Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality
Research on morality has focused on differences in moral judgment and action. In this study, we investigated self-reported moral reasoning after a hypothetical moral dilemma was presented on paper, and moral reasoning after that very same dilemma was experienced in immersive virtual reality (IVR). W...
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doaj-f280a453635a45c592dd872b4d9df4f22021-08-06T15:23:32ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-07-01188039803910.3390/ijerph18158039Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual RealitySylvia Terbeck0Jaysan Charlesford1Heather Clemans2Emily Pope3Aimee Lee4Joshua Turner5Michaela Gummerum6Bettina Bussmann7School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byron Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKSchool of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 4AG, UKSchool of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 4AG, UKSchool of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 4AG, UKSchool of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 4AG, UKSchool of Psychology, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 4AG, UKDepartment of Psychology, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKDepartment of Philosophy, Salzburg University, Franziskanergasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaResearch on morality has focused on differences in moral judgment and action. In this study, we investigated self-reported moral reasoning after a hypothetical moral dilemma was presented on paper, and moral reasoning after that very same dilemma was experienced in immersive virtual reality (IVR). We asked open-ended questions and used content analysis to determine moral reasoning in a sample of 107 participants. We found that participants referred significantly more often to abstract principles and consequences for themselves (i.e., it is against the law) after the paper-based moral dilemma compared to the IVR dilemma. In IVR participants significantly more often referred to the consequences for the people involved in the dilemma (i.e., not wanting to hurt that particular person). This supports the separate process theory, suggesting that decision and action might be different moral concepts with different foci regarding moral reasoning. Using simulated moral scenarios thus seems essential as it illustrates possible mechanisms of empathy and altruism being more relevant for moral actions especially given the physical presence of virtual humans in IVR.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8039virtual realitymoral judgmentsmoral reasoning |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sylvia Terbeck Jaysan Charlesford Heather Clemans Emily Pope Aimee Lee Joshua Turner Michaela Gummerum Bettina Bussmann |
spellingShingle |
Sylvia Terbeck Jaysan Charlesford Heather Clemans Emily Pope Aimee Lee Joshua Turner Michaela Gummerum Bettina Bussmann Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health virtual reality moral judgments moral reasoning |
author_facet |
Sylvia Terbeck Jaysan Charlesford Heather Clemans Emily Pope Aimee Lee Joshua Turner Michaela Gummerum Bettina Bussmann |
author_sort |
Sylvia Terbeck |
title |
Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality |
title_short |
Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality |
title_full |
Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality |
title_fullStr |
Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality |
title_full_unstemmed |
Physical Presence during Moral Action in Immersive Virtual Reality |
title_sort |
physical presence during moral action in immersive virtual reality |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2021-07-01 |
description |
Research on morality has focused on differences in moral judgment and action. In this study, we investigated self-reported moral reasoning after a hypothetical moral dilemma was presented on paper, and moral reasoning after that very same dilemma was experienced in immersive virtual reality (IVR). We asked open-ended questions and used content analysis to determine moral reasoning in a sample of 107 participants. We found that participants referred significantly more often to abstract principles and consequences for themselves (i.e., it is against the law) after the paper-based moral dilemma compared to the IVR dilemma. In IVR participants significantly more often referred to the consequences for the people involved in the dilemma (i.e., not wanting to hurt that particular person). This supports the separate process theory, suggesting that decision and action might be different moral concepts with different foci regarding moral reasoning. Using simulated moral scenarios thus seems essential as it illustrates possible mechanisms of empathy and altruism being more relevant for moral actions especially given the physical presence of virtual humans in IVR. |
topic |
virtual reality moral judgments moral reasoning |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8039 |
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