About this Research Topic
Virtual reality (VR) is characterized by the unique ability it offers users to fully immerse themselves in a computer-simulated environment, whether this is a replica of a real-world setting or an entirely fictional one and participate in its activities and interact with other individuals and distant communities. Over the past years, VR technology has made great inroads in various fields from education and training, games, entertainment and the industry to social networking, psychological treatment, and clinical therapy. Of increasing interest has been its use to study and address social diversity, including language, religion, gender, age, or ethnic characteristics. Nonetheless, the use of VR to support the cognition of diversity, equality, and inclusion of society and enhance these social elements is still limited.
Our research topic focuses on questions of changing the attitude or cognition towards society-related elements, such as:
• How can we design diversity, equality, and inclusion-related VR themes and scenarios?
• How do VR experiences need to be designed to enhance cognition of diversity, equality, and inclusion, and foster positive attitude and behavioral change?
• What is the metric? and how can we measure these enhancements or changes of users?
• What is the long-term effect from these VR experiences? And under what conditions does it may lead to negative effects?
We invite methodological or conceptual contributions on disclosure and potential solutions to enhancing human’s cognition about diversity, equality, and inclusion of using VR or AR technologies in interpersonal and intergroup contexts, as well as psychological and cognitive issues. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• Methodological innovations on VR/AR supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion, e.g., antiracism, anti-violence, promoting human relationships, fighting against gender discrimination, anti-fat discrimination, etc.;
• Conceptual model and design (e.g., social relation model, human relation model, etc. in the virtual world) with analysis for addressing the potential of VR for these considerations;
• The cognitive and psychological elements in the VR scenarios support social interaction between humans, as well as the cognitive and psychological mechanisms;
• Applied system (including games) and practical implications of VR-based interventions;
Any politics-related opinions will not be considered.
Our research topic focuses on questions of changing the attitude or cognition towards society-related elements, such as:
• How can we design diversity, equality, and inclusion-related VR themes and scenarios?
• How do VR experiences need to be designed to enhance cognition of diversity, equality, and inclusion, and foster positive attitude and behavioral change?
• What is the metric? and how can we measure these enhancements or changes of users?
• What is the long-term effect from these VR experiences? And under what conditions does it may lead to negative effects?
We invite methodological or conceptual contributions on disclosure and potential solutions to enhancing human’s cognition about diversity, equality, and inclusion of using VR or AR technologies in interpersonal and intergroup contexts, as well as psychological and cognitive issues. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
• Methodological innovations on VR/AR supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion, e.g., antiracism, anti-violence, promoting human relationships, fighting against gender discrimination, anti-fat discrimination, etc.;
• Conceptual model and design (e.g., social relation model, human relation model, etc. in the virtual world) with analysis for addressing the potential of VR for these considerations;
• The cognitive and psychological elements in the VR scenarios support social interaction between humans, as well as the cognitive and psychological mechanisms;
• Applied system (including games) and practical implications of VR-based interventions;
Any politics-related opinions will not be considered.
Keywords: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Role-playing, Social Cognition, Psychology, Social Elements, Human-Computer Interaction
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
