Using Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) to Conduct Environmental Design Research: A Primer and Decision Framework

Abstract

Purpose: We propose a methodological framework to use immersive virtual environments (IVEs) in head-mounted displays for environmental design research. Background: IVEs offer researchers with experimental control and realistic representations of environments with high levels of ecological validity. IVEs are also increasingly being used to visualize proposed designs. Despite these tremendous benefits, IVEs are underutilized in environmental design research. We are unaware of preexisting frameworks that synthesize the methodological decisions related to the use of IVEs to conduct environmental design research. Methods/Results: We define the concepts necessary to conduct IVE research (virtual reality [VR], IVEs, ecological validity, visual realism, behavioral realism, and contextual realism). We also summarize the available study designs (correlational studies, experimental studies, and performance evaluations) and software systems used to create IVEs. We conclude with a conceptual framework that describes how research questions and study designs inform IVE selection and ecological validity. This framework is accompanied by a workflow that operationalizes the creation and use of IVEs in research. Conclusions: VR provides a robust and innovative research strategy for environmental design research because of its high degree of experimental control, rich data collection options, and opportunities for systematic evaluation of alternative design configurations.

An Actual Natural Setting Improves Mood Better Than Its Virtual Counterpart: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Data

“…Computer monitors were used in two studies, and head-mounted displays (HMDs) were used in four studies. HMDs can be used to project 360-videos of actual natural settings captured with fish-eye lenses cameras or computer-generated virtual environments (for a review of both techniques, see Browning et al, 2020c ; Joseph et al, 2020 ). No study attempted to induce acute stress or attentional fatigue before the environmental exposure so that effects could more readily be understood as restorative.…”

“…In closing, we recognize the promise of simulation technology and currently participate in its further development, for example as a means to represent alternative future environments that would result from different planning choices (Lindal and Hartig, 2013 , 2015 ; Joseph et al, 2020 ). However, we think that decision-makers and the publics they serve should appreciate the limits of simulations identified here and avoid assuming they can simply substitute for the real thing.…”

The Study of Walking, Walkability and Wellbeing in Immersive Virtual Environments

“…What is often considered the most prominent advantage of IVEs in the context of human behavior research is that they allow researchers to generate highly realistic and complex environments, while maintaining full control over participants’ exposure to environmental elements and stimuli [ 43 , 48 ]. This unique combination may help researchers confront the long-standing dilemma of choosing between experimental control and ecological validity [ 42 , 48 , 49 ]. In other words, IVEs allow researchers to perform lab-style controlled experiments that support inference of causality, without compromising on the realism that is essential for translating the results into valid insights relevant to real-world situations.…”

“…Studies that utilize IVEs to investigate environmental preferences and impact on behaviors commonly share a similar methodological approach. They capitalize on the ability to control and manipulate environmental elements and stimuli to systematically compare between one and several different environmental conditions using either within- or between-subject research design [ 49 , 59 ]. The comparison may take a more holistic approach, where two or more completely different environments are presented to participants [ 60 ] (e.g., green forest vs. urban environment) or an element-oriented comparison in which one or more environmental elements are manipulated but the overall environment remains similar in all conditions [ 47 , 48 ] (e.g., urban environment with or without greenery; see, for example, pilot study below).…”

“…IVEs are also used as a complementary visualization technique that allows an immersive, dynamic and near-realistic representation [ 49 ]. Such representations allow researchers to present their participants vivid, more complex environments and situations that are superior in terms of sense of presence to more traditional representation techniques of textual description, static picture and even non-immersive virtual environments [ 62 , 63 ].…”