Virtual Reality and Empathy
Research Project Assistant
Context
Research Question: Can Virtual Reality Be An "Empathy Machine"?
Duration: September 2021 - May 2022
Skills: Literature Analysis, Graphic design, Virtual Reality Title Analysis
Role: Undergraduate Research Assistant
This research project is the work of Professor Sarah Blair. In her research in digital studies Professor Blair's research focuses on the use of Virtual Reality to evoke emotion. Makers of VR like Chris Milk have attempted to harness this immersive storytelling power of VR for humanistic purposes, calling it an “empathy machine” and claiming it has the power to move us forward in social justice and change.
01
Research and Trialing
Over the period of about 9 months my research assistant peer, Sarah Hurwitz, and I kept a journal of our interactions with VR titles and literature that we read. We read 10 articles on existing virtual reality practices and theories, following with a literature review of each respective article. An important aspect of Professor Blair's research was our personal responses to the titles. We trialed titles on an Oculus Quest 2 headset, accessed through the Virtual Reality Libraries including Within, as well as 360 youtube videos. As research assistants and new users to VR, Sarah and I's experience with the titles was vital to our research. Therefore our journals were included thoughts on the title, emotional reactions, connections and discussions about the title. We met weekly with Professor Blair to hold meaningful discussions and theorize virtual realities use as an empathy machine. This hypothesis was further explored as the semester went on, with each title providing unique information to support to discourage the hypothesis.
02
Analysis and Synthesis
Focusing on these two aspects of the research project we created a infographic and presented it to our cohort in UROP. We felt a need to contribute to this research as people familiar with traditional forms of narrative and the powers therein and enter the discourse on if VR is truly contributing to a better understanding of others or if it is instead perpetuating incorrect notions of others experiences.
From our research, trialing, and discussions with Professor Blair we came to the conclusion that Virtual reality cannot create meaningful empathy. It however does makes visible the need fora paradigm shift in social justice and empathy, through its immersive storytelling abilities. Below is our final inforgraphic/ poster Sarah and I presented to our UROP cohort and UofM faculty.
03
Reflection
This project originally intrigued me because of the connection between people and technology. I was drawn to professor Blair's research area of the intersection between technology and human emotion. This project was amazing and so interesting to learn about. I was constantly learning more about VR and AI and how the two have been used in the past and their projected uses in the future. I found value in opposing opinions and history, forming my own opinion through research and my own experience. I left this project with so much respect for my research assistant partner Sarah as well as Professor Blair. This project inspired me to lean into my love for technology and human emotion ultimately leading me to User experience design and research.