Immersive environments are known for fostering empathy via their technological properties that offer users the opportunity to get immersed in a virtual environment and take other perspectives. As empathy and perspective-taking are considered to be the basis of moral development, the present study examines the potential of historical immersive media applications for the individual's moral development according to Kohlberg's stage model (1958). An integrative approach was used to examine the role of technological immersion as well as the recipients' immersion (presence, transportation) in eliciting empathy and promoting moral development and behavior. Therefore, an online experiment with one factorial between-subject design was conducted in which participants (N = 289) were exposed to historical media that only differed in their extent of technological immersion: They either read a text, or watched a video, or a 360° video. In line with previous research, results showed that technological immersion positively affects presence, while transportation was not influenced by technological aspects. Furthermore, results revealed positive effects of transportation and presence on empathy which in turn was positively related to moral orientation and behavior. The study indicates that immersive historical environments can promote empathy and morality due to their immersive characteristics.

Historical figures were increasingly brought onto Instagram providing insights into the past from a first-person perspective by nonverbally and verbally addressing followers in stories or posts. This type of representation is known for promoting parasocial interaction (PSI), the illusion of a face-to-face interaction with a media figure. Consequently, historical Instagram accounts may offer a novel platform for historical learning via PSI with historical figures. This longitudinal study aims to investigate PSI and actual interaction (e.g., liking, commenting) with the historical figure on social media and the resulting educational potentials: interest in and knowledge about the historical figure, and followers’ consciousness of the accounts’ fictionality and characteristics of the past. To investigate this, followers of the German historical Instagram account: ichbinsophiescholl, were surveyed at two time points (t1: N = 239; t2: N = 84). The findings revealed that followers’ actual interaction was positively related to the experience of PSI, which was in turn supported by their general interest in history. PSI did not increase over time but was positively associated with interest in the historical figure. Moreover, followers experiencing PSI were more aware of the historical characteristics of the account but less aware of its fictionality.

Viele Virtual Reality-Anwendungen (VR), die sich historischen Themen widmen, eint ein Ziel: Zeitreisen wirklich werden lassen. Über die Technologie soll es den Rezipierenden möglich gemacht werden, in Simulationen vergangener Zeiten und Orte einzutauchen und diese zu erleben. Aber was passiert nach diesem «Zeitreiseerlebnis»? Da auf das vermeintliche «Eintauchen» in die Vergangenheit ein «Auftauchen» in der Gegenwart folgt, wird in diesem Beitrag die Frage untersucht, wie das «Auftauchen» aus einer virtuellen Umgebung didaktisch begleitet werden kann. Basierend auf medienpsychologischer und geschichtsdidaktischer Forschung wurden Materialien für die Begleitung des «Auftauchens» aus der VR entwickelt und in einer Laborstudie (N = 70) eingesetzt. Genutzt wurde ein 2x2 Between-Subjects-Design, in dessen Rahmen die Auswirkungen der Materialien und des emotionalen Inhalts der VR auf Präsenzerleben, Emotionen und Geschichtsbewusstsein qualitativ untersucht wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die didaktische Begleitung des «Auftauchens» durch die Rezeption weniger emotionalisierender Inhalte und Materialien positive Effekte auf die Äusserungen von Geschichtsbewusstsein hat.

Virtual reality (VR) is known for its immersive characteristics that enable users the experience of presence in virtual environments. However, the experience of presence in emotionally charged historical VR is controversially discussed as it might decrease the critical, cognitive reflection of the historical content and lead to strong emotional reactions. Therefore, we examined the effects of the VR content's emotionality on presence and emotional response. Following the transportation-imagery model and the model of intuitive morality and exemplars, we investigated the effects of presence and emotional response on the recipients' enjoyment, historical interest, beliefs, awareness, and moral reasoning. Moreover, we tested whether additional information after watching historical VR can support the critical reflection of the historical content. Taking different modalities into account, we conducted two experiments following a 2 (emotionality of the content) × 2 (reception of additional information)-between-subjects design in which participants were exposed to historical VR via a media player (Experiment 1, N = 493) or VR glasses (Experiment 2, N = 99). In line with the assumptions, the recipients' experience of presence and emotional response supported historical interest, enjoyment, and affected moral reasoning. Moreover, findings indicated that additional material promotes the critical reflection of historical VR.

Virtual reality (VR) is known for its immersive characteristics that enable users the experience of presence in virtual environments. However, the experience of presence in emotionally charged historical VR is controversially discussed as it might decrease the critical, cognitive reflection of the historical content and lead to strong emotional reactions. Therefore, we examined the effects of the VR content's emotionality on presence and emotional response. Following the transportation-imagery model and the model of intuitive morality and exemplars, we investigated the effects of presence and emotional response on the recipients' enjoyment, historical interest, beliefs, awareness, and moral reasoning. Moreover, we tested whether additional information after watching historical VR can support the critical reflection of the historical content. Taking different modalities into account, we conducted two experiments following a 2 (emotionality of the content) × 2 (reception of additional information)-between-subjects design in which participants were exposed to historical VR via a media player (Experiment 1, N = 493) or VR glasses (Experiment 2, N = 99). In line with the assumptions, the recipients' experience of presence and emotional response supported historical interest, enjoyment, and affected moral reasoning. Moreover, findings indicated that additional material promotes the critical reflection of historical VR.