Nature versus art as elicitors of the sublime: A virtual reality study

Abstract

The sublime–the mixed aesthetic experience of uplift and elevation in response to a powerful or vast object that otherwise is experienced as menacing–has nurtured philosophical discourse for centuries. One of the major philosophical issues concerns whether the sublime is best thought of as a subjective response or as a stimulus. Recently, psychology has conceived of the sublime as an emotion, often referred to as awe, arising from natural or artistic stimuli that are great, rare, and/or vast. However, it has not yet been empirically demonstrated whether two major elicitors of the sublime–nature and art–differ in inducing this state. In order to experimentally compare nature and art, we exposed 50 participants to sublimity-inducing content in two different formats (nature-based and art-based) using 360° videos. We compared Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night with a photorealistic version of the actual place depicted in the painting, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. We measured participants’ emotional responses before and after each exposure, as well as the sense of presence. The nature-based format induced higher intensity emotional responses than the art-based format. This study compares different sublime stimuli (nature vs. art) for eliciting the sublime.

A Virtual Reality-Based Self-Help Intervention for Dealing with the Psychological Distress Associated with the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Effectiveness Study with a Two-Week Follow-Up

“…Accordingly, it is possible to observe that threat of catching the virus remained stable across the different assessment periods (see Table 2). We have indeed exploited the potentiality of VR as a 'simulative instrument' to provide participants with the opportunity to be immersed in a naturalistic and safe digital place [56], far from the stressful situations experienced in routine daily contexts during the pandemic, where they can learn how to relax and reflect upon their experience following a guided protocol. This effect has been enhanced by creating a bridge with the real-life context with different daily social tasks aimed at facilitating a process of critical examination and eventually revision of core assumptions and beliefs [54].…”

“…The 360 • VR video 'The Secret Garden' (Figure 2) has been developed through an iterative process involving psychologists, 3D artists, musicians, storytellers, and designers. It has been validated in previous studies by Chirico et al [56]. It immerses users in a beautiful and relaxing Japanese garden, providing them with the visual (i.e., the flow of water) and auditory (i.e., the sound of running water) elements available in natural environments.…”

COVID Feel Good – A Self-Help Virtual Therapeutic Experience for Overcoming the Psychological Distress of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a European Multicentric Trial

“…In the first part of the protocol, we have indeed exploited the potentiality of Virtual Reality to offer participants the possibility to be immersed in a naturalistic and beautiful enviroment, different from the stressful daily routine of COVID-19 emergency [48]. In this Japanese garden, they had the opportuning to learn specific relaxation skills thanks to a guided narrative voice.…”

COVID Feel Good - an easy self-help virtual reality protocol to overcome the psychological burden of coronavirus

“…For instance, immersive experiences can enhance individuals' personal efficacy and self-reflectiveness through the manipulation of the sense of presence, flow, and emotional engagement (27,28). Moreover, VR's unique ability to evoke complex emotions, which are drivers of people' health, wellbeing and sense of social connection (29,30), would allow designing unique experiences leading to long-terms benefits.…”

“…The protocol will be based on the same 10-min 360°VR video ("The Secret Garden") used by Chirico and colleagues (29,30).…”