Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41131171›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Virtual reality reduces climate indifference by making distant locations feel psychologically close.

Monique Santoso, Portia Wang, Eugy Han, Jeremy Bailenson

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Monique SantosoDepartment of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA, 94305. mtsantoso@stanford.edu.
Portia WangDepartment of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA, 94305.
Eugy HanCollege of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, 1885 Stadium Road, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Jeremy BailensonDepartment of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA, 94305.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study examined how virtual reality (VR) can reduce psychological distance to locations affected by climate change, influencing climate emotions and risk perceptions. A total of 163 students listened to a climate change news story of one of nine locations while either experiencing the location in immersive VR or viewing static images of the location. Pre- and post-test surveys revealed that VR experiences, especially for distant locations, reduced psychological distance and heightened climate frustration, reduced indifference, and increased risk perceptions compared to static images. VR also enhanced storytelling investment, measured by written story length, as well as awe and spatial presence. Political ideology moderated VR's impact on emotions and risk perceptions but not on storytelling engagement. These findings demonstrate VR's potential to make distant places feel close, foster emotional connections, alter risk perceptions, and promote climate storytelling.

Indexed as

Climate ChangeEmotionsVirtual RealityAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleStudentsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultClimate emotionsClimate storytellingPsychological distanceRisk perceptionVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID41131171
PMCPMC12549879

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.