TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Nature-Based Travel in Virtual Reality
T2 - The Role of Spatial Presence and Narrative Engagement
AU - Ball, Christopher
N1 - Second, a parallel mediation analysis examined support for conservation ( and ). The analysis found that VR travel condition positively predicted spatial presence ( b = 0.80, p < 0.001) and narrative engagement ( b = 0.50, p < 0.01). Spatial presence ( b = 0.12, p < 0.05) then predicted students' support for conservation, while narrative engagement ( b = 0.01, p = 0.87) did not. The indirect effect from VR travel condition to spatial presence and then to support for conservation was statistically significant (95% CI [0.017–0.268]). The indirect effect from VR travel condition to narrative engagement and then to support for conservation was not statistically significant (95% CI [−0.069 to 0.069]). Therefore, H3b was partially supported. The mediation model explained a statistically significant proportion of variance in support for conservation scores [ R = 0.85, F(8, 57) = 41.00, p < 0.001].
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - The benefits of nature tourism, or nature-based travel, are plentiful. For example, participation in nature tours has positively impacted environmental attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, while psychologically beneficial, nature-based tourism can hurt the environment through a myriad of factors. Therefore, we must continue to explore ways to make the benefits of nature-based travel more sustainable and impactful. Research suggests that nature-based travel in virtual reality (VR) may impart numerous travel benefits, such as improving conservational behavior and interconnectedness with nature. While these early findings are promising, questions remain regarding the theoretical mechanisms underlying the effects of nature-based VR travel. Therefore, this study explores how VR may provide an avenue to make nature tourism more environmentally friendly while simultaneously making people more environmentally connected and conscious. Furthermore, a theoretical framework is posited that combines concepts from the spatial presence and narrative persuasion literature to help explain the effects. To accomplish these goals, an experiment was conducted using a two-condition (VR travel vs. TV control) between-subjects factorial design with random assignment. The participants were 66 college students from a large Midwestern University in the United States. Results indicated that there wasn’t a statistically significant difference between the VR travel condition and the television (TV) control condition regarding the environmental outcome variables. However, while the nature-based VR travel experience did not appear to influence the environmental outcome variables directly, it did indirectly affect them through the mediating roles of spatial presence and narrative engagement.
AB - The benefits of nature tourism, or nature-based travel, are plentiful. For example, participation in nature tours has positively impacted environmental attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, while psychologically beneficial, nature-based tourism can hurt the environment through a myriad of factors. Therefore, we must continue to explore ways to make the benefits of nature-based travel more sustainable and impactful. Research suggests that nature-based travel in virtual reality (VR) may impart numerous travel benefits, such as improving conservational behavior and interconnectedness with nature. While these early findings are promising, questions remain regarding the theoretical mechanisms underlying the effects of nature-based VR travel. Therefore, this study explores how VR may provide an avenue to make nature tourism more environmentally friendly while simultaneously making people more environmentally connected and conscious. Furthermore, a theoretical framework is posited that combines concepts from the spatial presence and narrative persuasion literature to help explain the effects. To accomplish these goals, an experiment was conducted using a two-condition (VR travel vs. TV control) between-subjects factorial design with random assignment. The participants were 66 college students from a large Midwestern University in the United States. Results indicated that there wasn’t a statistically significant difference between the VR travel condition and the television (TV) control condition regarding the environmental outcome variables. However, while the nature-based VR travel experience did not appear to influence the environmental outcome variables directly, it did indirectly affect them through the mediating roles of spatial presence and narrative engagement.
KW - environment
KW - narrative engagement
KW - nature tourism and travel
KW - spatial presence
KW - virtual reality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171600454&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85171600454&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/cyber.2022.0240
DO - 10.1089/cyber.2022.0240
M3 - Article
C2 - 37311166
AN - SCOPUS:85171600454
SN - 2152-2715
VL - 26
SP - 679
EP - 685
JO - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
JF - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
IS - 9
ER -