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Haptic Feedback for Improved Interoceptive Awareness and Mental Well-being
Sponsor: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Summary
This study investigates the relationship between heart-beat haptic feedback on interoceptive awareness and mental-wellbeing. Previous research showed non-significant results in short-term emotion regulation tasks when given heartbeat haptic feedback, suggesting the need for an extended adjustment training period to build trust with interoceptive feedback systems. To address this, the experimenters propose an in-the-wild study where participants wear a Bangle.js smartwatch for one week each under two conditions: (1) Real heartbeat feedback and (2) Off-set heartbeat feedback. This design aims to examine the influence of haptic feedback on psychological characteristics, including alexithymia, anhedonia, depression, anxiety, and general mental health. The experimenters will also explore the usability and comfort levels related to prolonged wearable use, as well as the participants' ability to distinguish between real and off-set heartbeat feedback, particularly across different levels of alexithymia traits.
Official title: Haptic Feedback for Improved Interoceptive Awareness and Mental Well-being: A Comprehensive In-the-Wild Study for Wellness
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 65 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
29
Start Date
2025-06-26
Completion Date
2025-09-19
Last Updated
2026-09-09
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Interventions
Heart rate feedback from smartwatch
Participants wear a smartwatch during their waking hours which delivers pulses of vibration which can be matched to the frequency of the current heart rate (real condition) or heart rate from one hour ago (sham condition)
Locations (1)
MIT Media Lab
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States