As creators and developers explore virtual technologies, they also aim to unravel how to measure and prove the impact of their project’s outcomes in increasing empathy and helping reduce implicit biases. While some have questioned whether empathy is the appropriate or only emotion to associate with such projects, this framing still dominates the impact conversation. Many VR developers partner with domain experts and researchers for pre- and post-surveys with viewers or participants or draw on their own research background.

VR film Across the Line focuses on the experience of women accessing abortion and reproductive health services in America. It was co-created by Nonny de la Peña of Emblematic Group and 371 Productions/Custom Reality Services for Planned Parenthood. Molly Eagan, vice president of Planned Parenthood Experience at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, spoke about the impact of VR.

As VR has been shown to be a vehicle to shift empathy and raise awareness to new levels, the impact can be measured in terms of the empathy shift as well as the willingness of action after viewing

Clorama Dorvilias, a UX interaction designer at Code for America, has explored new ways for designing corporate diversity training methods that could be effective, fun and engaging as opposed to obligatory. Using Unity3D and an Oculus Rift headset, she built a game in which the player is a tech engineer who has to find where their co-workers have snuck off to happy hour. The game draws on positive association with physical characteristics while the player searches for their co-workers.

In her studies as a Ph.D Candidate at Stanford University, Fernanda Herrera aims to understand the psychological mechanisms that motivate us to feel empathetic and less prejudiced toward others by creating and testing VR interventions designed specifically to show a particular perspective to the user. At the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, she has measured the effect of a VR experience in which participants become homeless through both self-reporting measures and behavioral measures (e.g., whether or not people are willing to sign a petition).

Read the full article about VR and empathy by Meghan Ventura at Media Impact Funders.