VIRTUAL RISK: PERCEIVED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE OF THREAT IN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

Wildfires pose a significant and growing threat to human health and the environment, exacerbated by climate change. This study explores how to communicate the urgency of wildfires and climate change using Construal Level Theory (CLT) and immersive virtual environments (IVEs). CLT explains how people psychologically distance themselves from events, perceiving them as either abstract or concrete. Typically, environmental issues like wildfires are construed as distant and abstract, reducing the likelihood of proactive behavior.A promising strategy to counter this is "proximizing," or making threats seem more immediate, thereby reducing psychological distance. However, past research on proximizing environmental messages has yielded mixed results. Immersive media, particularly virtual reality (VR), offers a unique opportunity to create vivid simulations that feel like direct experiences, potentially overcoming psychological distance. Through a two-part experiment, this dissertation investigates how IVEs can be used to enhance the relationship between psychological distance, threat perceptions, and pro-environmental behavior by simulating wildfires and testing various narrative framings. Study I tested the effects of immersive format and social distance framing on threat perception and behavioral intention. Results indicated that VR heightened the sense of presence and perceived threat, aligning with previous research on VR's impact on environmental communication. However, the social distance manipulation did not significantly affect perceived threat or behavior, suggesting the immersive quality of VR might overshadow social distance effects. Study II focused on social and spatial distance construal, finding that closer spatial framing increased perceived threat, supporting the idea that spatial proximity is more immediately relatable and impactful. These findings suggest that while IVEs can effectively enhance threat perception, manipulating social and spatial distance requires careful consideration. The sense of presence in IVEs plays a crucial role, mediating the relationship between immersive format and perceived threat. This research contributes to communication theory by exploring the nuanced interplay between psychological distance, presence, and immersive experiences. Practically, it offers insights into designing effective environmental messages to reduce psychological distance and promote pro-environmental behavior. Future research should further investigate the complex dynamics of psychological distance and presence in immersive environments to optimize VR's use in environmental communication.