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Virtual reality (VR) can boost charitable attitudes and behavior. In an experiment with 100 participants viewing the content in VR vs. desktop computer, the VR group exhibited significantly higher levels of spatial presence (MD = 1.24, p <.001), attention allocation (MD =. 58, p <.001), spatial situation model building (MD =.47, p =.01), and empathy (MD =.46, p =.049). Donation behavior did not differ between the two groups (p =.36). Both computer and VR viewers shared similar emotions, but VR users felt greater immersion and emotional intensity, perceiving themselves as active participants, while computer viewers took a more passive role. This study generated insights for nonprofits considering VR in their marketing strategies, shedding light on the potential of VR storytelling and its effects on charitable giving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study (N = 199) examined the impact of a 360° news coverage of the Iraqi war on cognitive and emotional empathy, and the mechanisms through which an audience’s empathic responses are enhanced, as well as the role of empathy in impacting perceptions of news credibility. We build on earlier studies on immersive journalism to provide a nuanced investigation on different dimensions of empathy and their impact on perceptions of news credibility. The findings demonstrated that, when compared to online news, 360° news led to greater spatial presence, cognitive and positive emotional empathy, as well as higher levels of perceived news credibility. Spatial presence mediated the relationship between news modality and empathy, while the impact of 360° news on empathy was contingent upon individual differences in dispositional empathy. The results are discussed in the context of immersive journalism theory and practice.

This study (N = 199) examined the impact of a 360° news coverage of the Iraqi war on cognitive and emotional empathy, and the mechanisms through which an audience's empathic responses are enhanced, as well as the role of empathy in impacting perceptions of news credibility. We build on earlier studies on immersive journalism to provide a nuanced investigation on different dimensions of empathy and their impact on perceptions of news credibility. The findings demonstrated that, when compared to online news, 360° news led to greater spatial presence, cognitive and positive emotional empathy, as well as higher levels of perceived news credibility. Spatial presence mediated the relationship between news modality and empathy, while the impact of 360° news on empathy was contingent upon individual differences in dispositional empathy. The results are discussed in the context of immersive journalism theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of news modality (print news vs. 360° journalism) on psychological mechanisms of information seeking intention, as well as individual differences that moderate the observed outcomes. The results of a two condition between-subjects experiment (N = 100) conducted on a community sample showed that news modality affected information seeking intentions, enjoyment of news story, and the feelings of spatial presence, but did not affect actual information seeking behavior and information recall. Exposure to 360° journalism led to the increase in spatial presence, which led to a linear increase in enjoyment, ultimately resulting in greater intentions to seek further information. Participants with a higher need for cognitive closure enjoyed consuming news more when the story was presented as 360° journalism than those with a lower need for cognitive closure. Results contribute to expanding the theories of information seeking and the role of affective responses and spatial presence on news consumption in journalism and communication scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractReflecting the trend of virtual reality (VR) studies in crisis and disaster communication, this study designed VR content on fire evacuation and aimed to investigate the effects of VR for educational purposes on perceptual and cognitive factors. Using a 2 (viewing condition: video vs. VR) × 2 (quiz: presence vs. absence) between-subjects design, an experiment was conducted with 176 university students in South Korea. Findings revealed that participants who were exposed to VR (compared with video) experienced greater spatial presence and, in turn, had higher response efficacy and self-efficacy. The inclusion of pop quizzes in the material hindered the evaluation of the direct and indirect effects of VR. The findings of this study can contribute to expanding the theoretical framework of VR research and identifying learning-related factors to develop more effective educational materials related to fire evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to describe an educational virtual reality (VR) photo-based tour used in an online course and investigate the influence of immersive capability on the dimensions of spatial presence and their relationship with learning-related variables. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a descriptive and an experimental methodological approach. The research objectives were achieved using a two-group (n1 = 29 and n2 = 30) experiment, employing descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analysis. Findings – The t-test revealed that the immersive capability had a significant effect on the sense of physical space (SP) , Engagement (EN) and negative effects (NE) dimensions. Correlations between the dimensions of spatial presence were found to confirm reports from the literature. Furthermore, some of the dimensions were found to be correlated with motivational and learning variables. Research limitations/implications – The study reported the results of a one-off experiment among 59 participants. While the results were promising, a longitudinal qualitative study could confirm the results in an actual distance learning context. Practical implications – The study confirmed that adding VR photo-based tours as learning activities may enhance the learning experience of distance learners. Social implications – The study shared a case of a learning activity that can be employed for flexible education. Virtual tours can support the need for context-based learning that the geographical or political constraints may limit. Originality/value – While the paper confirms previous reports on the benefits of using VR photo-based tours as learning activities, this paper has empirically shown the relationship between the dimensions of spatial presence and immersive capability in this specialized context.

This study tested the utility of virtual reality technologies in building public awareness of an environmental issue—the growing pollution of plastic waste in oceans. We conducted an experiment to test whether viewing of VR video would produce two anticipated immersive experiences (e.g., perceived realism and spatial presence) in severely polluted oceans, and to further examine their effects on participants’ pro-environmental attitudes with regards to reducing plastic waste. Results showed that VR viewing led to higher perceived realism and spatial presence in comparisons with 2D video and audio-only conditions; perceived realism contributed significantly to pro-environmental attitude, whereas spatial presence did not. The higher the perceived realism, the stronger the pro-environmental attitude. Implications of the findings for using VR technologies for effective environmental communication are discussed.

Over the past years, virtual reality (VR) has found applicability in several fields, including environmental communication. Previous research stressed that immersive media reception leads to feelings of spatial presence that result in attitudinal and behavioral changes. Given that peer recommendations enjoy credibility and play a relevant role in raising awareness on a topic, our study focuses on the users' intention to recommend the video as the outcome. Hence, we tested the mediation role of spatial presence in the relationship between media modality (desktop versus head-mounted-display media reception) as an independent variable and the intention to recommend the video as a dependent variable. Given that little is known about how storytelling elements that enhance interactivity during the immersive media reception contribute to affective and behavioral outcomes, we conducted two between-subjects experiments. We tested two 360° nature footage spherically filmed documentaries from National Geographic 360° with different storytelling elements. In our first study (N = 134), we used a video with limited storytelling elements as stimulus material, and in the second study (N = 140), we used a video with more storytelling elements. In both studies, we found evidence that viewing 360° videos with head-mounted displays elicits spatial presence, leading to higher intentions to recommend the video.

Sense of presence is a key element of the user experience in the study of virtual environments. Understanding it is essential for disciplines, such as architecture and environmental psychology, that study human responses using simulated environments. More evidence is needed on how to optimize spatial presence in simulations of built environments. A systematic review was conducted to define the use of sense of presence in research on human behavior in virtual spaces. Conceptualized dimensions, measurement methodologies, simulation technologies and associated factors were identified. The study identified a diversity of approaches and the predominance of subjective measures over sense of presence indicators. Several studies noted that environmental variables and spatial typologies had significant effects on presence. The results showed that different user profiles responded to stimuli in different ways. The results emphasized the importance of conceiving the construct in interrelation with the built context. A more comprehensive and multidisciplinary orientation is required to identify principles that optimize the spatial experience in virtual environments. This will be important for disciplines that research the human experience using virtual environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of nature tourism, or nature-based travel, are plentiful. For example, participation in nature tours has positively impacted environmental attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately, while psychologically beneficial, nature-based tourism can hurt the environment through a myriad of factors. Therefore, we must continue to explore ways to make the benefits of nature-based travel more sustainable and impactful. Research suggests that nature-based travel in virtual reality (VR) may impart numerous travel benefits, such as improving conservational behavior and interconnectedness with nature. While these early findings are promising, questions remain regarding the theoretical mechanisms underlying the effects of nature-based VR travel. Therefore, this study explores how VR may provide an avenue to make nature tourism more environmentally friendly while simultaneously making people more environmentally connected and conscious. Furthermore, a theoretical framework is posited that combines concepts from the spatial presence and narrative persuasion literature to help explain the effects. To accomplish these goals, an experiment was conducted using a two-condition (VR travel vs. TV control) between-subjects factorial design with random assignment. The participants were 66 college students from a large Midwestern University in the United States. Results indicated that there wasn't a statistically significant difference between the VR travel condition and the television (TV) control condition regarding the environmental outcome variables. However, while the nature-based VR travel experience did not appear to influence the environmental outcome variables directly, it did indirectly affect them through the mediating roles of spatial presence and narrative engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous companies are considering implementing virtual reality (VR) technology in both online and offline stores to attract more customers, as they realized in recent years that the shopping contexts built with VR help provide consumers with feeling of presence experience. To explore various factors affecting users' shopping intention toward using VR, a research model based on the theory of reasoned action and the ABC (affective- behavioral- cognitive) model of attitude was developed. The model, which also encompassed spatial presence, media richness, flow, and VR context empathy, was tested in VR and conventional online shopping contexts. This study involved an online questionnaire used for empirical research, along with the collection and analysis of data of 240 samples by structural equation modeling approach. The findings indicated that attitude is the most important factor affecting the intention of using online shopping while empathy is the most critical factor affecting offline shopping intention. In addition, flow has strong influence on both attitude and empathy. This study also uncovered that spatial presence and media richness have positive influence on users' flow experience. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the sense of presence of participants is an important issue in terms of security awareness for remote collaboration in extended reality. However, conventional methods are insufficient to be aware of remote situations and to search for and control remote workspaces. This study proposes a spatial multi-presence system that simultaneously provides multiple spaces while rapidly exploring these spaces as users perform collaborative work in an extended reality environment. The proposed system provides methods for arranging and manipulating remote and personal spaces by creating an annular screen that is invisible to the user. The user can freely arrange remote participants and their workspaces on the annular screen. Because users can simultaneously view various spaces arranged on the annular screen, they can perform collaborative work while simultaneously feeling the presence of multiple spaces and can be fully immersed in a specific space. In addition, the personal spaces where users work can also be arranged through the annular screen. According to the results of the performance evaluations, users participating in remote collaborative works can visualize the spaces of multiple users simultaneously and feel their presence, thereby increasing their understanding of the spaces. Moreover, the proposed system reduces the time to perform tasks and gain awareness of the emergency in remote workspaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a theoretical framework that integrates spatial presence and social presence into the emotional pathways of goal-directed behavior and considers the moderating effects of optimism bias. The result of data analysis indicates that a) spatial presence and social presence are significant determinants of viewer field visit intention; b) positive emotions and travel desires play a mediating role in the relationship between presence and behavioral intention; c) optimism bias enhances the field visit intentions of viewers in a moderated manner. The research findings explain the virtual-to-reality conversion of tourism short videos and highlight implications for tourism marketing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a methodology to assess video quality, spatial and social presence, empathy, attitude, and attention in 360-degree videos for immersive communications. The methodology is validated in an experiment which simulates an immersive communication environment where participants attend three conversations of different genre (everyday conversation, educational, and discussion) and from actor and observer acquisition perspectives. We consider three experimental conditions: (A) visualizing and rating the perceptual quality of contents in a Head-Mounted Display (HMD), (B) visualizing the contents in an HMD, and (C) visualizing the contents in an HMD where participants can see their hands and take notes. In all conditions participants visualize the same 360-degree videos, designed and acquired in the context of international experiences. Fifty-four participants were evenly distributed among A, B, and C conditions taking into account their international experience backgrounds (working or studying in a foreign country), obtaining a balanced and diverse sample of participants. In this paper, video quality is evaluated with Single-Stimulus Discrete Quality Evaluation (SSDQE) methodology. Spatial and social presence are evaluated with questionnaires adapted from the literature. Initial empathy is assessed with Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and a questionnaire is designed to evaluate the attitude after the visualization of each video. Attention is evaluated with three questions about the conversations of the contents that had pass/fail answers. The results from the subjective test validate the proposed methodology in immersive communications, showing that video quality experiments can be adapted to conditions imposed by experiments focused on the evaluation of socioemotional features in terms of contents of long-duration, different acquisition perspectives, and genre. In addition, the positive results related to the sense of social and spatial presence imply that technology can be relevant in the analyzed use case. Other main result is that the acquisition perspective greatly influences social presence. Finally, the annotated dataset, Student Experiences Around the World dataset (SEAW-dataset), obtained from the experiment is made publicly available for the research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive media forms that can elicit high levels of spatial presence have become popular tools for persuasive communicators. While the research community agrees that immersive persuasive messages should be especially effective, there is less consensus concerning the underlying psychological mechanism. Consequently, it seems necessary to systematize and consolidate the research field. This systematic literature review therefore analyzes 108 empirical articles and identifies four major research strands that focus on (1) affect and emotion, (2) altered perception and storage, (3) depth of processing, and the (4) valence of cognitions. The divergent assumptions are ultimately brought together in a conceptual four-step model of persuasion by spatial presence. Potential inhibitors of persuasion are furthermore discussed and included in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the ongoing diversification and commercial success of highly immersive media technologies (e.g., VR headsets), both content producers and scientific scholars have become highly invested in understanding the psychological consequences of experiencing media in these new and lifelike ways. While many studies underscore positive effects of high media immersivity—such as increased enjoyment or persuasive success—others warn about the intense cognitive load that technologies such as VR might put on their users. In a laboratory experiment with N = 121 participants, we compare the cognitive load experienced while watching a 360° video on a laptop screen or via an immersive VR head-mounted display. Furthermore, we scrutinize two prominent explanations for the additional cognitive load in immersive media settings, i.e., the role of spatial presence and cybersickness. As expected, the VR condition results in higher cognitive load, spatial presence, and cybersickness than the 2D condition. However, by means of a parallel mediation model, we observe that only cybersickness emerges as a meaningful mediator of participants' strained cognitive capacity; spatial presence, on the other hand, remains statistically irrelevant in this regard. We discuss our findings considering implications for media producers and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) is increasingly coming into the spotlight for its potential to improve the consumer experience through the creation of presence. This research aims to explore the theoretical mechanisms through which AR‐based product presentation influences online store attractiveness and whether the effects differ in the purchasing contexts of hedonic and utilitarian product types. From the perspective of consumers' bidimensional experience, we find that AR increases online store attractiveness by creating perceived coolness (intrinsic attribute) and spatial presence experience (extrinsic attribute), which would further have a positive impact on consumers' purchase intention. The mediating mechanisms are different in purchasing contexts of various product types: for hedonic products, perceived coolness and spatial presence are parallel mediating factors leading to the improvement of online store attractiveness; while for utilitarian products, only the mediation effect of spatial presence presents. Our findings enrich the literature on AR marketing by proposing an insightful mediating force (i.e., perceived coolness) to complement the effect of presence, and explore the different purchasing contexts. We also provide managerial guidance for e‐retailers to differentiate AR interface design for diverse product types to apply AR technology effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although virtual reality (VR) is most popularly known for its applications to gaming, other entertainment applications are increasingly being explored including in the sports media industry, but little research has so far examined the experiences induced by VR viewing of a live sporting event.Materials and methods: Participants (n = 93) were university students who were approached in the context of a field study from a nearby community eatery area on the university campus to watch brief segments of a 360° live stream of the home games of their university volleyball and basketball teams both while wearing and not wearing an inexpensive smart-phone based head-mounted display (HMD). Immediately afterward, participants then reported on their relative experience of spatial, interpersonal, and temporal presence, as well as their satisfaction-preference with each of the two viewing modalities, in response to brief face-valid screening questions.Results: The majority of participants experienced greater presence while wearing the VR headset, and approximately one in every two reported preferring to watch the games in VR. Participants’ experience of spatial presence independently correlated with preferring to watch the games in VR.Discussion: Media vendors should offer VR viewing of sports including via inexpensive, smart-phone mediated VR as an additional, cost-effective alternative means of heightening fans’ experience of virtual presence at the games when fans are unable to go to the games in person.

Previous research shows that virtual reality (VR) users may experience symptoms of depersonalization/derealization (DPDR) immediately after use. However, the impact of long-term VR use on these symptoms has not been analyzed so far. In a preregistered study, we conducted an online survey among a bigger sample of VR users (N = 754) to investigate the relationship between time of use during the past 6 months and the presence of DPDR symptoms. The results support the absence of a linear association between time of VR use and the presence of symptoms, when controlling for other factors. DPDR symptoms are more frequent among younger female users and in those who experience higher levels of embodiment during use. Secondary analyses show that symptoms are more common among newer users and among those who engage in longer sessions. These findings suggest that current common VR experiences are not a cause of long-term DPDR symptoms for the majority of users, yet also encourage further research about specific cases where VR use might trigger DPDR experiences in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extended Reality (XR) technology represents an innovative tool to address the challenges of the present, as it allows for experimentation with new solutions in terms of content creation and its fruition by different types of users. The potential to modulate the experience based on the target audience's needs and the project's objectives makes XR suitable for creating new accessibility solutions. The "Includiamoci" project was carried out with the aim of creating workshops on social inclusion through the combination of art and technology. Specifically, the experimentation involved ten young people between the ages of 28 and 50, with cognitive disabilities, who participated in Extended Reality workshops and Art Therapy workshops. In the course of these activities, the outputs obtained were two: a virtual museum, populated by the participants' works, and a digital set design for a theatrical performance. Through two tests, one on user experience (UX) and one on the degree of well-being, the effectiveness of the entire project was evaluated. In conclusion, the project demonstrated how the adopted solutions were appropriate to the objectives, increasing our knowledge of UX for a target audience with specific user needs and using XR in the context of social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sense of presence is a key element of the user experience in the study of virtual environments. Understanding it is essential for disciplines, such as architecture and environmental psychology, that study human responses using simulated environments. More evidence is needed on how to optimize spatial presence in simulations of built environments. A systematic review was conducted to define the use of sense of presence in research on human behavior in virtual spaces. Conceptualized dimensions, measurement methodologies, simulation technologies and associated factors were identified. The study identified a diversity of approaches and the predominance of subjective measures over sense of presence indicators. Several studies noted that environmental variables and spatial typologies had significant effects on presence. The results showed that different user profiles responded to stimuli in different ways. The results emphasized the importance of conceiving the construct in interrelation with the built context. A more comprehensive and multidisciplinary orientation is required to identify principles that optimize the spatial experience in virtual environments. This will be important for disciplines that research the human experience using virtual environments.

Augmented Reality techniques allow the user to visualize part of the real world through a display device by incorporating graphical information into the existing physical information. In this sense, it is important to know how the physical presence of the user in the augmented reality experience can affect the perception and evaluation of the product. To this end, this work presents a theoretical framework that explains how users perceive and evaluate the benefits and quality of augmentation with augmented reality through their physical presence, compared to visualizing the same experience through a video. The application was developed for the exhibition and sale of ceramic molds. Users viewed graphical information about the mold, placed between them and the screen while seeing themselves in the television as if it was a mirror. The experiments showed that the integration of the product into the environment and the spatial presence of the users had a positive effect on the perceived value in terms of usefulness and enjoyment, improved comfort in the purchase decision, and reinforced the overall opinion of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to debates about other new media technologies in the past, with the popularization of virtual reality (VR) technologies, concerns are raised about their potential to breed media addiction. In response to these concerns, the aim of this research was to provide a first examination of the prevalence of addiction to VR application use. An online survey was conducted among frequent VR users (N = 754), and measures of the different components of addiction were obtained, as well as demographics, hours of weekly use, type of apps used, and feelings of spatial presence and embodiment during VR app use. The results indicate that between 2% and 20% of users reveal compulsive VR use, depending on the classification criteria used. These prevalence estimates are similar to those of other activities such as the use of (non-VR) video games or the use of social networking sites. Therefore, the results suggest that VR applications do not have a higher addictive potential than other more traditional technologies. However, feelings of embodiment when using VR positively predict addiction. This may suggest that future developments of VR technology could, perhaps, also increase its addictive potential compared to other technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to debates about other new media technologies in the past, with the popularization of virtual reality (VR) technologies, concerns are raised about their potential to breed media addiction. In response to these concerns, the aim of this research was to provide a first examination of the prevalence of addiction to VR application use. An online survey was conducted among frequent VR users (N = 754), and measures of the different components of addiction were obtained, as well as demographics, hours of weekly use, type of apps used, and feelings of spatial presence and embodiment during VR app use. The results indicate that between 2% and 20% of users reveal compulsive VR use, depending on the classification criteria used. These prevalence estimates are similar to those of other activities such as the use of (non-VR) video games or the use of social networking sites. Therefore, the results suggest that VR applications do not have a higher addictive potential than other more traditional technologies. However, feelings of embodiment when using VR positively predict addiction. This may suggest that future developments of VR technology could, perhaps, also increase its addictive potential compared to other technologies.

Virtual reality (VR) has developed rapidly, drawing more businesses to such development. Based on the diffusion of innovations theory (DIT), the study combines the flow theory and the satisfaction perspective to explore purchase intention influencing customers’ adoption of the VR shopping platform system. This study found that satisfaction and flow experience enhance their purchase intention. In technological characteristics, relative advantage, service compatibility, spatial presence, and complexity are important in satisfaction. Among them, both relative advantage and spatial presence impact flow experience. Additionally, a cluster analysis based on gender was conducted, and the study found a significant difference between relative advantages, service compatibility, and complexity in women and men users. The flow experience is an important factor affecting women users’ shopping intention, while insignificant for male users. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary affordance of virtual reality (VR) headsets is to give the user spatial presence or the illusion of being in the virtual environment. Although considerable research connects VR to spatial presence, spatial awareness, and spatial ability, little is known about how users develop spatial presence in VR learning environments. This study addresses that gap by exploring spatial presence experience construction in a VR educational game and investigating whether users' knowledge, game experience, and VR experience impact the establishment of spatial presence. In this study, 56 high school students played an immersive 3D VR cell biology game where players search for clues within a virtual cell to diagnose the cell. Findings suggest that players' perceptions of spatial presence are linked to how they allocate their attention during the game, their level of interest in cellular biology, and their visual-spatial acuity, but are not linked to their game experience, VR experience, or prior knowledge of the content area. These results indicate that well-scaffolded, engaging virtual environments can foster spatial presence among users, regardless of prior knowledge or experience, and gives practitioners clues about how to design VR learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic harms offline tourism activities. Tourism live streaming that combines tourism and live broadcasting has entered people's vision and achieved rapid development. But so far, there are few related studies and results. This study, based on SOR theory, regards tourism live streaming consumers as the research object, and data were collected from a sample of 313 consumers who often watch tourism live streaming and have purchase behaviors. The results show that visual effect and interactivity of tourism live streaming have a positive influence on tourism consumers' willingness to participate, while spatial presence and flow experience play a chain mediating role in it. This paper provides important theoretical and practical significance to the study of tourism live streaming and the promotion of high-quality integration of the online and offline tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality have been part of the technology mindset in computer and geospatial sciences early on. The promise of delivering realistic experiences to the human senses that are not bound by physical reality has inspired generations of scientists and entrepreneurs alike. However, the vision for immersive experiences has been in stark contrast to the ability to deliver at the technology end; the community has battled nuisances such as cybersickness, tethers, and the uncanny valley for the last decades. With the 'final wave' of immersive technologies, we are now able to fulfill a long-held promise and freely and creatively envision how immersive technologies change spatial sciences by creating embodied experiences for geospatial applications. These experiences are not restricted by time or place, nor are they limited to the physical world. This contribution envisions the future of spatial sciences in light of place-like experiences enabled through immersive technologies and their potential to infuse research in the spatial sciences community.

Extended Reality (XR) technology represents an innovative tool to address the challenges of the present, as it allows for experimentation with new solutions in terms of content creation and its fruition by different types of users. The potential to modulate the experience based on the target audience’s needs and the project’s objectives makes XR suitable for creating new accessibility solutions. The “Includiamoci” project was carried out with the aim of creating workshops on social inclusion through the combination of art and technology. Specifically, the experimentation involved ten young people between the ages of 28 and 50, with cognitive disabilities, who participated in Extended Reality workshops and Art Therapy workshops. In the course of these activities, the outputs obtained were two: a virtual museum, populated by the participants’ works, and a digital set design for a theatrical performance. Through two tests, one on user experience (UX) and one on the degree of well-being, the effectiveness of the entire project was evaluated. In conclusion, the project demonstrated how the adopted solutions were appropriate to the objectives, increasing our knowledge of UX for a target audience with specific user needs and using XR in the context of social inclusion.

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