gaggioli, A, Ferscha, A,. Riva, G, Dunne, S, Viaud-Delmon,10I. (eds.) Human Computer Confluence. De Gruyter: Berlin

VR is an effective medium for inducing intense feelings of awe in the lab

VR

AWE CONTENT

PRESENCE

HIGHEST INTENSITY AWE

Chirico, A., Cipresso, P., Yaden, D., Biassoni, F., Riva, G., Gaggioli, A. (2017). Effectiveness of Immersive Videos in Inducing Awe: An Experimental Study. Scientific Reports 7(1).

TECHNOLOGY

Use the language of arts to create contents that invite/facilitate self-transcendence experiences

Use advanced simulation and neurotechnologies to deliver powerful selftranscendence experiences

Awe Flow Peak experiences Moral emotions Mystical experiences Altered states of consciousness • (…) • • • • • •

Visual arts Music Poetry Narratives and storytelling • (…) • • • •

DESIGN

Neuro-cognitive models of self-transcendence experiences

EXPERIENCE

TRANSFORMATIVE

ART

PSYCHOLOGY

• • • • • •

VR, AR Brain stimulation Biofeedback Neurofedback Neurotechnology (…)

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Near-Death Experiences in VR In 2007, O. Blanke co-authored a Science paper showing that the possibility of creating a full body ownership illusion, and a subsequent out-of-body experience, using VR In a recent study, by Bourdin et al (2017) used this paradigm to test how fear of death might be influenced by an OBE Fear of death in the experimental group was found to be lower than in the control group Bourdin P, Barberia I, Oliva R, Slater M (2017) A Virtual Out-of-Body Experience Reduces Fear of Death. PLOS ONE 12(1): e0169343. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169343 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169343

http://www.themachinetobeanother.org/

The exaptation of neuro-technologies • In the field of biology, Stephen Jay Gould defined “exaptation” the process in which a feature acquires a function that was not acquired through natural selection • Likewise, the ongoing exaptation of neuro-technologies to the digital consumer market may lead to the rise of a novel “neuro-experience economy”, in which digital transformation of personal experience is the main product Gould, S.J., Vrba, E. (1982) Paleobiology, 8, 4-15

Re-combinant technologies for personal transformation

Gaggioli, A, Ferscha, A,. Riva, G, Dunne, S, Viaud-Delmon, I. (eds.) (2016) Human Computer Confluence. De Gruyter: Berlin

Taxonomy of transformative interaction paradigms Target experience

Target neuro-cognitive process

Interaction paradigm

Hyper-presence (alteration of sense of presence)

Sense of space and time, sense of "being there"

Blended spaces, virtual reality, substitutional reality, paradoxical reality, interreality (…)

Hyper-interaction (alteration of sense of agency)

Sense of agency, intersubjectivity, social presence

Brain-Computer Interface, brain-to-brain interface, social cybernetics

Hyper-cognition (augmentation of cognitive processes)

Sensory, perceptual, cognitive, affective

Perceptual prosthetics, cognitive prosthetics, emotional prosthetics, brain stimulation (…)

Hyper-embodiment (altered embodiment and re-embodiment)

Sensori-motor integration, body schema,

Embodiment, re-embodiment, symbiotic body, humanrobotic confluence

Applications? We are moving into the «transformation» economy… TED

The interest towards personal transformation technologies is growing

Caveats & challenges • Need for theoretically-refined accounts of transcendent experiences • Mixed methods are key to address the complexity of the topic (i.e., Varela’s neurophenomenology) • Challenges (but also opportunities) in building common ground among psychologists, interaction designers and artists 20

Related work • Buie, Elizabeth (2018) Exploring TechnoSpirituality: Design strategies for transcendent user experiences. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University • Chittaro, L., & Sioni, R. (2018). Existential video games: Proposal and evaluation of an interactive reflection about death. Entertainment Computing, 26, 59-77 21

Conclusion • Transformative Experience Design is concerned with designing interactive experiences that support transcendent experiences, such as awe and wonder • All in all, it aims at understanding how interactive technologies could be designed for the fulfillment of more essential psychological – and spiritual needs, beyond “utilitarian” or “entertaining” purposes

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Session Symposium 1 Transformative Experience Design Using virtual reality, brain-based technologies and the language of arts to support self-transcendent experiences

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A framework for studying Transformative Experiences through VR Katerina Stepanova Simon Fraser University Katerina holds a B.Sc. Cognitive Science and is MSc Student in Interactive Arts & Technology. She has a diverse research background in Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Anthropology and Human-Computer Interaction. She is interested in exploring the unique potential and affordances of emerging technologies, and how to leverage them to create profound and meaningful experiences fostering the feeling of connection and leading to a healthier and more caring society. Her training in partner dance and acting inspired some of her work.

Inside-out: conceptual design and prototype of a system for the automatic generation of emotional metaphors in virtual reality Andrea Gaggioli Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy Andrea is Associate Professor of General Psychology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. His main research focus is on Positive Technology, a topic that seeks to understand how interactive technologies can be used to foster positive emotions, personal growth, creativity, and social connectedness

Going Beyond: Lucid Dreaming as a Lens into Transformative Experience Design for VR Alexandra Kitson Simon Fraser University Alex holds a B.Sc. Cognitive Systems and she is PhD student in Interactive Arts & Technology. Her research interests involve using an interdisciplinary approach to understand human perception and behaviour, and employing technology as a medium to explore the human psyche, create better human-computer interfaces, and provide clinical applications. She has worked with and taught courses on virtual reality for over five years. Outside of academia, she volunteers for a crisis centre and is an avid lucid dreamer.

Virtual Reality and the Continuum of Selftranscendence: From Flow Experience to the Emotion of Awe Alice Chirico Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy Alice holds a M.Sc. Psychology and is currently completing her Ph.D in Psychology. Her doctoral thesis concerns the potential of virtual reality and music for inducing selftranscendent emotions and promote transformative change. Alice’s research interests also include psychophysiology of emotions, flow and creativity. She is also a music performer.

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Gaggioli et al. (2016). Transformative Experience Design. In: Gaggioli, A, Ferscha, A,. Riva, G, Dunne, S, Viaud-Delmon, I. (eds.) Human Computer Confluence. De Gruyter: Berlin Riva G., Banos R.M., Botella C., Mantovani F., Gaggioli A. (2016) Transforming Experience: The Potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Enhancing Personal and Clinical Change. Frontiers in Psychiatry (2016) 7:164. Yaden et al., (2017, May 1). The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience. Review of General Psychology. Review of General Psychology 21 (2), 143-160. Yaden, D.B., Iwry, J., Slack, K.J., Eiechstaedt, J.C., & Vaillant, G.E. (2016). The Overview Effect : Awe and Self-Transcendent Experience in Space Flight. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice Vol. 3, No. 1, 1–11 Chirico A., Glaveanu V.P., Cipresso P., Riva G., & Gaggioli A. Awe Enhances Creative Thinking: An Experimental Study. Creativity Research Journal (2018) 30:2,123-131

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‘‘Only mystery enables us to live, only mystery’’ Federico Garcia Lorca

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