Video games for good: Active perspective-taking fosters empathy and reduces implicit bias toward gendered violence victims

Abstract

Many victims of gendered violence suffer from systematic stigmatization. A novel approach to reduce the negative bias toward victims of gendered violence is the use of video games. In this study, we explore how playing video games can contribute to fostering empathy and reducing bias toward victims of gendered violence. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a lab experiment (N = 166). The result showed that taking the perspective of a gendered violence victim in a video game increases players’ embodiment of the game character and in turn increases player’s empathy toward gendered violence victims. No moderation was found for gender and also no relationship between empathy and implicit bias was found. All in all, the study demonstrates the potential of video games to be an empathy intervention tool for increasing empathy toward gendered violence victims.