Biased by Being Inside the Campaign: Harnessing 360-degree Video in VR to Prompt Users to Think Positively Along with Pro-Environmental Campaign Messages

Abstract

360-degree videos visualized through virtual reality (VR) technologies are recognized as an effective tool for fostering positive attitudes towards environmental stewardship by immersing users in persuasive storytelling narratives. However, a lack of an overarching framework hinders the understanding of its role in promoting prosocial environmental behaviors, particularly its effects on information processing and behavioral intentions. Notably, recent studies have suggested that feeling transported into a VR environment (i.e., presence) could positively bias message evaluation and the way people process information by activating heuristics connected to immersive experiences (i.e., the bias hypothesis of the heuristic-systematic model). Drawing on this proposition, this study conducted a between-subject design experiment (N = 60), comparing a 360-degree pro-environmental campaign video in VR with that in a two-dimensional format. Results from PLS-SEM indicated that a 360-degree video in VR induced a higher sense of presence, yet heuristic evaluation of message credibility decreased when a sense of presence was low. Moreover, message credibility was found to be positively associated with the valence of message-relevant thoughts, but moderate evaluation of message credibility buffered the generation of valence of message-relevant thoughts. Finally, the valence of message-relevant thoughts had a curvilinear relationship with the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors, albeit with a small effect size. Results suggest the complexity in influencing behavioral intentions via 360-degree videos in VR. Nonetheless, the findings support the proposition that immersive affordance in immersive storytelling content could prompt users to align with campaign messages through activating a positive heuristic bias.