Abstract The present research examined to what extent virtual reality was an effective tool to induce a complex, positive, other-oriented emotion: gratitude. We hypothesized that receiving the help of a virtual benefactor should generate a feeling of gratitude, but also social benefits. In two studies, we showed that this virtual social interaction induced a feeling of gratitude in contrast to a control condition. Furthermore, in both studies, being helped by a virtual confederate led participants to be more inclined to offer social support to their benefactor, in contrast to the control condition. The beneficial effect of the gratitude induction on social support intentions was mediated by the virtual confederate's perceived warmth (Studies 1 & 2) and by enhanced perceived interpersonal closeness (Study 2). Finally, the expected benefits of gratitude were observed for both ingroup and outgroup benefactors. Implications of these findings for emotion induction, well-being, and intergroup contacts are discussed.

中文翻译：

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利用虚拟现实通过虚拟社交互动诱导感恩

摘要 本研究考察了虚拟现实在多大程度上是诱发复杂、积极、面向他人的情绪的有效工具：感恩。我们假设接受虚拟恩人的帮助应该会产生感激之情，但也会产生社会效益。在两项研究中，我们表明，与控制条件相比，这种虚拟社交互动会引起感激之情。此外，在这两项研究中，与控制条件相反，在虚拟同盟的帮助下，参与者更倾向于向他们的恩人提供社会支持。感恩诱导对社会支持意向的有益影响是由虚拟同伴的感知温暖（研究 1 和 2）和增强的人际亲近感（研究 2）介导的。最后，对内群体和外群体的恩人都观察到了感恩的预期好处。讨论了这些发现对情绪诱导、幸福感和群体间接触的影响。