Abstract Recent research has emphasized the promise of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) to bolster empathy. The underlying mechanisms of such an intriguing outcome are, however, underexplored. The present study examines the effect of distinct but interrelated user experiences (UX) dimensions underlying the bolstering effect of IVR on empathy. Sixty-five young adults participated in five 1-h weekly programs encompassing a total of 25 IVR experiences of different nature. Following each session, participants rated their UX of immersion-presence, illusion of body ownership, illusion of agency, engagement, and IVR-triggered mind-wandering for each IVR experience. Baseline empathy, operationalized in a multifaceted fashion, was measured both before and after the IVR program, spanning a total of seven weeks. Empathy significantly increased after the program with a moderate effect size (d = .52). Further, 27.6% of the variance in empathy change was explained by the combined effect of the UX variables. The largest predictors were illusion of body ownership and agency. The pattern of results was the same across types of IVR experience, suggesting that media content (whether empathy-evoking or not), did not moderate the relationship between UX and empathy. Together, this study highlights that IVR is more an effective “perspective taking-machine” than “empathy machine” per se.

中文翻译：

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是什么让沉浸式虚拟现实成为终极移情机器？识别变化的潜在机制

摘要 最近的研究强调了沉浸式虚拟现实 (IVR) 在增强同理心方面的前景。然而，这种有趣结果的潜在机制尚未得到充分探索。本研究调查了不同但相互关联的用户体验 (UX) 维度的影响，这些维度是 IVR 对同理心的支持作用的基础。65 名年轻人参加了 5 个每周 1 小时的项目，共包含 25 种不同性质的 IVR 体验。每次会议结束后，参与者都会对他们的沉浸式体验、身体所有权错觉、代理错觉、参与度和 IVR 触发的每次 IVR 体验的思维游移进行评分。基线同理心以多方面的方式运作，在 IVR 计划之前和之后都进行了测量，总共持续了七周。项目实施后同理心显着增加，效果中等 (d = .52)。此外，同理心变化的 27.6% 的方差是由 UX 变量的综合效应解释的。最大的预测因素是身体所有权和代理权的错觉。不同类型的 IVR 体验的结果模式相同，这表明媒体内容（无论是否引起同理心）并没有调节 UX 和同理心之间的关系。总之，这项研究强调了 IVR 是一种更有效的“观点获取机器”，而不是“移情机器”本身。暗示媒体内容（无论是否唤起同理心）并没有缓和用户体验和同理心之间的关系。总之，这项研究强调了 IVR 是一种更有效的“观点获取机器”，而不是“移情机器”本身。暗示媒体内容（无论是否唤起同理心）并没有缓和用户体验和同理心之间的关系。总之，这项研究强调了 IVR 是一种更有效的“观点获取机器”，而不是“移情机器”本身。