Does a brief virtual dose of an environment affect subjective wellbeing and judgements of perceived restorativeness? Considering the role of place preference

Two studies investigated whether a brief dose of an environment influenced subjective wellbeing and the perceived restorativeness of the setting; and if either varied by place preference. Participants (NS1 = 211; NS2 = 338) were randomly allocated to view one environment online for 30-seconds, rated perceived restorativeness and indicated state mood and emotion. In study 1, mood did not differ by environment. In study 2, the emotions happy, relaxation and desire were lowest and anger and fear/anxiety highest in the urban street condition. In both studies, perceived restorativeness was lower in the urban street condition and the interaction between preference/environment type significant. Nature settings were rated more restorative than urban streets; the effect was greatest with a nature preference. A similar interaction effect existed for positive emotion in study 2. Virtual brief doses of environments can elicit differences in emotion but not mood (which should be differentiated) and place preference should be considered in future studies.