Healing media: The moderating role of presence in restoring from stress in a mediated environment

Restorative environments are environments that can help restore directed attention or reduce emotional and psychophysiological stress. The present study investigates the importance of presence in relation to restoration. We hypothesized that presence would moderate the stress-reducing effects of a mediated restorative environment. After performing a stress-inducing task, participants watched a restorative film on either a small or big screen. Physiological measurements (heart period and skin conductance level) were taken throughout the experiment. In addition we measured self-reported affect and presence using the ITC-Sense of Presence Questionnaire. Significant results appeared for skin conductance level (SCL) showing an interaction between screen size and time on restoration. No remaining effects of screen size were found on restoration. 1