The Paradox of Virtual Nature: Evaluating the Impact of Immersive Environments on Cognitive Load, Attention Restoration, and Learning Performance

In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

Publié le 4 juin 2026 – Mis à jour le 4 juin 2026

Sakdavong, J.-C. (CLLE) and Fournier, N.

The integration of Extended Reality (XR) and immersive environments into educational paradigms offers unprecedented opportunities to modulate spatial cognition, engagement, and situated learning. While natural environments are traditionally associated with attention restoration and cognitive recovery in physical settings, their efficacy during continuous declarative encoding tasks within Virtual Reality (VR) remains intensely contested. Grounded in the intersection of Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), this study investigates the paradoxical effects of virtual nature on declarative memory encoding and the restoration of sustained attention. Twenty-four adults were randomly assigned to one of two immersive VR environments, a highly detailed simulated natural forest or a minimalist virtual office setting, while completing a continuous auditory learning task. Executive attention was measured using the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), and semantic memory was evaluated via a formula-scored objective assessment. Results from a Welch's independent samples t-test indicate that the office environment yielded significantly higher memory retention compared to the natural environment (p = .027,d = -0.937). Furthermore, a hybrid analysis of SART errors, combining a repeated-measures ANOVA (interaction p = .654) and a Bayesian Repeated Measures ANOVA (BF_01=2.34), demonstrated that neither environment restored sustained attention, effectively challenging the universal applicability of biophilic design in concurrent, high-load cognitive tasks.

Keywords: Virtual Reality (VR), Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), Attention Restoration Theory (ART), Immersive Learning, Extraneous Cognitive Load, Sustained Attention.

Volume 1, ISBN 978-989-758-833-4, ISSN 2184-5026, pages 704-712.  
Lien éditeur : https://www.scitepress.org/ProceedingsDetails.aspx?ID=Ia3AmHfi5y4=&t=1