Marocco Silvia, Vitale Valeria, Grossi Elena, Presaghi Fabio, Bonaiuto Marino, Talamo Alessandra
Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Apr 1;22(4):535. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22040535.
Natural environments are known to foster positive emotions and well-being, while Virtual Reality (VR) represents a powerful tool to explore such effects. This study investigates the restorative potential of virtual natural environments for emotional recovery, combining self-report and physiological measures. Fifty-two participants were divided into three Natural groups-formed spontaneously based on their preferred natural scenarios-and a Neutral group-exposed to a neutral scenario. The results reveal that virtual natural scenarios effectively restored positive emotions (valence) after exposure to arousing stimuli. Both neutral and natural scenarios reduced arousal, but the physiological data show higher activation in Natural groups. Interestingly, this activation was positively appraised, supporting emotional recovery. These findings confirm the restorative potential of VR nature, with nuanced arousal effects.
众所周知，自然环境能促进积极情绪和幸福感，而虚拟现实（VR）是探索此类效果的强大工具。本研究结合自我报告和生理测量方法，调查虚拟自然环境对情绪恢复的恢复潜力。52名参与者被分为三个自然组（根据他们偏好的自然场景自发形成）和一个中性组（暴露于中性场景）。结果显示，在接触刺激性刺激后，虚拟自然场景能有效恢复积极情绪（效价）。中性和自然场景都能降低唤醒水平，但生理数据显示自然组的激活程度更高。有趣的是，这种激活得到了积极评价，支持情绪恢复。这些发现证实了VR自然环境的恢复潜力，以及细微的唤醒效应。
