Virtual Reality for Enhancing Perspective-Taking, Empathy, and Political Interest

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Designing XR (Extended Reality) for Education (Table 17)

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR) learning environment in enhancing students' perspective-taking, empathy, and political interest concerning the Ukraine War. The research aims to explore how VR movies influence the development of political interest in relation to perspective-taking and empathy students experience in political science education. This study used a mixed-method approach, including pre- and post-questionnaires measuring three constructs and semi-structured interviews after watching VR content. We found that the VR movies significantly enhanced participants' perspective-taking, empathy, and political interest along with qualitative evidence of their improvement from the interviews. The results highlight the importance of perspective-taking and empathy in understanding political conflicts and the potential of VR in enhancing political interest regarding real-world issues.

Authors

• Sojung Park, Korea University

• Insook Han, Korea University