An Experimental Evaluation of Sensory Conflict Versus Postural Control Theories of Motion Sickness
Abstract
Riccio and Stoffregen (1991) presented a radical alternative to the widely accepted sensory conflict theory of motion sickness. Essentially, they argued that motion sickness is caused not by sensory conflict, but by postural instability. The current experiment was designed to evaluate three aspects of the two theories. Participants were exposed to two levels of sensory conflict while being partially restrained to reduce the possibility of postural instability. The results were that (1) motion sickness was widespread although there were few signs of postural instability, (2) difference in motion sickness were associated with differences in sensory conflict rather than with differences in postural stability, and (3) the frequency range of movements that preceded symptoms of motion sickness was not in the 4 to 8 Hz band, contrary to the prediction of Riccio and Stoffregen. Although these results must be treated with caution due to the limits of the resolving power of the analysis of participants' movements, we conclude that although the postural instability explanation has more ecological validity, it is not correct in its current form and deserves further empirical investigation.
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Studies of the relationship between postural instability and onset of motion sickness show little support for the ecological theory of motion sickness.
“Studies of the relationship between postural instability and onset of motion sickness also show little support for the ecological theory of motion sickness (Owen et al. 1998; Warwick-Evans and Beaumont 1991; Warwick-Evans et al. 1998).”
From Motion sickness: more than nausea and vomiting (2014) · cites this paper as Warwick-Evans and Beaumont 1991
Cites
Motion Sickness Adaptation: A Neural Mismatch Model
Reason, J. T. (1978) · Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · doi:10.1177/014107687807101109 · Cited by 932 · see citing works
An ecological Theory of Motion Sickness and Postural Instability
Riccio, G. E., & Stoffregen, T. A. (1991) · Ecological Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15326969eco0303_2 · Cited by 761 · see citing works
(1968) · PubMed · Cited by 428 · see citing works
A Heuristic Mathematical Model for the Dynamics of Sensory Conflict and Motion Sickness
Oman, C. M. (1982) · Acta Oto-Laryngologica · doi:10.3109/00016488209108197 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
An Ecological Critique of the Sensory Conflict Theory of Motion Sickness
Stoffregen, T. A., & Riccio, G. E. (1991) · Ecological Psychology · doi:10.1207/s15326969eco0303_1 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Motion sickness and perception: A reappraisal of the sensory conflict approach
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A Psychophysiological Test for Motionsickness Susceptibility
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Postural instability precedes motion sickness
Stoffregen, T. A., & Smart, L. J. (1998) · Brain Research Bulletin · doi:10.1016/s0361-9230(98)00102-6 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Motion sickness: more than nausea and vomiting
Lackner, J. R. (2014) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/s00221-014-4008-8 · Cited by 314 · see citing works
Evaluating sensory conflict and postural instability. theories of motion sickness
Warwick-Evans, L. A., Symons, N., Fitch, T., & Burrows, L. (1998) · Brain Research Bulletin · doi:10.1016/s0361-9230(98)00090-2 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Warwick-Evans, L., & Beaumont, S.
- ORCID
- Beaumont, Stephen
- Venue
- Ecological Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1995-09
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 163-179
- ISSN
- 1040-7413 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-6969
- OpenAlex
- W1964476603
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ecological Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Nausea and vomiting management
- Keywords
- motion sickness, sensory conflict theory, postural instability, postural control, movement frequency, vestibular perception, ecological validity
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