Virtual environment, real impacts: a self-determination perspective on the use of virtual reality for pro-environmental behavior interventions

Abstract

Plastic waste is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Effective environmental communication is key to mobilizing the public to adopt pro-environmental behaviors for reducing plastic waste. While virtual reality (VR) is proposed as a viable tool that could overcome several challenges facing environmental communication, certain limitations exist in the extant literature, making it unclear whether it is the modality of VR itself, rather than some extraneous factor, that accounts for pro-environmental outcomes. Hence, adopting a between-subjects experimental design, this study improves on past research by comparing the efficacy of a VR game with an equivalent computerized quiz in increasing participants’ pro-environmental behavioral intention. Our results indicate that VR (vs. computerized quiz) has a comparative advantage for increasing participants’ behavioral intention to learn about plastic waste (BIL). Furthermore, guided by the self-determination theory, we find that perceived autonomy and autonomous motivation serve as serial mediators in the relationship between modality and BIL. Key Policy Highlights: Policymakers could adopt VR technologies to increase public members’ interest in learning about environmental issues. In designing pro-environmental behavioral interventions, policymakers should focus on facilitating individuals’ autonomous motivation by giving them a sense of control.