Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior through Destructive Experiences in Virtual Reality: Design and Implementation of the VR Experience

Abstract: In recent years, the worsening of environmental issues such as global warming and resource depletion has highlighted the growing importance of individual pro-environmental behavior (PEB). However, everyday actions such as waste sorting, energy saving, and water conservation often fail to translate into consistent practice. Therefore, new external approaches are required to motivate such behaviors. Recent studies suggest that positive emotions such as enjoyment and a sense of achievement can encourage PEB. This study focused on positive emotions such as exhilaration and achievement.In this research, we attempted to promote PEB by providing an exhilarating and rewarding experience through destructive actions in virtual reality (VR). Destructive behavior is often characterized by strong physical and sensory stimulation and has the potential to evoke feelings of exhilaration and satisfaction. However, in real-world contexts it is often avoided because it involves danger and is socially inappropriate. In contrast, VR makes it possible to safely engage in such experiences without inducing guilt, allowing for the design of interactions that effectively elicit only positive emotions. By leveraging these characteristics, VR-based destruction experiences can offer new opportunities for behavioral change. Specifically, we developed a destruction-based task using two-choice quiz questions related to environmental issues. In this task, they answer by destroying with a handheld stick the panel corresponding to the option they believe to be correct, which is presented in the VR environment. When the correct option is chosen, the panel shatter dramatically with visual effects, accompanied by exhilarating sound effects. This design is intended to reinforce the sense of exhilaration and achievement through both visual and auditory stimulation.The experiment was conducted with 10 university students, divided into a test group with the destruction experience (n = 5) and a control group without the destruction experience (n = 5). Although both groups answered the same questions, the method of responding differed, which served as the basis for comparison. The measurement items included the Pro-Environmental Behavior Test (PEBT) to evaluate pro-environmental behavioral implementation, the Multiple Mood Scale (MMS) to assess emotional states, and a post-experience questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on key factors contributing to a sense of exhilaration, and participants’ overall impressions of the experience were also collected through free descriptions.As a result of the experiment, the test group scored higher on the PEBT compared to the control group, indicating that pro-environmental behavior was more strongly promoted. In addition, an increase in “active pleasure” was observed in the MMS, suggesting that the destruction experience significantly induced positive emotions. Free responses also included several positive comments such as “I felt refreshed” and “The destruction was fun.” These results suggest that VR-based destruction experiences can serve as an effective method for promoting pro-environmental behavior through positive emotions. Although this study was limited by the small number of participants, the clear emotional effects and changes in behavior observed even in a small-scale experiment are noteworthy. Future research should increase the sample size to examine statistical validity and further clarify the semantic relationship between destruction experiences and pro-environmental behavior.

Keywords: Positive Emotions, Active Pleasure, Destruction

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007118

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