Virtual Journalist: Measuring and Inducing Cultural Empathy by Visualizing Empathic Perspectives in VR

The concept of cultural empathy, which entails the ability to empathize with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, has garnered attention across multiple disciplines. However, there has been limited research focusing on the utilization of immersive experiences to deliver journalistic encounters that foster cultural empathy. In this regard, we propose the development of Virtual Journalist, a virtual reality (VR) system that immerses users in the role of a journalist, allowing them to consume 360° video documentaries and capture moments that evoke cultural empathy through photography. Furthermore, this system integrates both cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy by linking physiological data, namely electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate variability (HRV), to the captured photographs. Our findings suggest that the impact of Virtual Journalist varies based on the user’s cultural background, and we have observed that empathic accuracy can be achieved by combining user-generated photographs with corresponding physiological data.