IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2019i1p56-d299928.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Nature of Reality: Human Stress Recovery during Exposure to Biodiverse, Multisensory Virtual Environments

Author

Listed:
  • Morgan Faith Schebella

    (Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia)

  • Delene Weber

    (Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia)

  • Lisa Schultz

    (School of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5000, Australia)

  • Philip Weinstein

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia)

Abstract

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) were used to test the effects of biodiversity on recovery from induced stress. Three natural environments and one urban environment were used to represent ordinal levels of biodiversity (none, low, moderate, and high). The four IVEs comprised visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli. An additional high biodiversity IVE without auditory or olfactory stimuli was also included to study the effects of multisensory stimulation per se on recovery from stress and perceptions of biodiversity. Following stress induction via a novel IVE Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-IVE), heart rate and five self-reported well-being measures were used to assess participants’ recovery after immersion in one of the five IVEs. The results showed consistent well-being responses across both self-reported and physiological measures, suggesting biodiversity does directly affect human well-being. However, the relationship was not linear. For most measures of well-being, stress recovery was least effective in the urban IVE, consistent with past research. The low biodiversity IVE elicited the greatest improvement in all well-being measures except self-reported calmness. One could speculate that the landscape features of the least biodiverse IVE may elicit subconscious preferences toward savanna-like landscapes, as suggested by previous studies. The IVE depicting a moderate level of biodiversity was the least restorative of the natural environments. A multisensory experience was associated with better recovery in all measures of well-being than a visual-only experience, and perceptions of landscape components significantly differed between two identical nature scenes when auditory and olfactory stimuli were removed. Nuances in the data and implications of the findings are discussed. The results signal a need for caution and question the assumption that cultural ecosystem services align with positive outcomes for biodiversity conservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Morgan Faith Schebella & Delene Weber & Lisa Schultz & Philip Weinstein, 2019. "The Nature of Reality: Human Stress Recovery during Exposure to Biodiverse, Multisensory Virtual Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:56-:d:299928
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/56/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/56/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandifer, Paul A. & Sutton-Grier, Ariana E. & Ward, Bethney P., 2015. "Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: Opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 1-15.
    2. Jordan W. Smith, 2015. "Immersive Virtual Environment Technology to Supplement Environmental Perception, Preference and Behavior Research: A Review with Applications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kaowen Grace Chang & William C. Sullivan & Ying-Hsuan Lin & Weichia Su & Chun-Yen Chang, 2016. "The Effect of Biodiversity on Green Space Users’ Wellbeing—An Empirical Investigation Using Physiological Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Matthew Dennis & David Barlow & Gina Cavan & Penny A. Cook & Anna Gilchrist & John Handley & Philip James & Jessica Thompson & Konstantinos Tzoulas & C. Philip Wheater & Sarah Lindley, 2018. "Mapping Urban Green Infrastructure: A Novel Landscape-Based Approach to Incorporating Land Use and Land Cover in the Mapping of Human-Dominated Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Manoj Sharma & Erin Largo-Wight & Amar Kanekar & Hana Kusumoto & Stephanie Hooper & Vinayak K. Nahar, 2020. "Using the Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change to Explain Intentional Outdoor Nature Contact Behavior among College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-12, August.
    4. Peta Brom & Kristine Engemann & Christina Breed & Maya Pasgaard & Titilope Onaolapo & Jens-Christian Svenning, 2023. "A Decision Support Tool for Green Infrastructure Planning in the Face of Rapid Urbanization," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Tian Gao & Rui Song & Ling Zhu & Ling Qiu, 2019. "What Characteristics of Urban Green Spaces and Recreational Activities Do Self-Reported Stressed Individuals Like? A Case Study of Baoji, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    6. Karen T. Lourdes & Chris N. Gibbins & Perrine Hamel & Ruzana Sanusi & Badrul Azhar & Alex M. Lechner, 2021. "A Review of Urban Ecosystem Services Research in Southeast Asia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, January.
    7. María Julieta Arias & Pablo Andrés Vaschetto & Mercedes Marchese & Luciana Regaldo & Ana María Gagneten, 2022. "Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Zooplankton Communities as Ecological Indicators in Urban Wetlands of Argentina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    8. Wandicleia Lopes Sousa & Thiago Almeida Vieira, 2022. "An Amazonian lake and the quality of life of its women: the case of Maicá, Santarém, Brazil (2018)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1428-1444, January.
    9. Lee Roberts & Monomita Nandy & Abeer Hassan & Suman Lodh & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "Corporate Accountability Towards Species Extinction Protection: Insights from Ecologically Forward-Thinking Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 571-595, July.
    10. Mário Santos & Helena Moreira & João Alexandre Cabral & Ronaldo Gabriel & Andreia Teixeira & Rita Bastos & Alfredo Aires, 2022. "Contribution of Home Gardens to Sustainable Development: Perspectives from A Supported Opinion Essay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-26, October.
    11. Elisabeth M. Hamin & Yaser Abunnasr & Max Roman Dilthey & Pamela K. Judge & Melissa A. Kenney & Paul Kirshen & Thomas C. Sheahan & Don J. DeGroot & Robert L. Ryan & Brain G. McAdoo & Leonard Nurse & J, 2018. "Pathways to Coastal Resiliency: The Adaptive Gradients Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Sai Hu & Longqian Chen & Long Li & Bingyi Wang & Lina Yuan & Liang Cheng & Ziqi Yu & Ting Zhang, 2019. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Ecosystem Service Value Determined by Land-Use Changes in the Urbanization of Anhui Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Deepa Moni Doley & Paramananda Barman, 2023. "Importance of communicating biodiversity for sustainable wildlife management: a review," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 13(2), pages 321-329, June.
    14. Rikuto Yamashita & Chong Chen & Toshio Matsubara & Kosuke Hagiwara & Masato Inamura & Kohei Aga & Masako Hirotsu & Tomoe Seki & Akiyo Takao & Erika Nakagawa & Ayumi Kobayashi & Yuko Fujii & Keiko Hira, 2021. "The Mood-Improving Effect of Viewing Images of Nature and Its Neural Substrate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-11, May.
    15. Juliana Melo & Ana Isabel Ribeiro & Susana Aznar & Andreia Pizarro & Maria Paula Santos, 2021. "Urban Green Spaces, Greenness Exposure and Species Richness in Residential Environments and Relations with Physical Activity and BMI in Portuguese Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-14, June.
    16. Pires, Aliny P.F. & Amaral, Aryanne G. & Padgurschi, Maíra C.G. & Joly, Carlos A. & Scarano, Fabio R., 2018. "Biodiversity research still falls short of creating links with ecosystem services and human well-being in a global hotspot," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(PA), pages 68-73.
    17. Susan D. Clayton, 2021. "Environment, Identity, and Response to Polluted Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    18. Nuno Loureiro & Luís Calmeiro & Adilson Marques & Diego Gomez-Baya & Margarida Gaspar de Matos, 2021. "The Role of Blue and Green Exercise in Planetary Health and Well-Being," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-12, September.
    19. Jonathan P. Reeves & Conor H. D. John & Kevin A. Wood & Phoebe R. Maund, 2021. "A Qualitative Analysis of UK Wetland Visitor Centres as a Health Resource," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-25, August.
    20. Bach, Vanessa & Finogenova, Natalia & Berger, Markus & Winter, Lisa & Finkbeiner, Matthias, 2017. "Enhancing the assessment of critical resource use at the country level with the SCARCE method – Case study of Germany," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 283-299.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:56-:d:299928. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.