| 摘要: |
| 自然疗愈是缓解心理问题的有效干预措施。由于场地和被试者自身健康条件等原因，自然疗愈的应用一直存在诸多限制。虚拟现实技术因可模拟仿真物理环境，在环境心理学领域的应用日益增多。目前虽有相关研究通过虚拟现实设备进行自然疗愈，但较少研究关注虚拟现实体验对疗愈效果评价的影响。本研究选取水下、雪山、绿地三种虚拟自然场景，以城市环境中的高校本科生为样本群体，收集94份复愈性环境量表数据，通过统计分析，研究不同VR体验因素对于疗愈评价的影响。研究结果表明：(1) 设备与场景的体验感直接影响被试者对环境的疗愈认知，对于设备与场景的体验感越差，对于自然疗愈的评价越低；(2) 是否具有实验前VR体验对于场景的偏好性具有一定影响，有过VR体验的人群认为远离日常生活的自然场景具有更高的疗愈性。(3) 女性对于VR场景的体验感高于男性，设备体验感低于男性。项目研究成果预期对基于虚拟现实技术的自然疗愈环境设计与研究提供相关依据。 |
| 关键词: 虚拟现实 疗愈评价 自然环境 环境复愈性 |
| DOI： |
| 分类号:TU985 |
| 基金项目:国家哲学社会科学基金(民族学)一般项目“乡村振兴战略下东北少数民族传统民居的保护与传承”（19BMZ087）阶段性成果。 |
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| Research on the impacts of virtual reality experience on the perceptions of mental therapy through natural environments |
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liupai, zouqingjun, duzhengrui, lishuang, shentianyuan, mahui
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| 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. |
| Key words: Virtual Reality Healing Perception Natural Environments Environmental Restoration |
