Changing social attitudes with virtual reality: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Although it has been shown that Virtual Reality (VR) can positively impact political, civic and environmental views, the question of whether and how VR influences social attitudes more effectively than less immersive conditions has been a subject of debate. To address this question, this article provides a systematic review with meta-analysis of social attitude research in VR by examining 50 separate findings from 39 studies. We find that VR influences social attitudes significantly more than non-immersive interventions, while embodiment has no moderation effect. Further, outgroup VR perspective-taking fosters positive social attitudes more effectively than ingroup VR perspective-taking. Findings are categorized according to social attitude object and discussed in the light of emerging challenges and opportunities for VR attitude research.