A study of virtual reality and the empathetic experience in Australian secondary students

Empathy is a key contributor to moral, pro-social behaviour and an important element of socio-emotional learning (SEL). Schools deliver SEL programmes during adolescence to develop a range of skills including empathy. As education becomes increasingly digital, more research is needed to understand the role digital technologies may play in students’ empathy development. Virtual reality (VR) has been touted as a possible way to provide more realistic experiences to enhance empathy. To investigate this, an intervention of an empathy-provoking documentary (Clouds over Sidra) was shown to adolescents aged 13 to 15 years using either virtual reality (n = 63) or 2D projection (n = 53). Participants completed the Adolescent Measure of Empathy and Sympathy (AMES survey) before (time 1), immediately (time 2) and two weeks (time 3) after viewing the documentary. There was no difference in empathy between the 2D and VR conditions. However, for both conditions, there was an increase in empathy immediately after viewing the documentary but not at the two week follow-up. The results suggest that while empathy could temporarily increase when one is exposed to a novel emotive experience, a one-time intervention does not appear to produce a lasting change. This is an important consideration for schools in considering virtual reality technology for use in SEL.