Virtual Reality Teaches Empathy
Virtual Reality Teaches Empathy
H/T Eli Fennell
One much touted potential humanitarian benefit of Virtual Reality technologies is their potential to improve human empathy and sympathy, by allowing us to virtually walk-a-mile in each other's shoes, from each other's perspectives.
Of course, many technologies have claimed they could break down barriers and build compassion between humans. Social Media was one, and we've seen that the results don't always generate a net benefit to humanity.
Previous research into this issue was hampered by either the immaturity of the technology and the media produced for it, by using small sample sizes mostly of college students (not unusual, sadly, in the Social Psychological literature), and looking only at short term measures of empathy.
New research out of Stanford University has now shown that, given the right conditions at least, virtual experiences can generate enduring, stable gains in empathy. More than 560 Participants, from teenagers to late octogenarians, either interacted with a Virtual Reality experience from the Standford Virtual Human Interaction Lab called "Becoming Homeless", in which they vicariously faced and experienced daily challenges of homeless life, or performed a conceptually similar alternative task.
2-month follow-ups revealed stable gains in compassionate attitudes towards the homeless compared with control groups which either interacted with a 2D version of the scenario or did other tasks such as reading a narrative about homelessness, i.e. other things which might have boosted empathy.
Given that other research has found that empathy increases when one asks others about their perspectives more than when one simply tries to imagine their perspective (i.e. 'Put Yourself In Their Shoes'; http://bit.ly/2J7AqVO), it actually makes a great deal of sense that the 3D Immersive scenario which forces the person to more-or-less literally take a different perspective generates greater empathy, sympathy, and general compassion than other approaches.
Thus, VR may not simply be a source of new entertainment experiences, but a new way for people and groups to get to know and understand each other. This may be especially true when combined with the emerging haptics technology (e.g. http://bit.ly/2CRyjFv, http://bit.ly/2P7pIUZ).
#BlindMeWithScience #VR #VirtualReality
Originally shared by Eli Fennell
VR Experiences Can Generate Enduring Compassion
One much touted potential humanitarian benefit of Virtual Reality technologies is their potential to improve human empathy and sympathy, by allowing us to virtually walk-a-mile in each other's shoes, from each other's perspectives.
Of course, many technologies have claimed they could break down barriers and build compassion between humans. Social Media was one, and we've seen that the results don't always generate a net benefit to humanity.
Previous research into this issue was hampered by either the immaturity of the technology and the media produced for it, by using small sample sizes mostly of college students (not unusual, sadly, in the Social Psychological literature), and looking only at short term measures of empathy.
New research out of Stanford University has now shown that, given the right conditions at least, virtual experiences can generate enduring, stable gains in empathy. More than 560 Participants, from teenagers to late octogenarians, either interacted with a Virtual Reality experience from the Standford Virtual Human Interaction Lab called "Becoming Homeless", in which they vicariously faced and experienced daily challenges of homeless life, or performed a conceptually similar alternative task.
2-month follow-ups revealed stable gains in compassionate attitudes towards the homeless compared with control groups which either interacted with a 2D version of the scenario or did other tasks such as reading a narrative about homelessness, i.e. other things which might have boosted empathy.
Given that other research has found that empathy increases when one asks others about their perspectives more than when one simply tries to imagine their perspective (i.e. 'Put Yourself In Their Shoes'; http://bit.ly/2J7AqVO), it actually makes a great deal of sense that the 3D Immersive scenario which forces the person to more-or-less literally take a different perspective generates greater empathy, sympathy, and general compassion than other approaches.
Thus, VR may not simply be a source of new entertainment experiences, but a new way for people and groups to get to know and understand each other. This may be especially true when combined with the emerging haptics technology (e.g. http://bit.ly/2CRyjFv, http://bit.ly/2P7pIUZ).
#BlindMeWithScience #VR #VirtualReality
https://news.stanford.edu/2018/10/17/virtual-reality-can-help-make-people-empathetic/
H/T Eli Fennell
One much touted potential humanitarian benefit of Virtual Reality technologies is their potential to improve human empathy and sympathy, by allowing us to virtually walk-a-mile in each other's shoes, from each other's perspectives.
Of course, many technologies have claimed they could break down barriers and build compassion between humans. Social Media was one, and we've seen that the results don't always generate a net benefit to humanity.
Previous research into this issue was hampered by either the immaturity of the technology and the media produced for it, by using small sample sizes mostly of college students (not unusual, sadly, in the Social Psychological literature), and looking only at short term measures of empathy.
New research out of Stanford University has now shown that, given the right conditions at least, virtual experiences can generate enduring, stable gains in empathy. More than 560 Participants, from teenagers to late octogenarians, either interacted with a Virtual Reality experience from the Standford Virtual Human Interaction Lab called "Becoming Homeless", in which they vicariously faced and experienced daily challenges of homeless life, or performed a conceptually similar alternative task.
2-month follow-ups revealed stable gains in compassionate attitudes towards the homeless compared with control groups which either interacted with a 2D version of the scenario or did other tasks such as reading a narrative about homelessness, i.e. other things which might have boosted empathy.
Given that other research has found that empathy increases when one asks others about their perspectives more than when one simply tries to imagine their perspective (i.e. 'Put Yourself In Their Shoes'; http://bit.ly/2J7AqVO), it actually makes a great deal of sense that the 3D Immersive scenario which forces the person to more-or-less literally take a different perspective generates greater empathy, sympathy, and general compassion than other approaches.
Thus, VR may not simply be a source of new entertainment experiences, but a new way for people and groups to get to know and understand each other. This may be especially true when combined with the emerging haptics technology (e.g. http://bit.ly/2CRyjFv, http://bit.ly/2P7pIUZ).
#BlindMeWithScience #VR #VirtualReality
Originally shared by Eli Fennell
VR Experiences Can Generate Enduring Compassion
One much touted potential humanitarian benefit of Virtual Reality technologies is their potential to improve human empathy and sympathy, by allowing us to virtually walk-a-mile in each other's shoes, from each other's perspectives.
Of course, many technologies have claimed they could break down barriers and build compassion between humans. Social Media was one, and we've seen that the results don't always generate a net benefit to humanity.
Previous research into this issue was hampered by either the immaturity of the technology and the media produced for it, by using small sample sizes mostly of college students (not unusual, sadly, in the Social Psychological literature), and looking only at short term measures of empathy.
New research out of Stanford University has now shown that, given the right conditions at least, virtual experiences can generate enduring, stable gains in empathy. More than 560 Participants, from teenagers to late octogenarians, either interacted with a Virtual Reality experience from the Standford Virtual Human Interaction Lab called "Becoming Homeless", in which they vicariously faced and experienced daily challenges of homeless life, or performed a conceptually similar alternative task.
2-month follow-ups revealed stable gains in compassionate attitudes towards the homeless compared with control groups which either interacted with a 2D version of the scenario or did other tasks such as reading a narrative about homelessness, i.e. other things which might have boosted empathy.
Given that other research has found that empathy increases when one asks others about their perspectives more than when one simply tries to imagine their perspective (i.e. 'Put Yourself In Their Shoes'; http://bit.ly/2J7AqVO), it actually makes a great deal of sense that the 3D Immersive scenario which forces the person to more-or-less literally take a different perspective generates greater empathy, sympathy, and general compassion than other approaches.
Thus, VR may not simply be a source of new entertainment experiences, but a new way for people and groups to get to know and understand each other. This may be especially true when combined with the emerging haptics technology (e.g. http://bit.ly/2CRyjFv, http://bit.ly/2P7pIUZ).
#BlindMeWithScience #VR #VirtualReality
https://news.stanford.edu/2018/10/17/virtual-reality-can-help-make-people-empathetic/
Totally agree. Nothing like perspective to open one's mind.
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