Researchers at Stanford recently
investigated the subject by giving people the ability of Superman-like flight
in the university's Virtual Human Interaction Laboratory (VHIL). While several
studies have shown that playing violent videogames can encourage aggressive
behavior, the new research suggests that games could be designed to train
people to be more empathetic in the real world. To test this hypothesis, the
group needed to choose a superhuman ability that could only be simulated in
virtual reality, but that people would also subconsciously identify as a ‘do-gooder’
superpower. One at a time, 30 men and 30 women entered the simulator and
strapped on a set of goggles that transported them into a digital cityscape. A
woman's voice then explained their mission: A diabetic child is stranded
somewhere in the city, and you must find him and deliver an insulin injection.
With a whoosh of air, the
subjects left the ground -- either controlling their flight by a series of arm
motions, like Superman, or as a passenger in a helicopter. As they scoured the
city, wall-mounted speakers gave the impression of wind whistling by; powerful
speakers in the floor produced vibrations to simulate riding in a helicopter.
The experiment was set so that two minutes into the simulation, no matter what
mode of transport, the subject found the sick child. After removing the virtual
reality goggles, each person then sat with an experimenter to answer a few
questions about the experience. The
people who had just flown as Superman were quick to lend a hand, beginning to
pick up the pens within three seconds. The helicopter group, however, picked up
the first pen, on average, after six seconds (one second after the experimenter
began picking them up herself).
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