The effects of companionship from strangers and companions on pain thresholds in immersive virtual reality: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective Virtual reality (VR) has been used to treat pain for decades, but improvements in the cost and accessibility of consumer devices open up new opportunities for increasing its efficacy; for example, by adding a social element to virtual experiences. Previous research on the effects of social interaction on pain thresholds in induced pain tasks indicates that even social interaction with a stranger has the potential to increase the effectiveness of VR for pain. In addition, interacting with friends or family members through media can offer social support, and conducting these interactions in immersive virtual reality may have an additive effect. Design Pre-registered, within-participants experiment examining effects of 4 conditions on pain threshold. Setting Academic research laboratory. Methods Participants (N=70) completed a series of induced pain tasks under four conditions: (1) connecting with a companion (friend or family member) in VR, (2) connecting with a companion via Zoom, (3) connecting with a stranger in VR, and (4) alone in VR. Results Social interaction increased participants’ pain thresholds in VR. Participants preferred interacting with their companions in social virtual reality to all other conditions. No statistically significant difference in pain thresholds was found between interacting with a stranger or a companion in VR. Conclusions These findings suggest that social interaction, especially in VR, can enhance pain thresholds, with a preference for interacting with companions and demonstrate the potential for social VR to improve pain management.