RESEARCH & WRITING
Research & writing
Peer-reviewed and in-progress work on how immersive technology shapes attention, mindfulness, and learning, and on the methods and people behind that research.
INTERESTS
Barker, S. A. · Human Arenas · 2026
A conceptual analysis of how modern psychology reshapes mindfulness away from its Buddhist origins, and what that trade-off means for attention, embodiment, and measurement.
My research sits where media psychology, contemplative practice, and immersive technology meet. I study how attention and self-regulation work in technology-enabled environments.
I’m equally interested in research methods themselves: how systematic reviews are conducted, where emerging tools help or mislead, and who gets to participate in building the field.
PEER-REVIEWED
Published
The Psychological Reconstruction of Mindfulness: From Buddhist Origins to Modern Operationalization
Efficacy of Virtual Reality–Based Mindfulness Interventions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Barker, S. A., Miles-Novelo, A. J., Rizzo, A., & Tuma, R. M. · JMIR XR and Spatial Computing · 2026
A PRISMA meta-analysis of VR-based mindfulness studies, finding large reductions in negative affect and gains in state mindfulness, alongside wide methodological variation across the field.
Applied Research
Preserving Clinician Agency in AI-Assisted Healthcare
An evidence-informed framework for organizational assessment and intervention
A research-to-practice framework for identifying where AI may alter clinician judgment, autonomy, and decision-making, and for designing, implementing, and evaluating organizational responses.
In Progress
Professional Pathways and Constraints: A Mixed-Methods Study of Women in Extended Reality
Barker, S. A., Fielding Graduate University. IRB-approved
A mixed-methods study of the career pathways and structural constraints shaping women’s participation in extended-reality fields.
IN PROGRESS