Virtual nature.
Do you have to be in nature to experience it and benefit from that experience?
Hello and welcome to this edition of Compassionate Nature, which considers the role of experiencing nature virtually and what benefits that may or may not afford.
While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.
Wordsworth’s poetry was influenced and reflected his experiential connection to the natural environment, his words linking nature to the human condition. There are many ways of experiencing nature, from the direct contact similar to that of a poet wandering through the countryside to the more recent arrival of access using virtual reality (VR) technology.
Engaging with nature virtually is part of everyday life. From media formats such as television series like Planet Earth or podcasts which include recordings of natural sounds through to BBC Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day, which was first broadcast over a decade ago, to provide a short birdsong clip to start the day off with. Numerous famous artworks are inspired by or depict nature, whether scenery or animals, and many a smartphone, laptop or tablet has a screensaver featuring a natural scene. Nature inspired writing has been around for a long time, with an apparent publication explosion recently with bestseller lists full of books both showcasing aspects of nature and highlighting the devastating effects of climate change and biodiversity loss.
However it might seem to many that you cannot beat the direct experience of being in and engaging with nature. For some though the opportunity or ability to do is limited. Recent research for Natural England highlighted the issues that people with disabilities, such as impaired vision, often encounter which require additional considerations to help them to also gain the benefits of being in a natural environment that many take for granted.
In some circumstances individuals cannot access nature at all. A key psychological theory of the relationship between nature and wellbeing is Roger Ulrich’s Stress Recovery Theory. Ulrich and colleagues research during the 1980’s and 1990’s highlighted that in various situations, including hospital patients recovering from operations, seeing nature through a window or by watching a video provided mental wellbeing benefits, with reduced stress levels and improved recovery. A 1991 paper from Ulrich and others provides a good overview of the theory and supporting evidence.
Aside from accessibility limitations, the use of virtual methods within research to assess constructs such as nature connectedness and emotional reaction to natural stimuli or different environments can help to focus in on specific aspects, providing the ability to control more for confounding variables. It can also support the use of more lab based technologies, such as eye-tracking or brain activity measurement. VR technology can also provide the safe and controlled environment to experience more dangerous natural conditions or eliminate damage to a natural environment which is under study.
So there are lots of reasons that accessing nature virtually is helpful, from enjoyment and information through to enabling those who cannot directly access it still gain the benefits that nature affords and as an aid within research.
But are all virtual formats, from pictures through to immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology, equal and do they provide the same experiential benefits of being in a natural environment ?
The influence of watching nature video upon affect and rumination
Eimer Cadogan and colleagues (2023) considered the role of watching a 6 minute nature based or urban based video upon participants affective states and level of rumination. Rumination is a persistent, sometimes cyclical thought pattern that reflects on negative experiences and their causes or consequences which results in emotional distress. In a study of 147 participants, aged between 20 to 80 years old (mean age of 48), of whom the majority (53%) were female, levels of affect, mental well-being and rumination before and after watching a video were assessed using well-established self-report measures. Participants also completed a test to assess cognitive functions undertaking a Stroop test before and after watching the video.
Research geek aside - a Stroop test covers attention processing and executive cognitive processing skills and speed with a common approach involving asking a participant to provide the names of colours which are either presented in the same colour font as the name or in a different colour to the name eg the word red in red font, then green in a blue font. This can cause the reader to respond with the colour of the font rather than the name of the colour. It’s a relatively easy experiment to set up and is often quite fun to do, especially if you are of a competitive nature!
The results of the study suggest that watching either the nature video or the urban video reduced rumination in participants. However those watching the urban video reported reduced positive affect while those watching the nature video reported reduced negative affect. Neither video had any effect upon the executive functions assessed by the Stroop test. The quantitative measures were also supported by feedback comments from the participants, which indicated that the nature setting video made people feel more calm and relaxed.
The study has some limitations, the duration of the perceived benefits from watching a short video cannot be assessed and the videos used clips from familiar settings to some participants, so the benefits may have been as a result of memories. However it does suggest that in line with the Stress Recovery Theory, experiencing a natural environment through a virtual visual format provides mental wellbeing benefits and those are greater than in comparison to a more urban environment. The study also found that participants with higher levels sensory sensitivity benefited more from the nature video than the urban video, suggesting that the virtual natural exposure was less intensive for them to process. Higher sensory processing has been associated with reduced mental wellbeing, so this finding could be informative for any potential use of virtual methods within mental health interventions.
Getting immersive
Research often suggests that the more immersive the virtual technology is the greater the benefits it may provide. A more interactive simulation may provide the sense of being more present and provide increased sensory engagement. This can be achieved by a Head Mounted Display (HMD), a headset device which can present the wearer with a 360-degree video or a computer simulation.
Giovanna Calogiuri and colleagues (2023) looked at whether the immersive virtual reality (IVR) using a 360 degree video or a computer simulation provides a greater sense of nature connection. Their study used a double-blind random control trial approach of three conditions. This approach means that the participants are not aware of the other conditions and the researchers are not aware of the participants baseline when each participant is randomly allocated to a condition. The three conditions provided a control group, a group who experienced a 360-degree video via HMD and a group who experienced a computer simulation via HMD. 60 Norwegian participants took part, split evenly across the three conditions, with slightly more (32) males in the overall sample. The age means across the conditions ranged from 28 to 32 years old. The video and simulation presented footage of an urban green space, which the participants viewed while walking on a treadmill, while the control group walked on a treadmill facing a blank wall. All participants completed a standard measure of nature connection to capture their state level before and after the walk. The results found that there was no change for the control group, while the levels of nature connectedness had significantly increased in both the video (medium effect size) and simulation (large effect size) groups.
5 participants also provide qualitative feedback, reporting that using the virtual reality provided a realistic but distinct experience of nature, although for some the HMD was at times intrusive. They noted and appreciated various aspects of the urban natural environment, although felt that a more “wild” environment would have been better. Some noted they felt it a fascinating and restorative experience, with the computer simulation appearing to be more favoured. However these qualitative findings are very limited given only 5 participants provided their thoughts.
The authors note that the role of recent covid restrictions which appeared to lead to greater public awareness of nature may have influenced the results. The participants were all healthy adults, with the sample having high levels of nature connection, so it would be interesting to replicate the study with people who have less connection to nature to assess if the virtual experience has similar benefits. The measure used was also on the state level of nature connection, so the reported increased level may be a temporary effect. It is a well-designed study and provides insight into the types of IVR that may provide benefits, as well as supporting other research suggesting that at least for a while, nature based IVR can provide a boost to nature connectedness.
Getting even more immersive
While that study added to the experience provided by a HMD by having the participants walk on a treadmill, it principally relied on vision and sound. What happens if you make the experience even more immersive? This is exactly what Pia Spangenberger and colleagues (2023) set out to do, by looking at how embodiment through enhanced IVR influenced participants levels of affect, nature connection and a pro-environment behaviour. Embodiment in this context means the sense of being present within a virtual body within the virtual environment while the enhancement relates to making it as multi-sensory as possible. 82 participants, all students, who were mainly male (45) and aged between 18-35 (mean age 22) were allocated to two conditions, either an enhanced IVR experience or a non-enhanced IVR experience. Within both of the IVR experiences the participant took on the body of a tree in the Amazon rainforest, experiencing it growing and going through events, including a forest fire, through to dying. In the enhanced group the participants had props to increase their sensory engagement, including wearing weights on their ankles to provide a tactile sense of being rooted, with smells supplied at certain times (eg grass, water, fire) and changes in room humidity. In both conditions the participants were measured on their sense of presence, feeling of embodiment, and perspective they felt during the IVR activity, with their nature connectedness measured before and after. Afterwards they also responded to reflective open-questions and were asked if they would like to donate any of the small reward they received for taking part to a charity working in the Amazon, as a way of measuring pro-environmental behaviour.
The results showed that participants felt similar levels of presence in both IVR formats and both formats resulted in increased levels of state nature connection, with large effect sizes. This suggests that the enhancements did not make any difference to the IVR experience. However the level of donations used to assess pro-environmental behaviour was significantly higher from the enhanced IVR format and the enhanced IVR participants also indicated greater levels of reflection. The study has limitations including in line with the other studies, with the measure of state nature connection only provides a snap-shot view of the benefit and cannot inform longevity. The use of a charitable donation to assess pro-environmental behaviour is a novel one, although its not clear how the study controlled for other factors that might influence that decision, such as social desirability of appearing charitable or personal financial circumstances. A key contribution from the study is that is adds to the limited research of enhanced IVR and the results suggest that perhaps greater sensory immersion may lead to both increased nature connectedness and increased positive action towards the nature.
VR is the future?
VR technology is a relatively new area to explore psychological constructs like nature connection, with what seems to be limited research so far. Virtual experiences of exposure to natural stimuli appears to offer some benefits to mental wellbeing and increases in, at least in the short term, the sense of nature connectedness. The technology offers the potential to provide benefits to those who may not be able to access nature, thereby enabling them to gain some of the benefits similar to those who can.
Paul Bloom recently wrote about VR, considering whether a short VR experience can ever provide a similar level of experience to certain realities. Probably not, especially when trying to understand realities that are a constant part of someone else’s experience, such as living with a disability.
Perhaps, though, VR can provide new opportunities and ways that contribute to tackling the apparent decreasing levels of nature connectedness and maybe even help to inspire increased actions to help the actual natural environment.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this or any previous posts, so please feel free to add a comment, send an email to TheCompassionateNatureHub@gmail.com or add a reply if you see it via social media. Please also feel free to share the post on to anyone you think may be interested.
References
Cadogan, E., Lionetti, F., Murphy, M., & Setti, A. (2023). Watching a video of nature reduces negative affect and rumination, while positive affect is determined by the level of sensory processing sensitivity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 90, 102031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102031
Calogiuri, G., Petersen, E., Haile, A., Flaten, O. E., Fröhlich, F., & Litleskare, S. (2023). The impact of visualization techniques of immersive virtual scenarios in promoting nature connectedness: A blind randomized controlled trial with mixed-methods approach. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 90, 102102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102102
Spangenberger, P., Freytag, S. C., & Geiger, S. M. (2023). Embodying nature in immersive virtual reality: Are multisensory stimuli vital to affect nature connectedness and pro-environmental behaviour?. Computers & Education, 104964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104964
Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 11(3), 201-230 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7
This is so interesting Chris and the studies are fascinating to read. I love watching nature programmes, there is something about the visuals, sound (and possibly david attenborough's soothing voice!) which brings the programmes alive and definitely activate my soothing system. However, for me there is something about being around "real" nature where the benefit is enhanced. Having real plants in my house is also important to me as opposed to fake ones- I wonder if there is something about the actual physiological benefits of being "in" nature (rather than virtually) account for this and make it preferable?...just some musings of mine!