Digitalization and sustainability: virtual reality tourism in a post pandemic world

The government-imposed COVID-19 pandemic control measures brought the tourism sector to a complete halt. However, virtual reality (VR) tourism offered people a way to escape the isolation. Media reports and research have noted heightened activity in VR tourism, which has been touted as “alternative tourism” and “eco-tourism”. However, scholars have yet to determine whether this shift is temporary or will persist after the pandemic is over. Questions also remain regarding the factors driving this behaviour. The present study uses stimulus-organism-response theory (SOR) to propose a sequential mechanism of the interplay of antecedents and outcomes, theorising VR tourism as a sustainable tourism solution long into the future. The model, tested by analysing 359 responses collected from VR users through Prolific Academic, confirmed the positive association of the environmental impact of touristic travel and pandemic travel anxiety with eco-guilt; pandemic travel anxiety, moreover, was also associated with attitude towards VR tourism. Furthermore, attitude towards VR tourism was positively associated with willingness to forgo the pleasure of in-situ tourism and post-pandemic VR tourism continuance intentions, with willingness also mediating the association between the other two. Finally, willingness partially mediated the association of attitude and fully mediated the association of eco-guilt with intentions.publishedVersio

Real Virtuality: A Code of Ethical Conduct. Recommendations for Good Scientific Practice and the Consumers of VR-Technology

The goal of this article is to present a first list of ethical concerns that may arise from research and personal use of virtual reality (VR) and related technology, and to offer concrete recommendations for minimizing those risks. Many of the recommendations call for focused research initiatives. In the first part of the article, we discuss the relevant evidence from psychology that motivates our concerns. In Section “Plasticity in the Human Mind,” we cover some of the main results suggesting that one’s environment can influence one’s psychological states, as well as recent work on inducing illusions of embodiment. Then, in Section “Illusions of Embodiment and Their Lasting Effect,” we go on to discuss recent evidence indicating that immersion in VR can have psychological effects that last after leaving the virtual environment. In the second part of the article, we turn to the risks and recommendations. We begin, in Section “The Research Ethics of VR,” with the research ethics of VR, covering six main topics: the limits of experimental environments, informed consent, clinical risks, dual-use, online research, and a general point about the limitations of a code of conduct for research. Then, in Section “Risks for Individuals and Society,” we turn to the risks of VR for the general public, covering four main topics: long-term immersion, neglect of the social and physical environment, risky content, and privacy. We offer concrete recommendations for each of these 10 topics, summarized in Table 1

Immersive Virtual Experiences affecting Drivers of Pro-Environmental Behavior: a Systematic Literature Review

By providing immersive virtual experiences, technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) offer possibilities to advance environmental communication and behavioral interventions. We surveyed studies published in peer-reviewed journals to identify key drivers of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) that have been affected using immersive virtual experiences. This systematic literature review contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of immersive storytelling for motivating proenvironmental behavior

A mixed-methods exploration of virtual reality as a tool to promote green exercise

The salutogenic effects of green exercise are widely recognised, yet many individuals do not engage in this health-related behaviour. Using a convergent mixed methods approach, this study explored the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) mediated nature exposure on the decision-making process relating to green exercise. Three experimental trials were conducted (overall n = 136), in which healthy adults were exposed to different VR scenarios reproducing a virtual walk in an existing urban green area. Participants reported medium-high rating of intent to visit the location. Significant pre-to-post increments in future green exercise intention were observed after the VR exposure, though a significance difference was not achieved in comparison with a control condition. Qualitative analysis revealed the impact of the VR experience on behaviour regulation, and highlighted the pivotal role of anticipated emotional benefits. Despite scepticism, the VR experience was effective in arousing curiosity to explore natural environments, which was associated with environmental perceptions, nostalgic and socio-cultural perspectives.submittedVersionacceptedVersio

Does Medium Matter? Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality in Journalism

In this Knight Foundation-funded report, researchers from the Media Impact Project at the University of Southern California's Norman Lear Center partnered with Frontline and Emblematic Group to explore the impact of using VR for journalism. They found that, relative to other platforms, VR can have a greater impact on holding attention and inspiring attitude and behavior changes. However, "the platform alone is not a magic bullet— it has unique affordances which, combined with effective storytelling and appropriate choice of subject matter, had an impact on a receptive audience.

Integrating virtual reality devices into the body: effects of technological embodiment on customer engagement and behavioral intentions toward the destination

Virtual reality devices create a high integration of technologies with human senses. However, few studies analyze how embodied technologies affect customer pre-experiences with a destination. Results from a lab experiment show that compared to desktop PC and mobile phones, VR head-mounted displays generate more immersive experiences, higher sensory stimulation, more engagement, and higher behavioral intentions toward the destination. Immersion and sensory stimulation mediate the effects of technological embodiment on engagement and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, active (versus passive) tourism content strengthens these effects. Our results stress the role of technological embodiment to generate effective pre-experiences with potential tourists'' destinations

A Holistic Approach to Employee Functioning: Assessing the Impact of a Virtual-Reality Mindfulness Intervention at Work

The purpose of the collected papers was to advance the field of Industrial/ Organizational Psychology by examining the impact of a workplace virtual reality (VR) mindfulness intervention on holistic employee functioning. The workplace VR mindfulness intervention conducted in this dissertation integrated the components of: a.) being attractive to employees, b.) short in duration, and c.) likely to effectively improve all three dimensions of holistic employee functioning (employee wellbeing, employee performance, and employee attitudes). Thus, this collection of papers aimed to shed light on how employee functioning may be effectively improved through mindfulness VR. The three collected papers detail the results of three organizations that implemented a VR mindfulness program in their respective workplaces for the purpose of employee stress reduction. Manuscript 1 provides data to suggest that VR mindfulness at work is significantly related to decreased employee stress. Manuscript 2 failed to detect significant relationships between VR mindfulness and employee performance and attitudes. Lastly, Manuscript 3 is a Practitioners Report. This paper examines the barriers to stress management in an organizational setting and provides recommendations for overcoming these obstacles. Together, this collection of papers contributes to occupational health psychology literature and depicts how employee functioning may be effectively improved through modern stress management strategies (i.e., VR mindfulness), which are short and attractive to employees. Unfortunately, the objective of increasing all three dimensions of holistic employee functioning, through an innovative stress management program, was only partially successful. This indicates that, although short and attractive stress management interventions increase employee wellbeing, there is room to examine past stress management program implementation strategies. Practitioners are provided with methods of overcoming organizational barriers to enhance job performance outcomes and job attitudes and to reduce program attrition