The Effect of Exposure to VR vs. 2D Virtual Environments on Restorativeness: The Mediating Role of the Sense of Presence

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) finds many fields of application due to its capability to reproduce “in virtuo” real environments. Previous studies highlighted that exposure to virtual environments leads to restorativeness, which in turn is related to several positive psychological outcomes. However, the mechanisms that lead to restorativeness are still unclear. The main aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of the sense of presence in the relationship between exposure to virtual environments and restorativeness. We conducted a study with a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. Two conditions (archaeological vs. natural sites) were presented on two levels (2D vs. VR), on a sample of 199 participants (M_age = 22.49, SD = 7.22, range = 18–69). Results show a significant indirect effect of the sense of presence generated by VR on restorativeness, regardless of the condition presented. Our findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of restorativeness enhanced by virtual environments. Limitations of the study, research developments, and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Virtual reality
• sense of presence
• virtual natural environment
• 2D vs. VR
• restorativeness
• moderated mediation model

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Lorenzo Abagnale for dubbing the audio tracks of the videos. Thanks to Chiara Rizzo, Alessia Congiu, Elena de Cesare, Francesca Meneguzzi, Sofia Bellisario, and Andrea Bogino for their contribution in data collection during their educational internship at the Experimental and Applied Psychology Lab, European University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Ethics declarations

The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee of the European University of Rome (protocol n. 6/2023). All methods were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki for studies involving human participants.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

D.C.: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. A.T.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. L.R.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Resources, Investigation, Writing – review & editing. C.R.: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. R.R: Resources, Writing – review & editing. G.C.: Resources, Writing – review & editing, Visualization. A.P.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration.

Disclosure statement

None.

Data availability statement

The dataset generated for this study is available in the Open Science Framework (OSF) repository at the following link: https://osf.io/7cas8/

Notes

1 Hayes and others researchers (e.g., MacKinnon et al., 2000; Zhao et al., 2010) suggest that “researchers do not require a significant total effect before proceeding with tests of indirect effects. (…) A failure to test for indirect effects in the absence of a total effect can lead to you missing some potentially interesting, important, or useful mechanisms by which X exerts some kind of effect on Y” (Hayes, 2009, pp. 414–415).

2 With this model (Model 8), condition moderation is on path a and path c’/direct.

Additional information

Funding

L.R. was supported with a research contract co-funded by the European Union – PON Ricerca e Innovazione 2014–2020 (D7-GD0718-1) pursuant to Article 24 (paragraph 3, letter a), of Law n. 40 of December 30, 2010 and subsequent amendments and supplements, and to the Ministerial Decree n. 1062 of August 10, 2021 (CUP: H85F21001380003).

Notes on contributors

Davide Clemente

Davide Clemente is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist in training, PhD student at the European University of Rome. His research interests concern the interaction between psychology and technology, particularly the potential of VR in the psychology field.

Annalisa Theodorou

Annalisa Theodorou is an Assistant Professor in Social Psychology at the Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome. Her research interests include the psychological benefits of exposure to nature and virtual nature, as well as the motivational and personal factors involved.

Luciano Romano

Luciano Romano is a researcher in Psychology of Development and Education at the European University of Rome. His research interests concern human-nature relationships in life cycle, youth and pro-environmental movements, environmental education, academic adaptation of adolescents and young adults.

Claudia Russo

Claudia Russo is a research fellow in Social Psychology at the European University of Rome. Her research interests concern development and change of values, particularly in adolescence. She also deals with designing and evaluating psycho-socio-educational programs to promote prosocial behaviors.

Roberta Rodelli

Roberta Rodelli is a geographer in training, PhD student at the European University of Rome. Her research interests concern the use of technologies for story-telling, the enhancement of territories and cultural heritage.

Gianluca Casagrande

Gianluca Casagrande is a Full Professor of geography at the European University of Rome and director of Geographic Research and Application Laboratory (GREAL). His research interest concerns evaluating the effectiveness of various tools, including virtualization and simulation systems, in support of geographical reflection with the use of innovative off-the-shelf and open-source technology.

Angelo Panno

Angelo Panno is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome. His research focuses on emotion, environmental, and decision science. He has published original contributions on the self-regulation of emotion, risk-taking, climate change risk perception, pro-environmental behavior and intergroup relations.