Yeo N L, White M P, Alcock I, Garside R, Dean S G, Smalley A J, Gatersleben B
European Centre for Environment and Human Health, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3HD, UK.
Urban and Environmental Psychology Group, Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
J Environ Psychol. 2020 Dec;72:101500. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101500.
Exposure to 'real' nature can increase positive affect and decrease negative affect, but direct access is not always possible, e.g. for people in health/care settings who often experience chronic boredom. In these settings 'virtual' forms of nature may also have mood-related benefits (e.g. reducing boredom) but it has been difficult to separate effects of nature content from those of delivery mode. The present laboratory-based study explored whether exposure to three different delivery modes of virtual nature could reduce negative affect (including boredom) and/or increase positive affect. Adult volunteer participants (n = 96) took part in a boredom induction task (to simulate the emotional state of many people in health/care settings) before being randomly assigned to view/interact with a virtual underwater coral reef in one of three experimental conditions: (a) 2D video viewed on a high-definition TV screen; (b) 360 video VR (360-VR) viewed via a head mounted display (HMD); or (c) interactive computer-generated VR (CG-VR), also viewed via a HMD and interacted with using a hand-held controller. Visual and auditory content was closely matched across conditions with help from the BBC's Blue Planet II series team. Supporting predictions, virtual exposure to a coral reef reduced boredom and negative affect and increased positive affect and nature connectedness. Although reductions in boredom and negative affect were similar across all three conditions, CG-VR was associated with significantly greater improvements in positive affect than TV, which were mediated by greater experienced presence and increases in nature connectedness. Results improve our understanding of the importance of virtual nature delivery mode and will inform studies in real care settings.
接触“真实”的自然环境可以增加积极情绪，减少消极情绪，但并非总能直接接触到自然，例如对于那些经常感到长期无聊的医疗保健机构中的人来说。在这些环境中，“虚拟”形式的自然环境可能也对情绪有好处（例如减少无聊感），但一直难以区分自然内容的影响和呈现方式的影响。本项基于实验室的研究探讨了接触三种不同呈现方式的虚拟自然环境是否能够减少消极情绪（包括无聊感）和/或增加积极情绪。成年志愿者参与者（n = 96）在被随机分配到三个实验条件之一，观看/与虚拟水下珊瑚礁互动之前，先参与了一项无聊诱导任务（以模拟医疗保健机构中许多人的情绪状态）：（a）在高清电视屏幕上观看二维视频；（b）通过头戴式显示器（HMD）观看360度视频虚拟现实（360-VR）；或（c）交互式计算机生成的虚拟现实（CG-VR），同样通过HMD观看并使用手持控制器进行互动。在英国广播公司《蓝色星球II》系列团队的帮助下，各条件下的视觉和听觉内容紧密匹配。支持了研究假设，虚拟接触珊瑚礁减少了无聊感和消极情绪，增加了积极情绪和与自然的联系。尽管在所有三个条件下无聊感和消极情绪的减少相似，但CG-VR与积极情绪的改善显著大于电视观看，这是由更高的身临其境感和与自然联系的增加所介导的。研究结果增进了我们对虚拟自然呈现方式重要性的理解，并将为实际医疗保健环境中的研究提供参考。
