Virtual Realities: Understanding and Cultivating Positive Emotions Through Decades of Innovation

This talk will provide an overview of the progress in using virtual reality (VR) and its extended forms to study and promote positive emotions over the past three decades. The first application of VR in psychology was to induce and modify a negative emotion (anxiety) in a controlled environment. Soon, VR emerged as a platform with great potential for exploring and studying emotions, allowing researchers to create complex emotional experiences. At the same time, there was a growing interest in psychology to study well-being and positive emotions. This led to the emergence of "positive technologies," a pivotal development that recognized VR as a powerful tool for exploring and promoting various positive emotions. Currently, there is compelling evidence of its efficacy in different populations and contexts in promoting various positive emotions. Despite its limitations and ethical considerations, this is a promising field. Currently, research on VR, mixed realities (MR), extended realities (XR), and positive emotions is a vibrant and interdisciplinary field. These technologies present an exciting opportunity to advance mental health interventions, deepen our understanding of emotional processes, and promote positive emotional experiences. In this talk, we will trace the evolution of VR and its extended forms, examine key applications that have been developed, and discuss the accumulated evidence for their effectiveness in enhancing positive emotions.