Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Articles
DOI: 10.14254/1795-6889.2025.21-1.4
Submitted: 2024-06-02
Published: 2025-05-28

Impacts of intersectional dual-perspective VR experiences on empathy and understanding of microaggressions

Fitchburg State University
Fitchburg State University
Fitchburg State University
virtual reality 360-degree video microaggressions racism intersectionality

Abstract

This study advances our understanding of virtual reality (VR) as a tool for increasing both empathy and comprehension of microaggressions, using a unique intersectional dual-perspective approach. Through immersive VR video experiences, participants simultaneously experience and witness microaggressions focusing on racial assumptions about academic abilities. The VR video, developed and scripted by two undergraduate students of color, was recorded from two distinct perspectives: a Black student and an Asian American student, providing viewers an opportunity to witness differential treatment based on racial bias. We conducted a mixed-methods survey of 83 students who viewed the VR experience, focusing on self-reported affective and cognitive reactions. Findings indicate that the VR experience heightened participants’ understanding and empathy toward microaggressions. Notably, one perspective (the Asian American student), led to greater impact, suggesting the necessity for further exploration of VR experiences’ differential impacts and its implications for the intersection of VR and social justice.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

  1. Aitamurto T, Stevenson Won A and Zhou S (2021) Examining virtual reality for pro-social attitude change. New Media & Society 23(8). SAGE Publications: 2139–2143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444821993129
  2. Alsop T (2023a) Interest in virtual reality (VR) in the United States as of October 2022, by age. https://www.statista.com/statistics/456810/virtual-reality-interest-in-the-united-states/.
  3. Alsop T (2023b) Level of knowledge regarding virtual reality (VR) in the United States as of October 2022, by age. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1310591/virtual-reality-knowledge-by-age-us/.
  4. Bacca-Acosta, J, Cecilia Ávila-Garzón, & Myriam Sierra-Puentes. (2023). Insights into the Predictors of Empathy in Virtual Reality Environments. Information. https://doi.org/10.3390/info14080465 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/info14080465
  5. Banakou D, Hanumanthu PD and Slater M (2016) Virtual Embodiment of White People in a Black Virtual Body Leads to a Sustained Reduction in Their Implicit Racial Bias. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers Research Foundation. Epub ahead of print 29 November 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00601. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00601
  6. Bollmer G (2017) Empathy machines. Media International Australia 165(1). SAGE Publications Ltd: 63–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X17726794
  7. Brown D (2021) Diversity training steps into the future with virtual reality. Washington Post, 24 March. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/03/18/diversity-training-virtual-reality/.
  8. Chen VHH, Chan SHM and Tan YC (2021) Perspective-Taking in Virtual Reality and Reduction of Biases against Minorities. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction 5(8). 8. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute: 42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/mti5080042
  9. Creel B, Rinz-Jones CJ, Jones A, et al. (2020) Bacterial Load of Virtual Reality Headsets. In: New York, NY, USA, 1 November 2020, pp. 1–8. VRST ’20. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3385956.3418958. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3385956.3418958
  10. Douds KW and Hout M (2020) Microaggressions in the United States. Sociological Science 7: 528–543. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15195/v7.a22
  11. Farmer H and Maister L (2017) Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice. Social Justice Research 30(4): 323–354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-017-0294-1
  12. Foxman M, Markowitz DM and Davis DZ (2021) Defining empathy: Interconnected discourses of virtual reality’s prosocial impact. New Media & Society 23(8). SAGE Publications: 2167–2188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444821993120
  13. Friedersdorf, C. (2015, September 19). On Being Asked, “Where Are You From?” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/09/on-being-asked-where-are-you-from/626532/
  14. Frost M, Goates MC, Cheng S, et al. (2020) Virtual Reality: A Survey of Use at an Academic Library. Information Technology and Libraries 39(1). 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v39i1.11369
  15. Groom V, Bailenson JeremyN and Nass C (2009) The influence of racial embodiment on racial bias in immersive virtual environments. Social Influence 4(3). Taylor & Francis Ltd: 231–248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15534510802643750
  16. Hargrove A, Sommer JM and Jones JJ (2020) Virtual reality and embodied experience induce similar levels of empathy change: Experimental evidence. Computers in Human Behavior Reports 2: 100038. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2020.100038
  17. Herrera F and Bailenson JN (2021) Virtual reality perspective-taking at scale: Effect of avatar representation, choice, and head movement on prosocial behaviors. New Media & Society 23(8). SAGE Publications: 2189–2209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444821993121
  18. Herrera F, Bailenson J, Weisz E, Ogle E, & Zaki J (2018). Building long-term empathy: A large-scale comparison of traditional and virtual reality perspective-taking. PLoS ONE 13(10): e0204494. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204494 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204494
  19. Huang, D., & Pan, Y. (2023). The effects of Virtual Reality from different visual perspectives on empathy.. AHFE International. https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003925. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1003925
  20. Johnson, N. N., & Johnson, T. L. (2019). Microaggressions: An Introduction. In Thomas, U. (Ed.), Navigating Micro-Aggressions Toward Women in Higher Education (pp. 1-22). IGI Global. https://doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5942-9.ch001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5942-9.ch001
  21. Lara, F., & Rueda, J. (2021). Virtual Reality Not for “Being Someone” but for “Being in Someone Else's Shoes”: Avoiding Misconceptions in Empathy Enhancement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741516
  22. Lee, Y, Shin H, & Gil Y. (2024). Measurement of empathy in virtual reality with head-mounted displays: A systematic review. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 30(5), 2485-2495, May 2024, doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2024.3372076. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2024.3372076
  23. Lewis JA, Mendenhall R, Ojiemwen A, et al. (2021) Racial Microaggressions and Sense of Belonging at a Historically White University. American Behavioral Scientist 65(8). SAGE Publications Inc: 1049–1071. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219859613
  24. Lloyd C (2020) Black Adults Disproportionately Experience Microaggressions. https://news.gallup.com/poll/315695/black-adults-disproportionately-experience-microaggressions.aspx.
  25. Nakamura L (2020) Feeling good about feeling bad: virtuous virtual reality and the automation of racial empathy. Journal of Visual Culture 19(1). SAGE Publications: 47–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470412920906259
  26. Office of Institutional Research and Planning (2023) Institutional Factbook. April. Fitchburg State University. https://www.fitchburgstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/2023-02/FactBook_2022_23.pdf.
  27. Peck TC, Sockol LE and Hancock SM (2020) Mind the Gap: The Underrepresentation of Female Participants and Authors in Virtual Reality Research. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 26(5): 1945–1954. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2020.2973498
  28. Pinto-Coelho, L., Laska-Leśniewicz, A., Pereira, E., & Sztobryn-Giercuszkiewicz, J. (2023). Inclusion and adaptation beyond disability: Using virtual reality to foster empathy. Medycyna pracy, 74 3, 171-185. https://doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.01386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.01386
  29. Ramirez EJ (2020) Can Technology Help Us be More Empathetic? Racism, Empathy and Virtual Reality. In: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. https://www.scu.edu/ethics-spotlight/ethics-and-systemic-racism/can-technology-help-us-be-more-empathetic-racism-empathy-and-virtual-reality/.
  30. Raposo, R., M. Vairinhos, A. Laska-Leśniewicz, & Joanna Sztobryn-Giercuszkiewicz. (2023). Increasing awareness and empathy among university students through immersive exercises—Testing of the virtual reality application: A pilot study. Medycyna Pracy, 74 3, 187–197. https://doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.01391 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13075/mp.5893.01497
  31. Rawski SL, Foster JR and Bailenson J (2022) Sexual Harassment Bystander Training Effectiveness: Experimentally Comparing 2D Video to Virtual Reality Practice. Technology, Mind, and Behavior 3(2: Summer 2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000074
  32. Rebenitsch L and Owen C (2020) Estimating cybersickness from virtual reality applications. Virtual Reality 25(1): 165–174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-020-00446-6
  33. Roswell RO, Cogburn CD, Tocco J, et al. (2020) Cultivating Empathy Through Virtual Reality: Advancing Conversations About Racism, Inequity, and Climate in Medicine. Academic Medicine 95(12): 1882–1886. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003615
  34. Schutte, N. & Emma J. Stilinović. (2017). Facilitating empathy through virtual reality. Motivation and Emotion, 41, 708–712. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11031-017-9641-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-017-9641-7
  35. Sora-Domenjó, C. (2022). Disrupting the “empathy machine”: The power and perils of virtual reality in addressing social issues. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.814565 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.814565
  36. Souza V, Maciel A, Nedel L, et al. (2021) Measuring Presence in Virtual Environments: A Survey. ACM Computing Surveys 54(8): 163:1-163:37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3466817
  37. Sudol NT, Guaderrama NM, Honsberger P, et al. (2021) Prevalence and Nature of Sexist and Racial/Ethnic Microaggressions Against Surgeons and Anesthesiologists. JAMA Surgery 156(5): e210265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2021.0265
  38. Thatcher S (2019) VR and the Role it Plays in Museums. In: The State of Museum Digital Practice in 2019: A Collection of Graduate Essays and Responses. Ad Hoc Museum Collective, Washington D.C. https://ad-hoc-museum-collective.github.io/GWU-museum-digital-practice-2019/essays/essay-9/.
  39. van Loon, A., J. Bailenson, Jamil Zaki, Joshua Bostick, & Robb Willer. (2018). Virtual reality perspective-taking increases cognitive empathy for specific others. PLoS ONE, 13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202442 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202442
  40. Wang Y (Mia), Chen C (Crystal), Nelson MR, et al. (2022) Walk in my shoes: How perspective-taking and VR enhance telepresence and empathy in a public service announcement for people experiencing homelessness. New Media & Society. SAGE Publications: 14614448221108108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221108108

How to Cite

Sylvia IV, J., Miner, Z., & Oehrlein, J. (2025). Impacts of intersectional dual-perspective VR experiences on empathy and understanding of microaggressions. Human Technology, 21(1), 73–105. https://doi.org/10.14254/1795-6889.2025.21-1.4