(Picture caption: University of Otago psychology graduate Vitolio Niuloa says it is really important to establish that vā, when working with Pacific and Māori peoples.)
Pacific psychology graduate Vitolio (Vito) Niuloa has won praise for his study of how vā can influence mood.
Vā is an important concept in some Pacific cultures, describing a physical or emotional space established to build meaningful relationships with others and the environment.
Vito, who recently graduated from the University of Otago, describes vā as the understanding that when you’re in a space with one another, there is that connection there, and the space is a safe space.
Of Samoan and Niuean descent, Vito says it is really important to establish that vā, when working with Pacific and Māori peoples.
When the opportunity arose to conduct independent research as part of his psychology degree, he was interested to see whether establishing vā could improve mood for Pacific and Māori research participants.
Inspired by the work of other Pacific academics, he chose to share his own family story to open talanoa and establish vā with research participants.
“I saw in this article by a Tongan professor that when he ran his talanoa, he would start by sharing his genealogy and where he comes from, where his parents come from,” Vito says.
“When he did that, it really opened the space.
“For Māori and Pacific participants, I talked to them about the villages my family come from and about my upbringing to get the talanoa going, and it worked.
“It’s about being able to relate to the importance of family.”
Vito asked participants to report on their moods when participating in the talanoa, and found that several indicators of mood were reported on significantly differently by Māori and Pacific participants after talanoa, compared to non-Māori and non-Pacific participants.
“While talanoa improved everyone’s moods, you could see that it improved more for Māori and Pacific,” he says.
Vito graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology, and has recently accepted an offer to study Medicine at Otago.