Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

There is a considerable amount of literature on the role ofimmersion and presence in virtual reality learningenvironments. Far less is known about the interaction ofimmersion and presence with the important individualcharacteristics that influence learning behavior, particularly,dispositional awe. Dispositional awe is manifested by anemotional response to information that defies existing mentalschemas in a given domain and by a need to accommodate thisexperience. In a virtual reality study with eight elementaryschool classes, we investigated the interaction of immersivetendencies with dispositional awe and compassion on learninggains in the domain of nature conservation. We tested thisinteraction using a novel virtual reality concept in whichchildren are sent to virtually simulated space to experience theoverview effect, a cognitive shift in awareness reported byastronauts. The findings of the study showed that participantsexperienced strong feelings of awe and scored highly onoverview effect constructs. Importantly, their learning gainswere influenced by the overview effect which was, in turn,supported by presence, dispositional awe, and compassion.This study shows the potential of using immersive virtualreality experiences in educational programs, combiningwonder and learning.