Nature in VR: A Multisensory Perspective of Artificial Nature Exposure

Abstract: A virtual environment can offer a highly immersive experience with a feeling of presence similar to the physical world. Nevertheless, it still lacks several multisensory and emotional properties to fully substitute or replicate the physical world's richness and complexity. Accordingly, this study examines how multisensory integration relates to the immersive and restorative outcomes in an artificial nature paradigm. Our experiment collected behavioral and physiological data through self-report questionnaires and heart rate variability assessment from 30 participants. Notably, due to unforeseen technicalities, the heart rate data was not analyzed. Participants were divided into three conditions comparing audio and visual stimuli.Two conditions were unisensory (visual and auditory), and one was multisensory (audio-visual). We found no statistically significant difference in the level of immersion between unisensory and multisensory conditions, supporting the inconsistency and need formore research regarding the relationship between multisensory integration and immersion. Inrelation to restorativeness, we found a significant difference between audio-visual and audioconditions. Additionally, the medium to strong effect size indicates that visual stimuli substantially influence restorative effects more than audio stimuli. Collectively, in line with previous research, we observed a positive effect on restorativeness from spending time in artificial nature. Despite some limitations, our findings provide guidance for future researchers and contribute to the understanding of immersive multisensory VR experiences and their potential to promote mental rejuvenation and optimize restoration.