March 3, 2026Open Access

Changing Bodies Changes Minds-and Behavior? An Economist's Guide to Embodiment Interventions

Key Points

Changing bodies through virtual embodiment can influence both cognitive processes and behavioral outcomes regarding social inequality.
Key evidence suggests that these interventions can alter perceptions tied to physical characteristics like skin tone or gender.
The analysis utilizes existing research on outgroup embodiment combined with experimental economic tools to deepen understanding of inequality.
Implications of these findings highlight the necessity for careful consideration of methodological trade-offs in designing such interventions.

Abstract

This review examines how virtual embodiment interventions can inform economic research on inequality across social groups. These interventions, now widely used in psychology and related disciplines, enable researchers to create the illusion of inhabiting the body of an outgroup member by systematically altering key physical characteristics of virtual bodies, such as skin-tone, gender, or age. I synthesize existing research on outgroup embodiment and provide both a practical guide to designing embodiment interventions and a critical assessment of the methodological trade-offs involved in their implementation. Finally, I outline how combining embodiment interventions with tools from experimental economics can serve two purposes: first, to advance research on social inequality across these lines by introducing new methods to study its socio-cognitive foundations; and second, to address open questions in the embodiment literature by testing whether "changing bodies" can change not only minds, but also behavior.

Changing Bodies Changes Minds-and Behavior? An Economist's Guide to Embodiment Interventions

Key Points

Abstract

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