Abstract
Looking at artworks, experiencing nature, and being in virtual reality (VR) environments can relax people. We tested if the relaxation from viewing art and nature images with music for ten minutes while sitting in a recliner chair in a VR setup is different from experiencing the same content on a TV screen. Participants experienced this relaxation intervention after having finished a Montreal Imaging Stress Test. All tested conditions relaxed people but we found no significant differences between them from neither subjective nor objective measures in a between subjects study. However, trends in subjective and HRV measures pointed towards VR being more relaxing than TV.
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Kristensen, J.W., Aafeldt, L.L., Jensen, P.K., Vinther, R.P., Knoche, H. (2020). Renoir in VR: Comparing the Relaxation from Artworks Inside and Outside of Virtual Reality. In: Brooks, A., Brooks, E. (eds) Interactivity, Game Creation, Design, Learning, and Innovation. ArtsIT DLI 2019 2019. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 328. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53294-9_15
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