VR interventions aimed to induce empathy: a scoping review

Abstract

To assess the methods and outcomes of virtual reality (VR), interventions aimed at inducing empathy and to evaluate if VR could be used in this manner for disability support worker (DSW) training, as well as highlight areas for future research. The authors conducted a scoping review of studies that used VR interventions to induce empathy in participants. We searched three databases for articles published between 1960 and 2021 using “virtual reality” and “empathy” as key terms. The search yielded 707 articles, and 44 were reviewed. VR interventions largely resulted in enhanced empathy skills for participants. Most studies agreed that VR’s ability to facilitate perspective-taking was key to inducing empathy for participants. Samples were often limited to the context of healthcare, medicine, and education. This literature provides preliminary evidence for the technology’s efficacy for inducing empathy. Identified research gaps relate to limited studies done, study quality and design, best practice intervention characteristics, populations and outcomes of interest, including lack of transfer and data across real-world settings.