西部人居环境学刊2025，Vol.40Issue(1)：51-57,7.DOI:10.13791/j.cnki.hsfwest.20231215003
虚拟现实体验对自然环境心理疗愈评价影响研究
Research on the impacts of virtual reality experience on the perceptions of mental therapy through natural environments
摘要
Abstract
Natural environments,recognized as an effective intervention to release mental health issues,has been used in mental therapy for a long time.Traditional applications of natural therapy often involve direct exposure to natural environments such as forests,parks,and waterfronts.Interaction with these natural settings significantly reduce stress,enhance mood,and improve overall mental well-being.Previous research also adopted 2D interventions including photos and videos to provide natural experiences.However,the 2D interventions cannot provide mimic experience as real nature,which limit the evaluation of the effectiveness of natural therapy.The practical limitations such as lack of access to appropriate nature and the format of natural therapies available have constrained the widespread application of natural healing.Virtual reality(VR)technology,a technology provide simulated natural environments by wearing a head mounted device(HMD),offers a promising solution to make natural healing accessible in flexible environments..Recent advancements in VR technology have enabled the creation of highly immersive and realistic simulations of natural environments,causing an increasing interest in the application of VR in environmental psychology.VR can simulates various natural settings,allowing users to experience the restorative benefits of nature without leaving their homes or clinical settings.In spite of the growing body of research utilizing VR for natural healing,few studies have specifically examined how the VR experience itself influences the perceived effectiveness of different scenarios.This study aims to fill this research gap by exploring the impact of different VR experience factors on the evaluation of healing effects.We selected three distinct virtual natural scenes:an underwater environment,snowy mountains,and green fields.These three scenarios were chosen based on previous research,evidencing the natural therapy values of green and blue spaces on mental well-being.Each high quality immersive VR video lasted for about three minutes.In total,a participant had a ten minutes VR experience during the experiment.The sample consisted of 94 undergraduate students recruited from a university located in a big city in China,a population often subjected to high levels of academic stress and urban environmental stress.The perceptions of students regarding VR therapy were measured using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale(PRS),a validated instrument designed to measure the restorative potential of environments.Participants experienced each VR scene using HTC Vive Flow device,and their responses were recorded and analyzed through statistical methods.Specifically,Spearman correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis.Based on the correlation analysis,regression models were established to calculate the importance of various factors.Additionally,a mixed-factor design was employed to further analyze the impact of scenes and equipment on healing evaluations.The results of this study highlight several key findings:1)Experience of Equipment and Scenes:The quality of the VR equipment and the immersive nature of the scenes played a crucial role in shaping participants'perceptions of the healing effects of the natural environment.Participants who reported a higher quality of experience with the VR equipment and scenes also gave higher rating to the natural healing effects.This finding underscores the importance of investing high-quality VR equipment and designed scenes to maximize the therapeutic benefits of VR-based natural healing.2)Prior VR Experience:Participants'prior experience with VR significantly influenced their preferences and perceptions of the scenes.Those with previous VR experience found natural scenes that offered a break from daily life,such as snowy mountains and underwater environments,to be more restorative.This is because participants who experience VR first time may feel scare when involving in the virtual environments,causing a higher preference of green space,which is more close to their daily lives.As their VR experience increase,their perceptions of nature may change.The findings suggests that familiarity with VR technology may enhance the appreciation and perceived effectiveness of virtual natural environments.3)Gender Differences:The study revealed notable gender differences in the VR experience.Female participants reported higher levels of enjoyment and engagement with the VR scenes compared to male participants,but lower comfort and satisfaction with the VR equipment.Because of the brain structure,females generally have better abilities to build a imaginative world with perceived environmental features,which increased their experience when interacting with nature.While male generally have better operation abilities,which enable them to operate the VR device.These findings suggest that gender-specific preferences and comfort levels should be considered when designing VR-based natural healing interventions to ensure they are equally effective for all users.In conclusion,this study provides valuable insights into the design and implementation of VR-based natural healing environments.Our findings emphasize the critical role of high-quality VR experiences in enhancing the perceived effectiveness of natural healing,the importance of prior VR experience,and the need to account for gender differences.These insights contribute to the growing body of knowledge on VR applications in environmental psychology and support the development of more effective and inclusive VR-based natural healing interventions.In future research,we will expand the sample size and adjust the sequence of scene experiences to enhance the reliability of the results,while also considering improvements to equipment comfort.关键词
虚拟现实/疗愈评价/自然环境/环境复愈性Key words
virtual reality/perceived restorativeness/natural environments/environmental restoration分类
土木建筑引用本文复制引用
刘湃,邹青君,杜铮蕊,李爽,沈添元,马辉..虚拟现实体验对自然环境心理疗愈评价影响研究[J].西部人居环境学刊,2025,40(1):51-57,7.基金项目
国家社会科学基金项目一般项目(19BMZ087) （19BMZ087）
