EthnoVR 3.0: Fostering Ethnocultural Empathy and Mitigating Ethnocentrism through Immersive Virtual Environments and Virtual Reality Perspective Taking

The objective of the presented study was to develop and empirically validate a tool utilizing Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) technology through the Virtual Reality Perspective Taking (VRPT) technique. The tool, named EthnoVR 3.0, was designed to enhance general empathy and ethnocultural empathy levels while mitigating ethnocentrism. Furthermore, the assessment of Virtual Reality presence was incorporated to explore its potential correlation with increased empathy. The results of a two-phased quantitative study (N = 45) revealed that the utilization of the VRPT tool, compared to the pre-test, resulted in: (1) elevated levels of affective and cognitive empathy; (2) heightened level of ethnocultural empathy, which was also associated with a sense of presence, and (3) a reduction in ethnocentrism.