Virtual reality (VR) has recently been popularized as the “ultimate empathy machine,” and yet the science behind the effects of VR on empathy is scarce. In this media-comparison study, we assessed the impact of VR upon physiological and subjective indicators of empathy. Furthermore, we investigated the role of social presence, i.e. the experience of being there with real others, in modulating the empathic responses. We filmed a 360° 3D video of a person disclosing a painful autobiographical story from her past. This empathy-eliciting video was presented either in a VR head-mounted display or on a computer screen. Centrally, autonomic and facial responses were recorded both from the target in the video and from participants who viewed the video. We found that the VR condition enhanced viewers’ empathic care and facial synchrony with the target. Viewers in the VR condition also reported higher levels of social presence, which mediated the effects of VR on empathic care as well as on facial synchrony. The current study highlights the potential of VR to elicit social connectedness and a caring motivation to help. Our findings imply that VR has a unique potential to motivate empathy in situations where face-to-face encounters are not possible.

虚拟现实（VR）最近已被普及为“最终的移情机器”，但是，虚拟现实对移情的影响背后的科学却很匮乏。在这项媒体比较研究中，我们评估了VR对移情的生理和主观指标的影响。此外，我们调查了社交存在的作用，即与真实他人在一起的经历在调节移情反应中的作用。我们拍摄了一个360°3D视频，该视频讲述了一个人讲述她过去的痛苦的自传故事。可以在VR头戴式显示器或计算机屏幕上呈现此引起同情的视频。集中地，从视频中的目标和观看视频的参与者那里记录了自主和面部反应。我们发现，VR条件增强了观众的移情关怀和与目标对象的面部同步性。处于VR状态的观看者还报告了较高的社交状态，这调节了VR对共情护理以及面部同步的影响。当前的研究强调了虚拟现实技术引发社会联系的潜力和提供帮助的关心动机。我们的发现表明，在不可能进行面对面交流的情况下，VR具有激发同理心的独特潜力。