Impact of a Virtual Reality-Based Simulation on Empathy and Attitudes Toward Schizophrenia

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) has been identified as one of the most promising resources for developing empathy towards stigmatized groups as it allows individuals to experience a situation close to reality from another person’s perspective. This quasi-experimental study aimed to examine the impact on empathy, knowledge, and attitudes towards people with schizophrenia of a VR simulation that reproduces the experience of psychotic symptoms while performing a cognitive task compared with watching a 2D video and, thus, how these experiences could reduce stigma towards people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The sample comprised of 102 higher education health students, distributed by the experimental and control groups. The impact of the program was measured by completing multiple questionnaires on levels of empathy, attitudes, and mental health knowledge. Both methods (VR and 2D video) were, to a certain extent, effective. However, VR was more effective at eliciting attitudes and knowledge change compared to the control group. These findings suggest that not only VR but also 2D videos could be interesting strategies to enhance empathy and improve attitudes towards people with schizophrenia in higher education health students.

Exploring the impact of immersive virtual reality on depression knowledge and stigma reduction: a cross-over RCT fMRI study

“…The sense of being in the body of a patient with depression, which was the most remarkable feature of the IVR experience 17 – 19 , was associated with more realistic behavioral responses compared to the same environment in video 13 . This immersive experience enabled participants to ‘walk in the shoes’ of a patient with depression and this may have successfully convinced them on the importance to reduce the stigma 42 . Conversely, stigma was not significantly reduced after the video intervention.…”

LGBTQIA+ Adolescents’ Perceptions of Gender Tailoring and Portrayal in a Virtual-Reality-Based Alcohol-Prevention Tool: A Qualitative Interview Study and Thematic Analysis

“…The idea of using VR for anti-discrimination education-which was mentioned by our study participants-calls for future research. While several studies have suggested that perspective-taking in VR simulations can evoke and enhance empathy towards stigmatised groups (e.g., [50][51][52]), a recent article questioned VR as an "empathy machine" [53] (p. 10) when it comes to complex social issues and called for more research in this field. In addition, societal multi-level approaches are needed to address hostility towards LGBTQIA+ adolescents since digital approaches in public health have limited impact and do not solve complex social issues by seeking to support individuals in an effort to improve their skills in applications or simulations alone [54].…”

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