From virtual to prosocial reality: The effects of prosocial virtual reality games on preschool Children's prosocial tendencies in real life environments

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) technology can provide new opportunities to promote prosocial learning in young children. However, little empirical research has examined how this technology can impact preschool children's prosocial behavior. To respond to this need, two experiments investigated how VR prosocial games affect preschool children's prosocial behavior in real-life settings. Positive affect and sense of competence were examined as potential mediators between the VR prosocial play and real-life prosocial behavior. In the first experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 166) were randomly assigned to play a prosocial, violent, or neutral VR game. After the game, helping behaviors towards the experimenter were tested on a behavioral task. In the second experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 173) were randomly assigned to a prosocial, positive affect, or neutral VR game condition, and their sharing behavior with peers was examined on a dictator game. Across experiments, children in the pro-social game condition exhibited more helping and sharing behaviors than children in the violent, positive affect, or neutral conditions. Positive affect mediated the effect of VR prosocial play on prosocial behavior; the effect of competence was not significant. The contribution of gamified VR environments to facilitating prosocial development during the preschool age is discussed.