Virtual Immersive Contact

A Field Experiment to Reduce Prejudice and Discrimination in Central African Republic

Bibliographic Data

ID10071807
AuthorsLindsay Branham (0000-0001-9544-2757, King’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume68
Issue4
Pages786-819
Publication date2023-06-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220027231180098
OpenAlexW4379512944
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited57

This present research explores a progressive repurposing of Virtual Reality technology, Virtual Immersive Contact (VIC), in a real-world setting to; explore viability to reduce prejudice and investigate the role of empathy in motivating prosocial behavior. The study employed a between-subjects repeated-measures experimental design of a randomized sample ( n = 113) split into two conditions to reduce prejudice and discrimination in the active conflict area of the Central African Republic (CAR). In line with the study’s hypotheses, VIC produced a significant increase in empathic concern for the Muslim outgroup and intentions to donate to a Muslim family, while also showing that the relationship between empathy and helping behaviours was mostly explained by confounding variables. This research provides both the first evidence of its kind that VIC could be a new form of fostering positive intergroup contact in an active conflict setting, crating a new facet of intergroup contact theory, and further evolving the literature on the empathy, prosocial behaviour relationship

Contact hypothesis · Empathy · Outgroup · Prejudice (legal term · Prosocial behavior · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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