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

Abstract

Recent approaches in the research on walkable environments and wellbeing go beyond correlational analysis to consider the specific characteristics of individuals and their interaction with the immediate environment. Accordingly, a need has been accentuated for new human-centered methods to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying environmental effects on walking and consequently on wellbeing. Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) were suggested as a potential method that can advance this type of research as they offer a unique combination between controlled experimental environments that allow drawing causal conclusions and a high level of environmental realism that supports ecological validity. The current study pilot tested a walking simulator with additional sensor technologies, including biosensors, eye tracking and gait sensors. Results found IVEs to facilitate extremely high tempo-spatial-resolution measurement of physical walking parameters (e.g., speed, number of gaits) along with walking experience and wellbeing (e.g., electrodermal activity, heartrate). This level of resolution is useful in linking specific environmental stimuli to the psychophysiological and behavioral reactions, which cannot be obtained in real-world and self-report research designs. A set of guidelines for implementing IVE technology for research is suggested in order to standardize its use and allow new researchers to engage with this emerging field of research.

Validation of an immersive virtual reality device accepted by seniors that preserves the adaptive behavior produced in the real world

“…This result is very important in the development of our training program when we know that cybersickness negatively predicts intention to use an HMD (Sagnier et al, 2020). Moreover, the notion of the subjective experience of being in a virtual environment (by the study of sense of presence) is essential to ensure ecological validity in virtual environments (Slater, 2009;Birenboim et al, 2021). In terms of user experience, these results confirm the possibility of developing virtual gait training programs in various visual contexts for the elderly.…”

“…Contextual realism can modify the ecological validity of a simulated environment (Kuliga et al, 2015;Joseph et al, 2020). Birenboim et al (2021) recommended pretesting VE design to ensure high ecological validity in terms of behavior and wellbeing in fully immersive VR. Moreover, highly realistic VR environments led to greater positive affective and serenity responses compared with lowrealism environments (Newman et al, 2022).…”

Effect of a Virtual Reality-Based Restorative Environment on the Emotional and Cognitive Recovery of Individuals with Mild-to-Moderate Anxiety and Depression

“…With the arrival of the intelligent era, new technologies represented by VR have gradually come into public view and have improved the quality of human life [56]. VR technology, based on its high immersion, control, security, and other characteristics, has been widely used, including in psychological research and clinical psychology [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65]. It also plays an important role in the education and training of young people and professionals [66,67].…”

Association between Campus Walkability and Affective Walking Experience, and the Mediating Role of Walking Attitude

“…Aside from physical activity, previous studies also support the association between neighborhood walkability characteristics (e.g., land use mix diversity, connectivity, and aesthetics) and walking experience (self-reported affective experience). Because walking promotes not only social capital and a sense of community, but also social interaction and an enhanced sense of safety, these all contribute to a neighborhood’s livability and inhabitants’ mental health [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. On the level of individuals, affective experience is a part of the conceptualization of well-being that is interpreted through the lens of an individual’s perceptions and experiences, which is typically divided into two components: hedonic (satisfaction and positive emotions), and eudemonic (purpose, meaning, or self-actualization) [ 35 , 36 ].…”