Investigating the impact of greenery elements in office environments on cognitive performance, visual attention and distraction: An eye-tracking pilot-study in virtual reality
通过虚拟现实眼动追踪实验，比较三种虚拟办公室布局（室内绿化、室外绿化、非亲自然），发现绿化元素靠近用户能提升视觉注意力，但尺寸过大会增加干扰，同时绿化有助于降低认知负荷、提高信息搜索效率和任务表现。
The human-nature connection is one of the main aspects determining supportive and comfortable office environments. In this context, the application of eye-tracking-equipped Virtual Reality (VR) devices to support an evaluation on the effect of greenery elements indoors on individuals' efficiency and engagement is limited. A new approach to investigate visual attention, distraction, cognitive load and performance in this field is carried out via a pilot-study comparing three virtual office layouts (Indoor Green, Outdoor Green and Non-Biophilic). 63 participants completed cognitive tasks and surveys while measuring gaze behaviour. Sense of presence, immersivity and cybersickness results supported the ecological validity of VR. Visual attention was positively influenced by the proximity of users to the greenery element, while visual distraction from tasks was negatively influenced by the dimension of the greenery. In the presence of greenery elements, lower cognitive loads and more efficient information searching, resulting in improved performance, were also highlighted.