A virtual reality investigation of factors influencing landscape preferences: Natural elements, emotions, and media creation

• Preference is explained by natural elements, emotional responses, and the creation of 360° videos. • Tropical beaches are highly preferred, while rainforests are the least preferred. • Sounds, water, and rhythmic coastal elements are preferred, but greenery is less preferred. • Relaxing and boring are the most important emotional responses. • 360° videos with a single scene may be monotonous and boring. Understanding natural landscape preferences is essential to creating attractive green spaces that promote the benefits people may receive from nature. Previous research on landscape preference has primarily relied on quantitative, theory-driven approaches that may neglect complex and detailed human feelings and thoughts, as well as still images, which may not represent moving immersive stimuli representative of real-world experiences. The current study sought to reveal the key reasons for landscape preferences using virtual reality (VR) and open-ended questions. Ninety-five university students in the U.S. watched six 360° videos of natural environments from Costa Rica and the U.S. We found that tropical beaches and rainforests were the favorite and the least favored landscapes in our sample, respectively. Preference rankings were explained by natural elements, emotional responses, and to a lesser degree, the creation of the 360° videos. Sounds, water, coastal elements, and feeling relaxed were the most frequent reasons for “favoriting” a video; greenery and feeling bored were the most frequent reasons for “least favoring” a video. Low arousal emotions (i.e., relaxing, boring) and multiple scene transitions played important roles in explaining preferences. The results demonstrated the relevance of landscape preference theories while suggesting a greater emphasis on open views, sounds, and rhythmic features of the coast for landscape planning and design.