Pimentel Daniel, Kalyanaraman Sriram
Oregon Reality Lab, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Media Effects and Technology Lab, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2024 Jan;27(1):83-90. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2022.0401.
Nongovernment organizations are increasingly leveraging the metaverse and its suite of extended reality technologies, such as 360° video and virtual reality, to immerse audiences in situations depicting environmental threats. The promise of immersive storytelling as a conservation tool is predicated on the verisimilitude of the mediated experience, with exposure to environmental threats in immersive video akin to exposure. However, the psychological mechanisms explaining users' environmental responses to immersive stories remain ambiguous. In three controlled laboratory experiments, we examined unique properties (e.g., interactivity and modality) of immersive technologies vis-à-vis environmental stories and their influence on proenvironmental outcomes. Study 1 ( = 48) implemented a two-condition (interactivity: high vs. low) between-subjects experiment, showing that interactive 360° video significantly influenced attitudes through the mechanism of cognitive absorption. A 2 (interactivity: high/low) × 2 (distance: proximal/distant) between-subjects experiment (study 2; = 76) further supported this mediation model by showing the mediating effects of cognitive absorption on attitudes and threat perceptions toward both distant and proximal threats. Lastly, study 3 ( = 68) replicated the mediating effects of cognitive absorption across 360° video modalities, though head-mounted display-based, rather than screen-based, 360° videos only significantly increased attitudes and absorption when threats were proximal. We discuss the results' practical and theoretical implications and propose avenues for future research. Moreover, we outline important considerations for environmental organizations seeking to leverage metaverse platforms for communicating environmental threats.
非政府组织越来越多地利用元宇宙及其一系列扩展现实技术，如360°视频和虚拟现实，让观众沉浸在描绘环境威胁的情境中。沉浸式叙事作为一种保护工具的前景取决于媒介体验的逼真度，在沉浸式视频中接触环境威胁类似于实际接触。然而，解释用户对沉浸式故事的环境反应的心理机制仍然不明确。在三项对照实验室实验中，我们研究了沉浸式技术相对于环境故事的独特属性（如交互性和模态）及其对环保成果的影响。研究1（n = 48）实施了一项双条件（交互性：高 vs. 低）被试间实验，表明交互式360°视频通过认知吸收机制显著影响态度。一项2（交互性：高/低）×2（距离：近端/远端）被试间实验（研究2；n = 76）通过展示认知吸收对远端和近端威胁的态度和威胁感知的中介作用，进一步支持了这一中介模型。最后，研究3（n = 68）复制了认知吸收在360°视频模态中的中介作用，不过基于头戴式显示器而非基于屏幕的360°视频仅在威胁为近端时显著提高了态度和吸收。我们讨论了研究结果的实际和理论意义，并提出了未来研究的方向。此外，我们概述了环境组织在寻求利用元宇宙平台传达环境威胁时的重要考虑因素。
