Augmented reality can foster empathy — and games can take advantage

BUZZZZZ! THUMP. Down goes another tree in virtual reality. The sole witness of this was the participant in our VR study who used a remote control with haptic feedback to cut the tree. As the participant leaves, our research assistant intentionally spills water. The participant rushes to help — but how many paper towels does she take? After cutting down a tree in VR, participants tend to use fewer paper towels — a small but powerful indicator that VR experiences can impact the empathy of their users and immediately translate to positive real world behavior.

As a research scientist, I studied the power of game psychology in mobile contexts. Advances in computer vision and 3D rendering have brought realistic immersive experiences to the pockets of millions via mobile devices. Embodiment, or the act of choosing an avatar to represent you inside a game can generate powerful feelings of attachment, causes users to bring over characteristics from their virtual character to their physical being. Most important, breakthroughs in augmented and virtual reality gaming have enabled us to increase user empathy through gaming.