Virtual Reality: Unlocking Emotions and Cognitive Marvels by Davide Maria Marchioro & Aimée Argüero Fonseca & Fabio Benatti & Marco Zuin

Author:Davide Maria Marchioro & Aimée Argüero Fonseca & Fabio Benatti & Marco Zuin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783031681967
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

4.4.1 Designing Restorative Virtual Environments: Conceptualization and Operationalization in Virtual Reality

In this context, VR emerges as a significant technological innovation, offering the ability to recreate natural experiences that can elicit effects comparable to those achieved through direct contact with the natural environment (Valtchanov & Ellard, 2015). However, to recreate a virtual environment with these characteristics, it was necessary to precisely define the concept of a “restorative environment,” starting from a generic definition and then narrowing the semantic field to facilitate a more precise application of the construct in the context of VR. The literature supports that restorative environments are those places that have the potential to foster the renewal of mental resources, which tend to deplete more quickly when we are in environments unsuitable for the activities we intend to perform (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kaplan, 1995; Hartig et al., 1997).

Operationalization Criteria for VR Environments. Considering these theoretical premises, the design and evaluation of restorative virtual environments referred to the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), developed and subsequently refined by Hartig and colleagues (Hartig et al., 1991, 1997). The PRS, in its brief form, was then used to assess the reliability and validity of the restorative quality of various environments, serving as a criterion for selecting and refining virtual scenarios in terms of restorative potential. This tool enabled the identification of properties that would maximize the restorative potential of environments in VR, thus guiding researchers in choosing among different design alternatives and in the subsequent optimization of environments for their definitive virtual implementation.

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