Effects of the aural and visual experience on psycho-physiological recovery in urban and rural environments. (1st December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Park, Sang Hee; Lee, Pyoung Jik; Jung, Timothy; Swenson, Alasdair
• Is Part Of: Applied acoustics. Volume 169(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-12-01
• Subjects: Psycho-physiological recovery -- Urban -- Rural -- Virtual reality -- Audio-visual interaction; Acoustical engineering -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 620.2
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2020.107486
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-682X

Abstract

Highlights: The combined audio-visual presentation led to a greater recovery than the no audio condition. The 360-degree VR led to a greater recovery than the monitor screen condition. The rural scenes led to a greater recovery than the urban scene. The view of water stream led to a greater recovery when it was presented with the sound. Abstract: This study examined the effects of aural and visual experience on psycho-physiological recovery in simulated environments. Laboratory experiments were conducted with 32 participants. Ten horror videos were used as stressor clips, while five videos depicted urban or rural settings as recovery clips. The videos were presented via VR (head-mounted display) and on a monitor screen. The effect of the audio presentation was tested by presenting the stimuli with or without sound. Psychological recovery was assessed using a set of questions (e.g., perceived preference). Physiological recovery was measured with five physiological responses (e.g., fEMG and HR) monitored throughout the experiment. It was found that the rural setting led to a better psycho-physiological recovery than the urban setting when the stimuli were presented both in the VR and Screen conditions. In particular, the rural setting with water features evoked the greatest recovery. The rural setting presented with water sound showed significant differences in psychological recovery between Audio-Visual and No-Audio conditions. Compared to the Screen condition, stimuli presented in the VR condition did not have any main effect on the psychological recovery; however, it showed main effects on some of the physiological responses. The audio presentation had significant impacts on all psychological recovery ratings but it showed an impact on only one physiological response, fEMG of the zygomatic muscle.