Testing presence, assessing attitudes: Study of a 3D virtual tour in an ?aesthetically challenged? landscape

This article examines the utility of 3D immersive media for enhancing public attitudes toward rare, opencanopied habitat restoration where the proposed treatments and outcomes may appear risky, unsightly, and at odds with people???s sense of place in a forested landscape. We used 360??? videos and video game software to build the first desktop-based, virtual tour of fire-dependent Pine Barrens restoration practices in Wisconsin???s Northwoods in order to intervene where stakeholders have disapproved of pine barrens through conventional messaging. The study measured changes in attitudes toward clear-cutting, prescribed fire, and pine barrens between participant groups in a 2D- and 3D-media informational intervention including 73 subjects from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Results showed that both media interventions significantly enhanced attitudes across all three target categories, despite increased spatial presence, or immersion, in the 3D format. Against the 2D treatment, the 3D tour significantly enhanced both people???s aesthetic sense of pine barrens and their attitudes toward this landscape for those whose initial attitudes were neutral or negative.

Automated summary

This article explores the effectiveness of 3D immersive media in improving public perceptions of rare, open-canopied habitat restoration, which may be seen as risky, unsightly, and conflicting with people's sense of place in a forested landscape. Through the use of 360° videos and video game software, the researchers created a virtual tour of fire-dependent Pine Barrens restoration practices in Wisconsin's Northwoods. The study involved 73 participants from Wisconsin and Minnesota and found that both 2D and 3D media interventions significantly enhanced attitudes towards clear-cutting, prescribed fire, and pine barrens, with the 3D format being particularly effective for individuals with neutral or negative initial attitudes.