Into the Wild: The Effects of 360° Immersive Nature Videos on Feelings of Commitment to the Environment

Pro-environmental attitudes and behavior are declining as people become increasingly disconnected from nature. The growing disconnection from nature is thought to be due to cultural shifts, such as the increasing use of electronic media. However, mediated nature contact through new forms of media may also strengthen feelings of environmental connectedness. Therefore, this experimental study (N = 56) investigated whether viewing immersive 360° nature videos can influence individuals’ commitment to the environment. According to the theory of spatial presence, immersive videos are perceived as unmediated nature experiences. The results indicate that immersive nature videos promote stronger feelings of spatial presence and commitment to the environment than regular nature videos. The participants’ need for affect was incorporated as a moderator of the impact of immersive nature videos on commitment to the environment, but a negative interaction was observed in contrast to the hypothesized effect.