PsychTech & Health Journal

IMPLICATIONS OF PERCEIVED REALISM IN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY

2026-04-21T09:15:53+00:00

Pursuing realism has been constant and considered computer graphics’ “holy grail” (Chalmers and Ferko, 2008). From entertainment to training simulations to research, realism offers a wide range of possibilities. Immersive Virtual Reality came as a technology capable of providing higher levels of immersion by isolating users from real-world stimuli, focusing their attention and senses on the virtual experience (Mel Slater, 2009). This technology unlocked new ways to push the boundaries of realism even further.

DIGITAL MINDFULNESS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: EVIDENCE FROM A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

2026-04-21T09:16:54+00:00

A brief digital mindfulness program was designed that proposes a space of conscious pause, transforming the relationship with technologies while navigating the digital world. The objective of this intervention was to evaluate the program’s impact on a sample of college students in Chile. The study was conducted using a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control-group research design. The experimental and control groups each consisted of 28 students. The impact of the program on the variables of Reflective Smartphone Disengagement, Generalized Anxiety, Academic Procrastination and Time of Use in RRSS was studied. The data were analyzed from a difference-in-differences model using parametric statistics. Significant effects attributable to the digital mindfulness intervention were identified. The intervention reduced the time spent on social networks and decreased anxiety levels. In addition, an increase in Reflective Disengagement from the Smartphone was observed in the experimental group. No effects of the intervention on academic procrastination were found. The results suggest that digital mindfulness is an effective strategy for achieving a balance in how people relate to technology, especially in recognizing the inescapable impact it has on mental health.

PERCEPTION OF EFFORT AND MENTAL FATIGUE IN SPORT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

2026-04-21T09:16:38+00:00

Mental fatigue has been the subject of several studies, as presented in the systematic review by Custsem et al. (2017). One piece of evidence in these studies is that mental fatigue increases the perceived effort during the task. Several mechanisms have been presented to explain this effect, both physiological and biological. Other evidence confirmed the existence of mental and biological adaptation strategies, expanding the chances of interference from mental fatigue in performance. This evidence interferes with both individual and collective modalities of athletes. This work proposes to compare, in research conducted after 2017, the effects of mental fatigue on athletes’ perceived exertion in individual (cycling) and collective (soccer) sports. We searched the Web of Science Core Collection and CAPES journals and, through a systematic review, identified relationships in athletes’ responses across two sports. Some studies have indicated that mental fatigue increases the perceived effort of the activity performed in both modalities, with cycling resulting in a reduction in critical power. With this, a shorter distance covered at the end of the tests, and in football, influences the total distance covered by the athlete during the test, and a reduction in technical accuracy (mainly of the pass). In this sense, we suggest that new studies be conducted across modalities, examining the technical performance of individual sports athletes under mental fatigue and the ability to reinforce reward during maximum tests in team sports athletes.

MUSICAL PERCEPTION AND HEREDITY: ANALYSIS BETWEEN TWINS FROM NORTHERN MINAS GERAIS

2026-04-21T09:16:24+00:00

The genetic component plays a relevant role in determining various individual characteristics, ranging from physical attributes to behavioral traits. In this context, genetics and epigenetics are fundamental to human development. Heritability is widely studied for its influence on behavioral traits, such as musical preferences. This study aimed to examine the relationship between musical preferences and heritability, using a sample of monozygotic and dizygotic twins from Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. Five musical preference variables were assessed in 28 pairs of monozygotic twins and 20 pairs of dizygotic twins. The results showed an average Kappa coefficient of .808 among monozygotic twins and .568 among dizygotic twins, suggesting that musical preferences are only moderately influenced by genetic factors. Although the overall average Kappa coefficient was .741, separate group analyses revealed notable differences between twin types. Additionally, the estimated mean heritability was 16.74%, classified as low, indicating that genetic factors play a limited role in explaining the variation in musical preferences. Environmental factors, especially shared environments, appear to have a predominant influence on this trait.

DIGITAL SCREEN DEVICE AND INTERNET USE AND SLEEP DISTURBANCES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE (2014–2020)

2026-04-21T09:16:07+00:00

This systematic review examines the relationship between new technologies and sleep disorders and the influence of these technologies on sleep quality. To this end, articles published between 2014 and 2021 were selected, which were open access, complete, published in scientific journals and peer-reviewed, and addressed the relationship between new technologies and sleep disturbances and/or quality problems and the amount of sleep. After reading and analyzing the subsections of the results for the selected articles, discussions on the relationship between new technologies and sleep quality/disturbances were constructed. The analyzed authors point out that new technologies have a negative impact on sleep quality, leading to daytime sleepiness and difficulty falling asleep, especially when used at night. Studies on this topic remain scarce, underscoring the need for further research better to understand the effects of new technologies on sleep.