Immersion Matters: Virtual Reality Influences Personal and Systemic Bias Outcomes

Social psychological research has used traditional empathy-inducing strategies (e.g. reading, listening to, or watching narratives) to heighten recognition of and motivation to combat personal and systemic bias. We investigated whether a non-embodied 360° virtual reality (VR) experience increased recognition of and motivation to combat both personal and systemic racial bias and examined empathy as an underlying mechanism. Non-Black undergraduates in the United States (N = 313) were randomly assigned to (a) a non-embodied immersive 360° VR experience depicting racial discrimination, (b) an audio-only version of the same experience, or (c) a race-unrelated audio (control). VR exposure (vs. audio-only and control) heightened recognition of systemic bias, motivation to combat both systemic and personal bias, and perceptions of racism in isolated incidents. Emotional empathy, but not cognitive empathy, was a significant mediator. In contrast, the audio-only condition did not differ from the VR or control condition on personal and systemic bias outcomes or recognition of racism. These findings highlight the theoretical and practical value of non-embodied 360° immersive VR as a tool for combating personal and systemic bias.