The Immediate and Retained Effects of One-time Virtual Reality Exposure on Intercultural Sensitivity

This study aims to investigate the immediate and retained effects of one-time virtual reality (VR) exposure on intercultural sensitivity (IS) and identify the contributing factors. Three virtual scenarios about the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong were created for the empirical study. The longitudinal results involving 30 participants (15M 15F) showed that both the immediate and retained effects of the one-time VR exposure on IS were significant. Moreover, linear growth curve models suggested that among the female participants, presence and emotional empathy were closely associated with the change of IS over time, but this relation was not significant among the males.