What is the best way of delivering virtual nature for improving mood? An experimental comparison of high definition TV, 360° video, and computer generated virtual reality

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) 360⁰ 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.

Sustainable development and quality of life: expected effects of prospective changes in economic and environmental conditions

In the context of "sustainable development", we studied which attributes are important to people's quality of life (QoL) and which changes in QoL people would expect from future economic and environmental improvements or deteriorations. About 200 adult subjects evaluated the relative importance of 22 different QoL attributes. They subsequently indicated expected changes in those attributes, under three different scenarios in which economic and environmental conditions would either improve or deteriorate. On average, subjects judged the QoL attributes "healthy", "family", "environmental quality", "nature" and "safety" to be most important, while "recognition", "comfort", "status" and "spiritual life" were found least important. The most important QoL attributes as well as "security" were judged as more important by women than by men. Also observed were income and age effects on relative attribute importance. Our (Dutch) subjects expected significant and varied negative QoL changes from an environmental-deterioration scenario involving either an improved or a deteriorated economy. In contrast, they had mixed positive-negative QoL expectations about environmental improvement combined with economic deterioration. Subjects high in environmental concern assigned greater weight to "environmental" QoL attributes, and they expected environmental improvement versus deterioration to more strongly affect their QoL-attributes "environmental quality", "nature", "health" and "unity with nature", than did subjects low in environmental concern. We conclude that quality of life can be meaningfully conceived as a multi-attribute value concept, useful for assessing the expected effects of future economic and environmental conditions. Suggestions are given for methodological improvement and for further research.