Start playing the selected immersive video (Bloom).
Simultaneously, the therapist tells short stories that are unrelated to the abstract video.
The stories should be engaging and varied to capture participants' interest.
Recalling:
After the video ends, the therapist instructs participants to recall specific details from the short stories told during the video playback.
Participants are encouraged to remember as many specific details as possible, such as characters, settings, and key events.
Distraction and focus:
Emphasize that the goal of this exercise is to focus and remember oral information while there is a visual distractor (the stimulating abstract video).
Participants should actively practice inhibiting distractions and maintaining concentration on the verbal content.
Audio playback:
As an option, the short stories can be recorded and played back through an external audio device to provide consistency and reduce the therapist's involvement.
This allows participants to focus solely on listening and remembering the stories without any visual distractions.
Imagined stories (advanced option):
As a more complex alternative, participants can take turns imagining and sharing their own short stories instead of the therapist.
This variation promotes creativity and active engagement while challenging participants to create and recall their own narratives.
By incorporating these changes, the exercise aims to enhance concentration, declarative memory, and inhibition skills. Participants will practice focusing on oral information while a visually stimulating video plays in the background. The addition of audio playback or participant-generated stories adds flexibility and depth to the exercise, providing variations that cater to different levels of complexity and engagement.
Enhances participants' ability to maintain focus and attention during the exercise
Improves the encoding and recall of verbal information
Helps to inhibit distractions and focus on a task