Virtual reality perspective-taking (VRPT) experiences effectively increase both empathy and prosocial behaviors toward related social targets (e.g., cutting down a tree in virtual reality increases concern for the environment). This project tests the prediction that empathy is analogous to a muscle that increases with practice and can transfer to unrelated contexts instead of being a mental state that increases only for a specific context or target. This study examines the extent to which VRPT experiences can train empathic skills that are applied to unrelated social targets and contexts. Two thirds of the participants engaged in VRPT experiences either showing what it is like to become homeless or how ocean acidification affects the marine environment. A third of the participants were in the control condition and did not complete a VRPT task. Results replicate previous findings showing that VRPT tasks increase related context empathy and prosocial behaviors; however, the results on VRPTs effect on empathy and prosocial behaviors for unrelated contexts were mixed. The VRPT ocean acidification task was more effective at inducing empathy for the homeless, an unrelated social target, than the control condition, but the empathy-transfer effect did not occur from the homeless context to the ocean context. Replicating previous work, participants who experienced what it is like to become homeless signed a petition supporting the homeless at significantly higher rates than participants in the control condition. These findings show that transfer of empathy from one context to another is possible, but this transfer does not occur for all contexts.

中文翻译：

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虚拟现实视角对相关和不相关上下文的影响

虚拟现实观点采择 (VRPT) 体验有效地增加了对相关社会目标的同理心和亲社会行为（例如，在虚拟现实中砍树会增加对环境的关注）。该项目测试了这样的预测，即同理心类似于随着练习而增加的肌肉，并且可以转移到不相关的环境中，而不是仅在特定环境或目标下才会增加的心理状态。这项研究考察了 VRPT 体验在多大程度上可以训练应用于不相关的社会目标和环境的移情技能。参与 VRPT 体验的三分之二的参与者要么展示了无家可归的感觉，要么展示了海洋酸化如何影响海洋环境。三分之一的参与者处于控制状态并且没有完成 VRPT 任务。结果重复了之前的发现，表明 VRPT 任务增加了相关的情境同理心和亲社会行为；然而，VRPTs 对无关环境的移情和亲社会行为影响的结果喜忧参半。VRPT 海洋酸化任务在诱导对无家可归者（一个不相关的社会目标）的同理心方面比控制条件更有效，但移情转移效应并未从无家可归者环境到海洋环境发生。复制以前的工作，经历过无家可归的参与者签署了一份支持无家可归者的请愿书，其签署率明显高于对照组。这些发现表明，同理心从一种情境转移到另一种情境是可能的，但这种转移并不适用于所有情境。