2.2. Participants
RECRUITMENT
Participants were all employed adults. The need to adapt the pilot study so that it could be conducted completely online meant that participants would need to have access to a virtual reality-compatible computer that could run the virtual nature model in their own homes. In order to reach employed adults who were likely to own this type of equipment, the researchers recruited subjects for this study by sending an email to employers who develop online games. The employers were provided with a recruitment email to distribute to employees, and interested employees signed up through email. To be eligible to participate, individuals needed to be employed at least part-time, be able to walk comfortably for at least 20 min, have access to a safe space to walk outdoors, have a virtual reality-compatible computer at home or a dedicated graphics card for running Unreal Engine, be at least 18 years of age, have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing, and have at least one hour during or immediately after their work day to participate. Participating immediately after their morning or afternoon work session ensured that they started the experiment with a level of depletion from work demands that is typical of a normal workday and that they would have not already participated in some restorative activity prior to the study. The final sample of analyzed data included twenty-five employed adults (52% male; 44% White/Caucasian).