Virtual Reality and Political Outgroup Contact: Can Avatar Customization and Common Ingroup Identity Reduce Social Distance?

Abstract

This study (N = 217) explores the potential for virtual reality to decrease social distance toward outgroup members among women. Raising the salience of individuals’ real physical identity through avatar customization and common ingroup identity manipulations was theorized to influence social distance. Participants who customized an avatar to resemble their real selves showed increased social distance. However, avatar customization also increased user identifiability, which was linked to reduced social distance. Priming a common ingroup identity increased identity salience but did not influence social distance. In examining heterogeneous effects by prior levels of issue involvement, participants with high and moderate involvement with immigration showed increased social distance after customizing an avatar to resemble their real selves, thus implying boomerang effects. The study discusses how avatar customization, identifiability, and common ingroup primes in virtual encounters may influence outgroup attitudes and intergroup relations.