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. 2023 Jan 5;13(1):220.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26750-6.

Effects of exposure to immersive computer-generated virtual nature and control environments on affect and cognition

Fariba Mostajeran  1 , Marvin Fischer  2 , Frank Steinicke  2 , Simone Kühn  3   4
Affiliations

Effects of exposure to immersive computer-generated virtual nature and control environments on affect and cognition

Fariba Mostajeran et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Previous research has shown that exposure to immersive virtual nature environments is able to induce positive affective and physiological effects. However, research on the effects on cognitive performance is scarce. Additionally, the effects of virtual nature exposure compared to a virtual control environment with a comparable amount of virtual objects have not been examined so far. Therefore, we conducted an experiment with 27 participants to study the psychological effects of such exposure. The virtual nature consisted of a 3D model of a typical forest environment, whereas the control environment was an abstract replication of the virtual forest environment. In both environments, a virtual wooden cart was used to transport the users from the start to the end of the virtual road. The typical background noise of moving such a cart was integrated into both environments as well. In addition, the virtual nature environment included typical forest sounds in the background, whereas the control condition did not have such background sounds. Both environments were compared with regard to their effects on cognitive performance (using trail making tests (TMTA, TMTB, and TMTB-A) as well as digit span forward and digit span backward tests), perceived restorativeness, mood, stress, sense of presence, and simulator sickness. The results showed that in comparison to the control environment, exposure to the virtual nature resulted in significantly higher cognitive performance, higher perceived restorativeness, higher positive affect, higher sense of presence, lower perceived stress, and lower simulator sickness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nature environment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Control environment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trail making tests (TMT).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Digit span forward and backward (DSF/DSB) memory tests.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Perceived restorativeness scale (PRS) total score.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS), PA: positive affect, NA: negative affect.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Perceived stress scale (PSS).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Igroup presence questionnaire (IPQ).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) total score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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