(Carey + 2017)

Toward Measuring Empathy in Virtual Reality

Kate Carey Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Emily Saltz Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Jacob Rosenbloom Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Mark Micheli Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Judeth Oden Choi Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Jessica Hammer Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Abstract

While VR is often described as an empathy-inducing medium, it is difficult to link specific features of a VR experience to empathy outcomes. This is due in large part to the challenges of measuring empathy constructs, and the difficulty of capturing the subjective emotional experience of a player in VR.

In response, the authors propose a lightweight, inexpensive framework that researchers can use to easily establish a VR testing environment and begin gathering data on the subjective empathic response of users in VR. The authors also propose future research needed to expand, modify, and validate the proposed user-testing protocol.