Body swapping with a Black person boosts empathy: Using virtual reality to embody another.

ABSTRACT: Perspective-taking, whether through imagination or virtual-reality interventions, seems to improve intergroup relations; however, which intervention leads to better outcomes remains unclear. This preregistered study collected measures of empathy and race bias from 90 participants, split into one of three perspective-taking groups: embodied perspective-taking, mental perspective-taking, and a control group. We drew on virtual-reality technology alongside a Black confederate across all conditions. Only in the first group, participants got to exchange real-time viewpoints with the confederate and literally "see through the eyes of another." In the two other conditions, participants either imagined a day in the life of the Black confederate or in their own life, respectively. Our findings show

SUBMITTER: Theriault R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8532211 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature