title: Virtual Embodiment of White People in a Black Virtual Body Leads to a Sustained Reduction in Their Implicit Racial Bias.
abstract: Virtual reality can be used to visually substitute a person's body by a life-sized virtual one. Such embodiment results in a perceptual illusion of body ownership over the virtual body (VB). Previous research has shown that the form of the VB can influence implicit attitudes. In particular, embodying White people in a Black virtual body is associated with an immediate decrease in their implicit racial bias against Black people. We tested whether the reduction in implicit bias lasts for at least 1 week and whether it is enhanced by multiple exposures. Two experiments were carried out with a total of 90 female participants where the virtual body was either Black or White. Participants were required to follow a virtual Tai Chi teacher who was either Asian or European Caucasian. Each participant had 1, 2, or 3 exposures separated by days. Implicit racial bias was measured 1 week before their first exposure and 1 week after their last. The results show that implicit bias decreased more for those with the Black virtual body than the White. There was also some evidence of a general decrease in bias independently of body type for which possible explanations are put forward.
authors.affiliation: Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Domna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Banakou
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, University College London London, UK.
authors.forename: Parasuram D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Hanumanthu
authors.affiliation: Event Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Department of Computer Science, University College LondonLondon, UK; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvançatsBarcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slater
keywords: Tai Chi; body ownership; implicit association test; racial bias; racism; rubber hand illusion; virtual reality